I almost didn’t make this post. Or these cookies, for that matter. It seems that I’m in somewhat of a baking rut. It’s like writer’s block but worse. Well, its horribleness is in the eye of the baker but alas, I have baker’s block.
It’s strange because a planner like me always has something up my sleeve. I don’t know, I like having a little bit of insurance for when things don’t go as planned. There’s a long list of recipes I’m dying to make and yet, I didn’t feel like making any.
This week, I just decided it was time to slap some sense in myself and get back in the kitchen. Luckily, I had a reason to. You see, I now work for the fabulous program I mentioned a couple times here. For those who don’t know what I’m talking about, I work for a non-profit organization called CO*OP (which is short for cooperate). Its main goal is to give recent city grads an opportunity to add onto their education with new digital skills. The grads then get to take these skills and put them to practice during a three month apprenticeship at a participating agency/company. I was part of the pilot group and am fortunate to be part of the team that will help this grow into something huge.
Anyway, yesterday was our welcome party for our second cohort of fab grads. I knew I had to bake something, and forced myself into the kitchen to do so. Earlier this week, my sister brought me an M&M cookie. It kind of hit me right there. I was just like “PUT M&Ms IN A COOKIE, STAT.” To me, the only cookie with M&Ms in them are monster cookies.
I gotta be honest, I wasn’t expecting these cookies to come out this way. I used Ree’s recipe with a lot of faith that I’d have a cookie similar to the one I ate but much better. I wasn’t totally disappointed but it could’ve gone way better. The cookie spread out something fierce in the oven, which made it thin and lacy. Again, not the result I was expecting but delicious nonetheless. If I can blame it on anything, I’d blame the hot oven. 375F is kind of high for cookies.
My favorite thing about Ree’s recipe, which is why I chose it in the first place, was how easy it is to customize with your own favorite fillings. You know how much I love throwing random things into my baking, so I was all over that. For this particular trial, I chose the traditional M&Ms (of course), mini semisweet chocolate chips, and threw in some cornflakes last minute. Cornflakes, you ask? Yes, cornflakes. Ree puts Rice Krispies in hers, so I thought about it for a good two seconds before I was like “CORNFLAKES.” I’d say it worked!
Despite the fact that the cookie was ridiculously thin, the cornflakes kept their crunch, which made the cookie twice as crunchy. The M&Ms popped out both in color and taste, which brought yet another layer of crunch, followed by some smooth chocolate. My old and new classmates loved them! I had an absolute blast hanging out with them, and seeing them enjoy the cookies (and the brownies) made me feel really good. Like, “get back into the kitchen to bake like usual” good. I look forward to getting back in the game, and treating the second cohort to some goodies on a regular basis!
Monster Cookies – adapted from The Pioneer Woman
Makes 48 cookies
- 2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 1 1/2 cups brown sugar, packed
- 2 eggs
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cup AP flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 2 1/4 teaspoons Kosher salt
- 1 1/2 cups rolled oats
- 3/4 cups plain M&Ms
- 3/4 cups mini semisweet chocolate chips
- 2 1/4 cups cornflakes
Directions:
- Preheat the oven to 350F. Line baking sheets with parchment or silicone liners. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, cream together the sticks of softened butter and both sugars until pale and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, and vanilla. Mix until incorporated. Next, add the flour, baking powder and soda, and salt. Mix until moistened and combined. Fold in the rolled oats, M&Ms, and chocolate chips until evenly distributed among the dough. Lastly, fold in the cornflakes.
- Using a tablespoon, two spoons, or a #50 disher, portion out the cookie dough onto the prepped baking sheets, making sure to leave room between each cookie. Bake the cookies in the preheated oven for 12-15 minutes or until the edges are golden. Cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before carefully moving to a wire rack to cool completely.
Lucy’s Tips:
- Ree’s recipe originally calls for salted butter. I usually have unsalted on hand because I can control the salt content in what I’m making myself. To kind of match the salted butter, I opted to add 1/4 teaspoon of salt per stick of unsalted butter. Since the recipe already called for 2 teaspoons of salt (on top of the salted butter), I only added 1/4 teaspoon more instead of 1/2.
- If your ovens run hot, like mine, take advantage of the temperature reduction I included in this version of the recipe. If yours doesn’t, feel free to bake these at the original 375F.
- Also, don’t forget to customize your monster cookie with your favorite toppings!
Lucy the Baker 