This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #GameNightIn #CollectiveBias
With M&M's® baked atop a soft, buttery shortbread crust, let this cookie 'pizza' be the star of your next #GameNightIn!
Over the course of running a site like Living the Gourmet, it is quite inevitable that the bulk of one’s world, both professional and social, comes to exist behind the virtual veil of a monitor or phone. As a result, being suddenly forced to ‘unplug’ is very much akin to the first awakening of Neo in the Matrix. You burst free and open your eyes to the distant and now utterly alien world that you had nearly forgotten surrounds you. Like Neo, there is a strange, gnawing sensation that something is truly wrong, but you aren’t quite sure what. You feel alone and disassociated as your mind rapidly attempts to realign itself to its new found reality.
That was very much what happened to us just yesterday here at Living the Gourmet, when the site inexplicably went down for several hours. We called our hosting service and were greeted with a message that the problem was widespread, and that we need not worry. It was already too late for the latter, but much like Neo’s first unplugging, we were left to fend for ourselves in the now strange, digital desert that had become our home offices.
The question then was a simple one. What to do with ourselves while we waited (translation: desperately hoped) for…well, for the site to come back into existence?
We did what any other group of professional, media savvy adults would do – we broke out the Hasbro® games, and tore open a few bags of M&M's®. Now, you might be wondering ‘why’ we had these items readily available to begin with, and we have my cousin to thank for that, who has been staying with us on and off for the past couple of weeks.
However, no sooner had we set up the Jenga and Monopoly then our culinary sides kicked in. Since this was obviously going to be an all day and likely all night affair, why not make something really special out of it?
Rather than just eat the M&M’s as finger food, we decided to make a treat that we had not had in ages – a Cookie Pizza. Yes, you read that right, a Cookie Pizza. Made of a candy speckled shortbread crust topped with a variety of M&M’s, including the Milk Chocolate, Dark Chocolate, Peanut, and Pretzel varieties, it’s as guilty a treat as it is blatantly whimsical, while being decidedly and deliciously immature.
With our Cookie Pizza serving as the centerpiece, bowls of freshly popped popcorn made their way around the table as we morphed into tabletop tycoons, wheeling and dealing away the hours. We then tried our hand at Jenga, where we did our best imitation of timidly destructive reverse-architects.
Overall, while I’m certainly not ‘happy’ or ‘glad’ that the site went down for any amount of time, I can’t help having enjoyed the experience that it led to, and the lesson we learned about working such time into our schedules, and the to need ‘unplug’ more often than we do.
Do you have a family game? Or perhaps a story where you learned the importance of unplugging for the sake of those around you? We would love to hear from you!
Grab your coupon for M&M's at Walmart here!
M&M's Cookie Pizza
- Total Time: 35 minutes
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 1/4 cup shortening
- 2 teaspoons orange peel
- 1 teaspoon vanilla powder or vanilla extract
- 1 cup assorted M&M's candies - Milk Chocolate, Pretzel and Dark Chocolate Peanut
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- In your food processor, pulse together flour, sugar, shortening, citrus zest, and vanilla until a soft dough forms.
- Press the dough into the bottom of a 12" springform pan. Top with assorted M&M's candies.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes, until the edges are golden. Remove and let cool before slicing and serving.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
Comedy Plus says
Oh yummy. You are coming up with some very unusual combinations. I think this is awesome.
Have a fabulous day Catherine. My best to your two wonderful kids. ♥♥♥
Sharon says
It's definitely crazy how much we rely on technology 24/7 almost. I love that you were able to spend some quality time together when your world went offline for a bit. My kids and I love to play a card game almost every morning while we eat breakfast before school. It's our way of taking back time before we all go our way for the day! #client
Wanda says
What a wonderful way to enjoy your down time and games. Love that cookie pizza. We are back from our trip to Oregon which was wonderful with our daughter's family and our little Tristan. Getting back into my routine and trying to catch up with my blog friends.
jimmy says
Awesome！Love that cookie pizza. Enjoy your game time!
