These simple classic cookies are a perfect accompaniment to coffee or tea.
“Mornings are unique, each the opening act in a day whose course can never be certain. It is the late nights, however, that fade one into the other.”
Part of that, I suppose, is due to each night being one part reflection, and another part forward looking into what lies beyond the veil of sleep. However, I must admit, that one of the chief occupants of my nightly mind is the anticipation of the next morning’s coffee. As a result, you can imagine my grave horror when I awoke early last week to find that the coffee maker had, quite simply, broken. Yes, each morning is unique, and not always in a good way.
As any self-identified coffee-fanatic would do, I wiped clean all of my immediate responsibilities for that morning, and promptly set about researching a replacement, which turned out to be quite the daunting task. As it seems, there is no shortage of highly rated brands, each with a line of what they claim are the highest-tech, grandest quality machines, each capable of producing the most delicious cup of coffee. So many choices, so few distinctions.
After a fair bit of searching, I decided to play the part of the contrarian. After all, the very first brewers of coffee, those responsible for introducing the caffeine-rich bean as a permanent fixture of our modern lives, did so without with the help of what amounts to veritable ‘coffee-brewing-kitchen-computers.’ Reaching back to my earliest coffee-themed memories, I decided to forgo the higher-tech options, and opted for a simple stove-top percolator.
After three mornings worth of instant-coffee had passed, the new percolator arrived late yesterday afternoon. My relief at receiving this package wasn’t unlike that of someone stranded on a dessert island receiving an airdrop of water. Thankfully, I had wrapped up my day early, and so I had a perfect excuse to relax with a cup of fresh brew for the remainder of the day. However, it’s a strange thing, ‘trying’ to relax, being something of a conscious effort to lull oneself into effort’s opposite. As a result, rather than truly enjoying the process of familiarizing myself with the new coffee pot, or enjoying my first cup of coffee in three days, I was instead becoming increasingly restless.
I had my coffee, and a free afternoon graced by immaculate autumn weather. Yet, something was simply missing. Naturally, it was a pairing for the coffee, and that’s where today’s recipe comes in.
On what was supposed to be a relaxed autumn afternoon, I wanted a similarly relaxed cookie, something comparatively easy to put together, but also delicious. M&M’S® Sugar Cookies are a seasonal favorite of mine, perfect for these sorts of relaxed afternoons, or as a quick sweet after lunch or over tea or coffee – and that’s precisely what I was going to prepare.
To start, I mixed flour, baking powder, and salt, and then set that aside in a bowl. I then combined eggs, butter, sugar, and vanilla in an electric mixer until smooth, and then slowly added the flour mixture, keeping the mixer on low. I formed the dough into a ball and then refrigerated the dough for at least one hour. Then roll out the dough; cut and place the cookies onto a cookie sheet and decorate the center of each cookie with an M&M, and bake.
Living the Gourmet
Yields 2 dozen
5 minPrep Time
10 minCook Time
15 minTotal Time
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Ingredients
- 2 cups flour
- 1 cup sugar
- ½ cup butter – (one stick) softened
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- ½ tsp. baking powder
- ¼ tsp. salt
- M&M’s® for decoration
Instructions
- Combine the flour, baking powder and salt in a medium sized bowl.
- Combine together in a large bowl the eggs, butter, sugar and vanilla; using an electric mixer on medium speed mix until smooth and creamy.
- Reduce the speed of the electric mixer and slowly add the flour mixture to the creamed butter mixture.
- Form into a ball; wrap the dough in wax paper or plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for at least one hour or up to overnight.
- Preheat Oven 375 degrees F.
- Divide the dough in half.
- Lightly flour a clean surface and using a floured rolling pin, roll out the dough to a ¼ inch thickness. Use a cookie cutter or lid from a jar to cut out the cookies.
- Place the dough on an ungreased cookie sheet approximately one inch apart.
- Place an M & M in the center of each cookie or as many M & M’s as you like to decorate each cookie.
- Bake 9 – 12 minutes or until lightly golden on the edges.
- Cool the cookies on a wire rack.
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Needless to say, the cookies provided the perfect pairing for my autumn afternoon, and precisely the accompaniment I was looking for to go with my coffee.
Enjoy with Love!
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