Christmas Cookies: Mini M & M Style

Long, long ago, I used to talk about how much I loved to bake and the peace and serenity that it once brought to me. What happened to that Ashley?! On dark and cloudy days I was known to bust out a baking pan, scrounge for whatever ingredients I could find, and whip something up just to have the aroma fill our home. Banana bread used to be the most common because our kids can NEVER go through a bundle of bananas and one or two were bound to turn black and be too soft. Even just last Christmas I was much more in the mood to bake than I currently am; maybe that's because I knew that Christmas break 2016 was the start of my 'Stay at Home Adventure,' and well, that season too has passed. 

I just realized that I sound like THE most depressed mother and woman ever as I type--sorry about that! The whole point of this post is to say, "HURRAY! I busted out the baking tools again!!" and I have a really yummy holiday cookie recipe JUST for you! So bear with me, I'm getting to the good stuff now. 

Through the multiple baking books that I have, and holiday magazines full of dessert recipes, it was trusty old Google who showed up for me last weekend. "Holiday cookie recipes" is what I searched, and I was brought to delish.com , where there were 80+ photos to look through. What caught my eye was MOSTLY that the recipe included mini M & M's. 

My kids hurried to my side, Pierson grabbing a chair and Reese climbing ON the counter. And there were incessant little voices saying, "Can I help?! Is it my turn?! I want to do it!" through this entire process. Somewhere in the middle of their cries I sappily told myself, "Ashley, you'll miss this," so needless to say, I allowed them to help as much as I could :)

These were called 'Christmas Drops' on this website and here are the ingredients you'll need: 

• 2½ c. all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 c. unsalted butter
• ¾ c. granulated sugar
• ¾ c. packed brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 c. white chocolate chips
• 1 c. semisweet or milk chocolate chips
• ½ c. red and green mini baking bits (M&M's mini baking bits)
  **PS: Totally forgot to include the brown sugar in the ingredient shot above, WOOPS. I promise I used it IN the actual recipe**

Baking Directions:

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees F. Line several baking sheets with parchment paper. In a bowl, whisk flour, baking soda, and salt.
2. In a large bowl, beat butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Beat in flour mixture until blended. Stir in chocolate chips and baking bits.
3. Drop rounded tablespoons of dough 3 inches apart onto prepared baking sheets. Bake 9 to 10 minutes, or until cookies are browned at edges and no longer wet-looking in centers. Let stand on sheets for 2 minutes before removing to wire racks to cool.

**Just an FYI, I had to soften my butter in the microwave, because I am terrible at planning ahead. And I baked two batches for 10 minutes. They were incredibly soft, golden around the edges, and SO SO SO SO SO delicious.**

Cookies with the Kids: Making the Holiday Sweet

If you have young kids, I'm sure this time of year is similar in your household--look for ALL the ways to create memories with the little ones, regardless of how messy or chaotic it may be. Christmas cookies are something the kids have been SO eager to create, and I kid you not, I have never seen them work more intently on something EVER. No exaggeration here--they did this ALL morning long!! 

We packed as many cookie cutters would fit on to the dough, and it was so cute to see the kids press down soooo firmly and gently pull the shapes out. There wasn't a favorite, they loved ALL the different cutters, however you obviously know that mine was the horse. 

We rolled dough and cut shapes and rotated pans in and out of the oven all morning. If you're reading this and you don't yet have kids but think that you want some one day--I encourage you to try to remember this one small piece of advice in your future: foster happy, positive, love filled memories in your household. If you know me, you know that I don't really love messes. I don't know if there are moms who LOVE a mess, but there are probably a LOT who handle the whole thing better than I do. For this though, I saw the flour covering our favorite dining room table, the one that has signatures underneath it from the people who have sat around it, and I tried to breathe it all in. 

Every single crumb. Every single drop of dough that was getting caked on to my hardwood floor. The flour went into the crevices of the table and the kids were wearing a LOT of it. But it was a rare occasion of no fits, no temper tantrums, no anger or meltdowns. It was a morning of determination, innocent conversations, and sharing of frosting and sprinkles. 

I walked away to take a shower came back, and they were STILL decorating cookies, completely enthralled with creating holiday whimsey. 

Do you remember what your childhood was like around the holidays? I'll never forget the no-bake chocolate cookies, my FAVORITE peanut butter balls, the rice Krispy treats my mom made, and the many other desserts that were made. 

Christmas was special when I was kid. When we first get married and before we had our children, I remember how romantic if felt that we simply had each other. And now... NOW, Christmas is pure magic. These are the parts that I never want to forget. I'm a little scared I'm going to remember a LOT of challenges brought to the table by my strong-willed child and not necessarily the goodness that existed amongst it. So here's to documenting, capturing, and holding on to every ounce of magic that happened this sweet Saturday morning. And trust me, it was SWEET! I

Oh, I've mentioned several times that my husband is an elf, well, you just look at the next photo and try and tell me he's not ;) 

What is one of YOUR best holiday memories? Either from your childhood, or from YOUR child's childhood? It feels so long ago that our kids were babies, and that they were having their 'first Christmas...' I should probably stop before I break down crying and end up inconsolable unable to post this. But my goodness they don't lie when they tell you time flies. That you'll blink and they'll be grown. Four and five years have somehow flown away, and those are years I won't ever get back. Very much reason to create and enjoy these precious moments, right? 

Happy Holidays, Y'all!