Rainbow Cookies

  What? I'm posting a recipe on a Monday night?! Am I on vacation? Not at all.

It's back-to-school time, for me, and I try to pack a nutritious lunch.   Most times. Once in a while, it's a treat to have a cookie (or two) to nosh on.  My men love cookies, and they don't gain weight. Isn't fair, is it?

 The cast of characters-- white and brown sugar, flour, baking soda, melted butter, vanilla, 1 egg and 1 egg yolk.  Chips, of course. in this case, M&M's.

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It's been a while since I've baked cookies. One day, I should photograph my baking pantry. I have bags and bags of chips. Name the flavor, I've probably got them.  I saw this recipe of "How Sweet It Is" and realized that these are a version of the Cook's Illustrated "Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookie".

Why, yes, I have a bag (or three) of M&Ms.  I love the color, almost as much as "Funetti Cookie" colors.

Cook's Illustrated's technique is to roll the dough into a ball, break it in half and then press them together.

Like that.

You bake them at 325F for about 10 minutes-- just until the edges are slightly brown, and the center is slightly puffy.

Cool them on the baking sheet for a minute or two, then move to a cooling rack.

Couldn't be easier-- no hand mixer needed.  The melted butter means you can mix up the batter, by hand, in a few minutes.

TASTING NOTES:  Cook's Illustrated uses unsalted butter, and that's what I did.  Next time, I'm going with salted butter. Personal Preference.  Cook's Illustrated also browns the butter, and in this recipe I didn't. (If you want to brown the butter, first, it's worth the effort.) I liked the simplicity of using a microwave, and it was delicious. So, the flavor-- it's a delicious basic "chocolate chip cookie dough" flavor.  Buttery, sweet... the texture is the key.  It's got that crunchy bite, and then the interior is chewy.  Win!

I've just set a personal best record--  I edited my photos, wrote up the recipe card (at the end of this post) and did this in 30 minutes.   (Usually it takes 1-1/2 hours to 2 hours to write a post).   That's how easy this recipe is to make.

So, now I need to go pack my lunch-- fruit, veggies, protein and, well, okay -- two more cookies.   Somehow, I feel less guilty when I eat one, and give one to someone else who is on a diet. It makes me feel less guilty. (The rest of the cookies) will be devoured by my cookie monsters.