http://www.marcarebaja.com
manu says
What a great idea!
xox
Kristine @ Kristine's Kitchen says
That cookie pizza is making me hungry! It looks like the perfect thing to snack on during game night!
allie@Through Her Looking Glass says
Catherine, I love this. When life serves up lemons, make lemonade. Or M & M Cookie Pizzas. (!) Looks like you had a fabulous night in. Your pizza cookie was a great accompaniment to Monopoly and Jenga, both games we love here at our house. We also love Dutch Blitz (amish card game). I know my boys would love game nights even more with your M & M Cookie Pizza. 🙂
Ginny Hartzler says
This is awesome, and so are your game pictures! ANYONE of any age would like this! And how clever to use all different kinds of M&M's. I am so old that I remember when there was only ONE kind. And when Three Musketeers actually had three different flavors. We love Scrabble, and I now play it on the computer with friends from far away.
Dottie Sauchelli-Balin says
Dear Catherine, Michael, and Tammy,,
A fabulous post..you and your family are so creative, you took a situation and tuned it into something very positive. Yes, you need to unplug once in a while. I feel so much better that I unpluged for two weeks. My family loves board games. We always try to play a game or two when we can especially when my nieces and nephews come over. Some of our favorites are Fash 10, Pokeno, Scattergories, and of course Monopoly. These are the games that we would play when we were young and did not have computers or phones to deal with. It brings the family together and lots of fun memories. This Cookie Pizza must be so much fun to eat and it is so colorful. Besides being easy to prepare. You are amazing, There is always a recipe for every situation. Thanks for sharing...Hope all is well with your site now...Have a great Earth Day!
Dottie 🙂
Jocelyn @BruCrew Life says
That's never fun when technology fails, but I love that you made the best of it and had a fun game night! Hello, a cookie pizza covered in M&M's would totally turn everything around! Our kids love games too, and I know this cookie would be a big hit!
Medha @ Whisk & Shout says
This looks super fun and we all need a break from technology every now and then! Totally love this cookie pizza and beyond obsessed with the orange peel 🙂
Chiara says
wh at unusual pizza, looks delicious ! blessings my dear, xoxo
Big Daddy Dave says
Catherine, Isn't it interesting what happens when the electronics or even worse, the power goes out of service?! We are animals that are used to creature comforts and some people have a tough time adapting. We have never struggled with it, but our family and grandsons almost panic when everything goes down. Love the M&M pizza! Great idea and comfort food to help one through electronics 'withdrawal'! Take Care, Big Daddy Dave
Tanya Walton says
First of all I really wasn't sure about this....the title made me go..eewwww....but then when I looked I find it isn't really pizza....just kinda looks like one...how wonderful!!
Abigail says
These cookies will be gone in seconds in our house! I usually get away from the computer on Sundays so I can unplug and that day is always the best for me and my family as I don't have many distractions so hurray for family time and unplugging time! 🙂
Elena says
Every now and then it's good to unplug! I love M&M's especially dark chocolate ones but unfortunately they are not available in the Middle East. The "pizza" looks yummy! 🙂
April J Harris says
I'm so glad your site is back up again, but it is nice to have a break. I always enjoy classic board games, especially Monopoly. Your M& M's Cookie Pizza looks amazing - pinning to make on my next day off 🙂
Kristi @ Inspiration Kitchen says
What a great looking pizza for game night. It's so colorful and fun and it looks like it tastes great too!
Dannii @ Hungry Healthy Happy says
I love this idea and I know that my niece would enjoy making them too. Such a fun recipe.
Linda@There and Back Again says
I'm glad your day was unplugged if this delicious treat is the result!
Sadie says
I found this recipe to use for my daughter's birthday. I made pizzas so we thought that a pizza dessert would be fitting.
The first thing I noticed while mixing the ingredients in my food processor was there was no liquid. The shortening wasn't nearly enough. I had to add an egg and a little bit of water. The dough was dry after baking and hard. Also, I'd skip the orange peel.