Soft Baked M&M Cookies (gluten-free)

• Unsalted butter, – softened but not warm. I would think a vegan butter stick can work too
• Coconut sugar – or you can use 1/2 cane sugar and 1/2 brown sugar if you prefer
• Egg – I haven’t tested flax egg in this recipe
• Vanilla extract – a *key* ingredient in cookies like these!
• Gluten-free all purpose flour – you can also use regular all purpose flour if not gluten-free
• M&M’s –  I used these copycat ones but you can use any you’d like!
• Chocolate chips – I like using dark chocolate but you can use anything like semi-sweet or milk or even white chocolate too

How to make extra soft and chewy M&M cookies:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper
2. Using a hand mixer or stand mixer beat butter sugar for 1-2 minutes
3. Next add in egg and vanilla extract on low speed until creamy
4. Then add in flour mixture and mix until just combined
5. Fold in M&M’s/chocolate chips and add to fridge to chill for 30 minutes
6. Scoop balls of dough, between 1½ and 3-tablespoon portions and drop dough onto prepared baking sheets leaving an inch or two between cookies (I like to mound the dough balls so that they’re higher rather than wider)
7. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until edges are golden but the center is still slightly underdone, this will create a soft cookie
8. Allow the cookies to cool for a few then enjoy!

Tips for success:

• Make sure your butter is softened but not warm! I put mine under my leg and sit on it for about 10 minutes to soften it up quickly (sounds crazy but it works!!). If the butter is too soft your cookies will spread too much in oven
• If you want that bakery-style look, add in extra M&M’s to the cookies after they’re done baking too but don’t press too hard!
• I recommend under baking these rather than over baking for the ultimate soft-baked cookie. If you love a crispier crunchy cookie, then bake an extra 3-5 minutes or so
• To get perfectly round cookies, placed a round glass bowl or cookie cutter (larger than the cookie) upside down over the top of the cookie and gently swirl the cutter in circular motion but I do find this dough bakes a very round cookie just by chilling the dough then rolling it into a ball and pressing down on baking sheet
• I use a copycat “healthier” M&M but you can use any M&M you want! Including peanut M&M’s, which would be delicious too!
• Firm up the dough by putting the bowl of it in the fridge for about 30 minutes before baking – this will help the cookies from spreading too thin while baking