M and M Chocolate Chip Cookies

Tonight I made M&M Chocolate Chip cookies.  I took a basic Toll House-type recipe and changed things up.  I used half semi-sweet chocolate chips and half seasonal M&Ms, which for autumn (after a quick study) are really basic M&Ms with just red, brown, orange, and yellow.  Didn't miss the green or blue at all!  I have a couple of favorite recipes for chocolate chip cookies, and the one I use the most melts two bars of butter and uses more brown sugar than white, creating an almost caramel-y, very chewy cookie.  For this recipe, I decided I wanted something lighter in color and texture, so I used more white than brown sugar, and half (don't gasp) solid vegetable shortening and half butter.  The shortening lends a tenderness that the butter, on its own, just can't.  It made a lot of cookies, so I figure the little bit of vegetable shortening per cookie isn't life-threatening, and as long as the substance hasn't yet been banned for home kitchens in and outside of New York City (!), I'm still using it!  And seriously, anyone contemplating enjoying a chocolate chip cookie isn't too, too worried about the nutritional consequences, not at that moment anyway!  Just don't eat the whole batch.  That's my disclaimer.  One or two, and you'll be just fine.  Life is short. Have a cookie.

Here's a collage of the process, followed by my recipe.  It's a good one. Henry and Peter were my quality-control officers tonight (between watching a Winnie the Pooh video more than once) and they gave four very happy and chocolatey thumbs up! Then I brought them back to their mother for clean up!

M&M Chocolate Chip Cookies
Preheat oven to 375 degrees Farenheit
line a half-sheet pan or cookie sheet with parchment paper

In large mixer bowl, combine:
1/2 cup room temperature butter (1 bar)
1/2 cup solid vegetable shortening (Crisco)
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract.

Mix well, and then beat in 2 eggs, one at a time.

To that mixture, add:
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour mixed with 1 teaspoon baking soda and 1 teaspoon salt.
Combine until all the dry ingredients are well incorporated.

Stir in:
1/2 cup M&Ms
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls onto parchment-lined cookie sheet 2 inches apart (I get 12-15 per sheet).  I use a small cookie scoop for this purpose and all the cookies are uniform in size;  therefore, they bake evenly.

Bake for 12 minutes or until the cookies are beginning to brown a bit around the outside edges.  Ovens vary so make sure you bake them long enough.  Start checking at 10 minutes.

Remove from oven and let cool for a few minutes on the pan before removing them to a wire rack to cool completely (or not!).