Peanut Butter M&M Peanut Butter Cookies.

Oooow Peanut Butter M&Ms. PEANUT BUTTER M&Mssssss. I think I’ve become a bit renowned for my obsession with these beauties...every time one of my pals goes to the States (ok this isn’t oooften, but is not unheard of, especially from YOU dear gallivanting sister) I inSISt on these being brought back to me (yes yes I knooooow you can get them from Harvey Nicks but that doesn’t have the glamour of ‘oh yes a friend bought them back from her hols for me’).

And I LOVE that every time I’ve had a little visit from an Edinburgh (where Harvey Nicks in not a distant fantasy but actually exists) chum recently they’ve come bearing gifts in the form of all the types of M&Ms on offer....except coconut, mmmm exciting new discovery in store. I’ve had pretzel, I’ve had mint, but helloooo, it’s me and I am a PB fiend and of cooooourse it’s that variety of the snooker ball shiny treat that I hold in the highest esteem.

I haven’t really done any baking with them until now, mainly because...well, why tamper with perfection, but also because, contrary to what you might think, I don’t sit around all day popping M&Ms in to my mouth and my collection had started to swell to the degree that really I could have for many days in a row. Not that this is a negative situation you understand, just one that allows me to combine my love of PB M&Ms and love of baking without sobbing inside because of a suddenly deflated M&M collection....I had enough to act as a buffer you might say.

So yes....here we are...OF COURSE, because what else are you going to do with peanut butter treats apart from surround them with more peanut butter treat in the form of cookies. And these aaare cookies; bendy in the middle, crumbly round the outside cookies, as opposed to our smaller and daintier and a bit more uptigherer British biscuit. Oh look my last post gave love to just that variety of biscuit...you see I am an open minded lover of all flat, sweet, dunkable delights, there will be no biscuit prejudice here. With Love and Cake.

Peanut Butter M&M Peanut Butter Cookies.

Adapted from a bbcgoodfood.com recipe

A few notes:

• These, of course, don't have to be Peanut Butter M&M Peanut Butter Cookies, they could be just peanut butter cookies with no additions, or perhaps you'd like to use chocolate chips, of any kind, and have peanut butter and chocolate cookies. Up to you. I understand if you're M&M collection is too small for baking to include them.
• These are excellent with ice cream and would, I'm sure, make an even excellenter ice cream sandwich...just squodge some soft ice cream between 2 cookies and eat quickly before it all drips down your fingers.

Makes around 10

You will need

a baking sheet, lined with greaseproof paper

100g butter, softened

100g peanut butter, smooth or crunchy, your choice

50g demerara sugar

 50g caster sugar

 1 egg

100g plain flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda

100g Peanut Butter M&Ms

• As per uuush, preheat the oven to 180°c.
• Now get the butter, peanut butter and both sugars in a nice big bowl and beat with an electric hand whisk if you have one, or a wooden spoon and some sweat if you don't, until everything in nicely combined and fluffy looking.
• Then beat in the egg.
• Sift in the flour, baking powder and bicarb and fold it all together so you have a nice smooth dough.
• Finally gently stir through the M&Ms so they get nice and evenly distributed.
• Now for the baking...lay tablespoonfulls of the cookie dough on your lined baking sheet, leaving a good space in between each one for it to grown big and wide, this might mean you need to bake in a couple of batches....better to do that rather than squish them in too close together and get one giant cookie.
• Bake the cookies for 5 minutes and then take out the tray and give it a good bang on a heat protected surface, like a wooden chopping board. This will make all the air leave the cookies alone and let them get gooey and bendy in the middle.
• Pop them back in the oven as quick as you can and bake for another 5-7 minutes....try not to let them darken very much, you want them only just to be golden round the edges for optimum gooeyness.
• When they're done, leave them on the baking tray to firm up for a few minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool just a bit more....just enough time for your ice cream to soften.