Color Coordinate Your Super Bowl Treats!

It's Wednesday night...do you have baking plans? Still unsure about what to for Super Bowl Sunday? The Washington Post gave us a FABULOUS idea this week! Why not color coordinate your cookies to your favorite team? Get purple or red M&Ms and let's go!

M&M Bars
The Washington Post, December 7, 2011

Ingredients

• 2 3/4 cups flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup vegetable shortening, at room temperature
• 1 cup packed light brown sugar
• Rounded 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 3 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
• 4 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 slightly rounded tablespoons sour cream (do not use low-fat or nonfat)
• 12 ounces plain M&M candies (about 2 cups)

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Use nonstick cooking oil spray to grease a 9-by-13-inch metal baking pan, then line the bottom of it with enough parchment paper so that some of it sticks up/out beyond the two short sides of the pan.
2. Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt.
3. Combine the butter and shortening in the bowl of a stand mixer or hand-held electric mixer; beat on low speed until smooth. Stop to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add both sugars; beat on low, then on medium speed for about 2 minutes, until the mixture is light and fluffy. Add the eggs one a time, beating to incorporate after each addition. Stop to scrape down the bowl. Add the vanilla extract and sour cream; beat on low speed to incorporate.
4. Gradually add the sifted ingredients, beating (on low) to form a soft dough. Stir in the M&Ms. Transfer the dough to the pan, patting it in evenly and smoothing the surface. Bake for 25 minutes; the cookie slab should be puffed and slightly golden.
5. Cover loosely with aluminum foil and bake for 5 to 10 minutes or until just set at the center. Cool completely in the pan. Use a round-edged knife to loosen the edges of the cookie slab, then use the parchment paper to lift and transfer the cookie slab to a cutting board before cutting it into 24 bars.

M&M Cookies

Adapted from Gourmet, October 2003

Ingredients

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
• 1 1/2 cups packed light brown sugar
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
• 2 1/2 cups M&Ms (16 ounces)

Directions

1. Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 375°F. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment or wax paper.
2. Whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl.
3. Beat together butter and sugars in a large bowl with an electric mixer at high speed until pale and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Lightly beat 1 egg with a fork in a small bowl and add 1 3/4 tablespoons of it plus 2 remaining whole eggs to butter mixture, beating with mixer until creamy, about 1 minute. Beat in vanilla. Reduce speed to low and mix in flour mixture until just blended, then stir in chips.
4. Scoop 1/4 cup batter for each cookie, arranging mounds 3 inches apart, on 2 baking sheets. Flatten mounds into 3-inch rounds using moistened palm of your hand. Form remaining cookies on additional sheets of parchment.
5. Bake, 1 sheet at a time, until golden, 13 to 15 minutes. Transfer cookies to a rack to cool and continue making cookies in same manner using cooled baking sheets.

Happy baking!