BRITTANY’S ANNUAL COOKIE PALOOZA – SEE VIDEO AND RECIPES HERE

9 hours, 6 recipes, and over 600 cookies. Our annual Cookie Palooza was a success…but also, very exhausting! Our husbands deserve a lot of the credit, but declined photos (per usual).

@z93lacrosse 9 hours, 6 recipes, and over 600 cookies! ????????❄️???? #annual #cookiepalooza #cookies #beastmode #teamwork #baking #bakingparty #holidaybaking #variety #friends #family #fun #work #yummy #delicious #christmas #tistheseason ♬ Swaggy Christmas – Official Sound Studio

Each year, our neighbors join us for holiday cookie baking. We decide on the cookies we want to make, I buy all of the ingredients, we bake all day, and then split the cost and the cookies! We also have meals together throughout the day, enjoy some beverages, and it’s just a great time! I look forward to it every year. If you want some delicious cookies, here are the 6 recipes from our Cookie Palooza 2023. Enjoy!

---

Monster Cookie – yields 20 cookies

Ingredients

• 2 sticks (1 cup) salted butter at room temperature
• 1 cup dark brown sugar
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs, plus 1 egg yolk
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 2 cups old-fashioned oats
• 1 1/4 cups holiday M&M’s
• 1 cup mini pretzel sticks, crushed
• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips or chunks
• 1/2 cup white chocolate chips

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350° F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. In a large mixing bowl, beat together the butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, and vanilla until combined. Beat in the eggs and 1 egg yolk, 1 at a time, until combined. Add the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Beat in the oats.

3. Fold in 1 cup of the M&M’s, the pretzels, chocolate chips, and white chocolate.

4. Roll the dough into 1/4 cup size balls. Place 3 inches apart on the prepared baking sheet.

5. Transfer to the oven and bake for 8 minutes, then rotate the pan and bake another 2 minutes. Pull the pan out and push the remaining M&M’s into the cookies. Bake 2-3 minutes. Remove from the oven and let the cookies cool on the baking sheet. They will continue to cook slightly as they sit on the baking sheet.

6. Eat warm (highly recommended) or let cool and store in an airtight container for up to 4 days. 

---

Sugar Cookies with Red and Green M&Ms- yield 36 cookies

Ingredients

• 1 cup unsalted butter at room temperature (DO NOT MELT)
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 cup white sugar
• 2 eggs at room temperature
• 2 ½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour measured by scooping the flour and leveling with a knife (366 grams or 12.9 ounces)
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 2¼ cups Christmas Colored M&M’s divided

Instructions

• Cream together the butter and sugars in a mixer for 3 minutes until light and fluffy.
• Add the eggs and vanilla, making sure to scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl.
• Add the flour, salt, baking soda, and baking powder and mix on low until everything is incorporated. Fold in 1 ¾ cups of the M&M’s.
• Scoop out 2 tablespoons of dough, and transfer to a baking sheet, they can be closely spaced together as this is how they will chill.
• Chill the dough for at least 30 minutes if they are scooped into balls. If you’re chilling the dough in the mixing bowl, chill for at least 2 hours.
• Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
• Place 12 of the cookie dough balls on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Add a few M&M’s on top of each cookie, making sure the M&M’s stick into the dough.
• For cookies that are soft in the middle, bake for 11-13 minutes until just slightly golden around the edges. If you want them crisp, bake for 13-15 minutes. Remove from the oven and let rest for 5 minutes before transferring them off the baking sheet and onto a cooling rack.

---

Peanut Butter Blossoms- yields 36 cookies (we did half with mini Peanut Butter Cups, using a muffin tin, and the other half with Hershey Kisses, on a regular cookie sheet)

Ingredients

• ¾ cup creamy peanut butter (188g)
• ½ cup unsalted butter softened (113g)
• ½ cup granulated sugar plus more for rolling (100g)
• ½ cup packed light brown sugar (110g)
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 large egg at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1½ cups all-purpose flour (180g)
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• 36 Hersey’s chocolate kisses unwrapped

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 375°F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
• In a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the peanut butter, unsalted butter, sugars, and salt. Cream together by beating on medium speed until well combined. Add the egg and vanilla. Beat until well combined. Scrape down the bowl. Add the flour and baking soda and beat on low speed just until combined.
• Scoop the dough and roll it into 1-inch balls. Coat in additional granulated sugar if desired. Place on a prepared baking sheet 2 inches apart.
• Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until the cookies look puffy and cracked and the bottom just starts to turn brown. Immediately press a chocolate kiss into the center of each cookie. (The cookies will crack and that’s okay!) Allow the cookies to cool completely on the pan, until the chocolate is set. Serve or store in an airtight container for up to 1 week.

---

Ginger Snaps- yields 28 cookies

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 sticks (170 grams) unsalted butter, at cool room temperature
• 1 1/4 cups (250 grams) granulated sugar, divided
• 1/4 cup (50 grams) lightly packed light brown sugar
• 1/3 cup (113 grams) unsulphured molasses (NOT blackstrap)
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 2 1/4 cups (286 grams) all-purpose flour

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, use an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment to beat the butter, 3/4 cup granulated sugar, and brown sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the molasses and egg and beat until combined. Add in the salt, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and flour, and beat until combined.

Place the remaining 1/2 cup sugar in a shallow dish. Scoop the dough into 1 1/2 tablespoon balls and roll in the sugar before placing on the baking sheet, leaving plenty of room for spread. Bake for 15 minutes or until the cookies are spread and the surface looks crackled.

Let cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes before removing to wire racks to cool completely. Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 7 days.

---

Rocky Road Haystacks– yields 4 dozen

Ingredients

• 1 package chocolate almond bark
• 1/2 cup peanut butter
• 1 1/2 cup peanuts
• 3 cups chow mein noodles
• 1 1/2 cups mini marshmallows

Instructions

1. Heat the almond bark in a crockpot
2. Stir in the peanut butter until it’s completely mixed in
3. Stir in the peanuts, chow mein noodles, and mini marshmallows
4. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto waxed paper and let cool until set

---

Almond Bark Covered Oreos– yields 96 cookies (we did half chocolate and half with white almond bark)

Ingredients

• 2 packages of family-sized Oreo cookies
• 1 block of white almond bark
• 1 block of chocolate almond bark
• candy sprinkles (optional)

Instructions (one batch at a time)

• Heat the block of almond bark, stirring occasionally, until smooth and completely melted (we used a crockpot for ease, but you can also heat it on the stove or in the microwave)
• Drop the Oreos into the chocolate (I did about 5 cookies at a time) and use a spoon or fork to flip the Oreo so both sides are covered in the almond bark
• set the Oreos on wax paper until completely hardened