M&M Oreo Cookies (cookie in a cookie)
This recipe quickly became one of my family’s favorite requests I make for them. I originally played around with the recipe as a special treat for Valentines Day (hence the pink and red M&Ms, but you don’t need a holiday or a theme to make these awesome cookies).
Jackson dubbed them CnC’s (cookie in a cookie) and that is how they will be referred to going forward.
Many years ago we instituted Family Valentines Day. I can’t remember the specifics of why exactly. Honestly. I think the original plan was to go to dinner or a movie and but then we couldn’t find a babysitter.
Instead of scraping our plans completely, we loaded up the three kids (who couldn’t have been more than 4-years-old, 2-years-old and an infant) and took them to Russelio’s Pizza downtown.
I can still remember the pepperoni and black olive pizza we shared and the snow covered streets. The kids were in good moods; sweet and fun (at least that’s my memory) and I remember sipping on a glass of wine, scooping up dropped bits of pizza crust and laughing at our kids antics. I remember thinking so clearly that we didn’t need a big date out, the little table with my four favorite people in the world sitting at it with me was perfect.
From that year on, we’ve done some sort of family date around Valentines Day. Some years it’s a few days before or after. Some years we go out to a restaurant and other years I make a special meal at home. I think it goes without saying, but I’ll mention it anyway, each year isn’t always as magical as that first one, but that’s life and its tradition.
This year, a special dessert was requested. My daughter loves a holiday and any excuse for decorations, treats or parties (she’s a girl after my own heart). We both love the Oreo cookies from the market at Provisions and thought we would try making our own version.
This Salt and Stone version is full of Oreo pieces and M&Ms. I skipped the chocolate chips completely but you could always swap half the M&Ms for chocolate chips. These cookies are dense but tender and the fun surprise of Oreos and M&Ms make them the perfect Valentines treat. My oldest son dubbed them a ‘cookie in a cookie’ and said he needed another batch made as soon as possible.
M&M Oreo Cookies
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons corn starch
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher salt
16 Oreos, roughly chopped
10 ounces M&Ms
In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the softened butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar. Mix on medium speed until the butter mixture is creamy and smooth. Add the eggs one at a time briefly mixing after each addition. Add the vanilla and mix until smooth.
In a separate bowl, combine the all-purpose flour, cornstarch, baking soda and salt. Give a quick stir with a spatula or wooden spoon and then combine in the mixer with the butter mixture. Turn the mixer on low mixing until a dough just barely forms.
Using a knife, break up the Oreo cookies into small pieces (you don’t want to crush them). Reserve a small amount of the Oreo pieces off to the side and pour the rest into the batter. Also add the M&Ms to the mixing bowl, reserving 1/4 cup for later.
Gently mix the cookie pieces and candy into the batter with a spatula or wooden spoon. Using a spoon or cookie scoop, form two tablespoon dough balls and place them on a parchment paper lined tray. Put the tray in the refrigerator for at least one hour or in a Ziplock bag for up to 24 hours.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Arrange the cookie dough balls evenly on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, making sure to leave enough room for the cookies to spread (if you put all the cookie dough balls on one tray in the refrigerator, you will need to divide them between several trays to bake them).
Using the reserved cookie pieces and M&Ms, tuck a few pieces into the top of each dough ball. Bake in the oven for 13 to 14 minutes until the edges are slightly golden brown. It’s alright if the cookies look slightly underdone in the center, as they will continue to cook a little bit on the warm tray as they cool.
Bake the cookies in batches, allowing the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for five minutes and then transferring to a wire cooling rack. Continue until all the cookies are baked. Store in an air tight container for up to three days. Recipe makes 24-28 cookies.