Ghoulish Dark Chocolate Peanut M&M Cookies

Who doesn’t love seasonal M&M’s? I absolutely love using them in bakes – since the colors always fit the season. Unfortunately, I usually forget that they exist until about a week before the corresponding holiday. And then they’re always a challenge to track down.

Thankfully, I happened across the Ghoul’s Mix M&M’s when I popped into CVS on an errand. Though I had my heart set on the Peanut Butter style (because they’re amazing), they only had standard and Peanut on hand. But I was determined to make it work.

As I thought on the Peanut M&M’s and Halloween, I knew I wanted a dark dessert that allowed the bright colors to pop. So, I decided to adapt my favorite brownie cookie recipe into a fitting vessel for these M&M’s. I added a small amount of peanut butter into the cookie itself and swapped the regular cocoa and semi-sweet chocolate chips out in favor of dark chocolate varieties.

Unsure exactly how the cookie would taste, I was extremely pleased with the results. The cookie retained its soft texture, but with a deeper taste thanks to the dark chocolates. The creamy peanut butter provided subtle flavor that was enhanced by flavor of Peanut M&M’s – a nice textural addition as well. The Peanut M&M’s also provided a fun crunchy element and the saltiness nicely balanced the cookie.

Super fun for Halloween – if you see a bag of Peanut M&M’s grab it and throw these cookies together!

Or, make these up with normal Peanut M&M’s – they’ll be just as tasty!

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Ghoulish Dark Chocolate Peanut M&M Cookies

Yields 18-20 cookies

Ingredients

• 1 cup (125 g) all-purpose flour

• ½ cup (50 g) dark cocoa powder

• ½ tsp baking soda

• ¼ tsp salt

• ½ cup butter, room temperature

• ¼ cup creamy peanut butter

• ½ cup dark chocolate chips, melted & slightly cooled

• 1/3 (66 g) cup sugar

• 2/3 (132 g) cup dark brown sugar

• 1 egg

• 1 tsp vanilla

• 1 tbsp milk

• 10 oz package Peanut M&M’s – Ghoul’s Mix

Instructions

1. In a medium bowl, whish together flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt. Set aside

2. In a large bowl, beat together the butter and peanut butter until smooth. Add the sugars and beat until light and fluffy. Batter may look slightly grainy, but will come together with other ingredients.

3. Add egg, vanilla and milk and mix until smooth.

4. Gently stir in the dry ingredients until just combined – ensure all ingredients are incorporated. Fold in Peanut M&M’s.

5. Using a large cookie scoop, scoop cookies onto a parchment-lined cookie sheet and place in fridge for at least two hours.

6. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350°F. Bake cookies for 14-15 minutes, until edges are set and centers are slightly undone. Allow to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to wire rack.