Mint Chip Brownie Bite Cookies with M & M’s

My apologies for not posting on here last week or so. There was a death in my family and it resulted in a rushed trip up to Michigan and then back down to Missouri, which did not leave me enough time to work on the blog.

With the Holidays fast approaching, I decided I needed to make something. It’s been colder here the last few days, still not as cold as Michigan though.  I keep seeing posts on Facebook about Christmas and it seems like this year has just flown buy.

One of my favorite Christmas cookie recipes has to be Soft & Chewy Chocolate Bites. I found the original recipe in a Kraft Food & Family Magazine. I did modify the recipe however as I had major issues with the texture of the cookies being too soft and falling apart when trying to remove them from the baking sheet.

The cookies turn out soft, chewy and rich. The mint chips give a nice mint flavor without overpowering the cookie. I also added a few M & M’s I had in the freezer just to give the cookies a little bit more chocolate and crunch.

Another way to modify these is to press Hershey Kisses into the dough after baking them, similar to a peanut butter blossom. A favorite to use are the cherry cordial kisses. I’ve also used mint kisses, caramel kisses, peanut butter cups, pumpkin spice kisses, hugs, etc. You could even use the unwrapped bites they have out now in the grocery stores. There are so many options for these cookies and chocolate usually goes well with just about anything.

Mint Chip Brownie Bite Cookies with M & M’s

• 3/4 cup (60 grams) Cocoa
• 4 tbsp vegetable oil
• 3/4 cup (1.5 sticks) butter
• 2 cups sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 1/4 cups flour
• 8 ounces of mint chips
• 6 ounces of M & M’s

In large bowl, melt butter. Once butter is melted add cocoa and vegetable oil and stir until well combined. Stir in sugar and then blend in the eggs and vanilla with a hand mixer until well combined. Add the flour a little at a time mixing well between each addition. Add chips and M & M’s, stir until mixed thoroughly. Chill dough for about 20 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350. Using cookie scoop, shape dough into balls and place on a silicone lined or parchment lined baking sheet.  Bake 8 – 10 minutes, being careful not to over bake. Cool on pans for about five minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely. Makes about five dozen cookies.

Once cooled the cookies will keep for several days in a sealed container.