It’s back-to-school time and I’m thinking a parenting best practice and back-to-school tradition is to have milk & cookies ready and waiting when my 1st grader walks in the door at the end of her first day. Particularly these big, soft baked peanut butter M&M cookies that are one of her all-time favorites. These really are the best peanut butter cookies ever! There are so many traditions surrounding the start of a new school year that I love. Shopping for school supplies, picking out that all-important first day of school outfit, taking a picture in front of the front door, meeting the new teacher, etc. But one of my favorite memories from growing up was coming home to fresh baked cookies after school. I’m hoping to instill in both my girls a similar love of school and all the things that go with a new academic year and fresh start. What could be more classic than greeting your kids after school with cookies and milk? Some of our other favorites are Glazed Lemon Cookies, Monster Cookies, and White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies. That quote from the Tom Hanks/Meg Ryan classic, “You’ve Got Mail” about the bouquet of newly sharpened pencils speaks to my soul, especially this time of year, and I would love for my children to feel the same as they grow up. I’m thinking these big, soft baked peanut butter M&M cookies can only help create the positive memories that I want them to associate with a new school year. I have to give credit for these cookies to my sister, Jennie, and Mel from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe. A couple of years ago, I was at my sister’s house when she offered me a peanut butter M&M cookie from a container on her counter. Jennie loves peanut butter treats but almost never has them in her house because 2 of her 5 girls have pretty severe nut allergies. So as her older sister, it was basically my responsibility to help her finish off all of those cookies. And then I demanded the recipe so I could make more at home. It’s a good thing we’re the kind of sisters who share. Jennie told me she saw the recipe on Mel’s Kitchen Cafe, which has been one our favorite recipe blogs for years, so I wasn’t a bit surprised that I loved her peanut butter cookie recipe. These are the best chewy peanut butter cookies ever and they are so soft and wonderful! But my sister had taken them a step further and added M&M’s to just the tops of the cookies, and it was genius. So while I definitely can’t take credit for these big, soft baked peanut butter M&M cookies, I had to share them with you! Just remember, you definitely need a glass of milk with these ones! And speaking of milk, how cute is my little red milk pitcher?! I have to give a shout out to my friend Kathy at Lemon Blossoms blog who sent me this darling little red pitcher last year after I commented on how much I loved it when she posted a photo with it on her blog! Kathy & I started our blogs around the same time and are part of a small blogging mastermind group together. I remember when starting my blog hearing about the support and friendship that exists in the food blogging community and have come to realize how true it is thanks to friends like Kathy! These big, soft peanut butter M&M cookies are also great for holidays because you can easily swap in holiday colored M&M’s for the traditional colors and have an easy Halloween, Christmas, Valentine’s Day or 4th of July treat! To make these nice and big, I use this ice cream scoop instead of a smaller cookie scoop. Using an ice cream scoop makes forming your cookies super easy, gives consistent results, and I like the texture across the top of each cookie that they get from being scooped with a release lever onto the baking sheet. But you can also use a ¼ cup measuring cup instead (which is the same size as my ice cream scoop) or just eyeball it. You could also roll each cookie into balls to create a smooth finish on your cookie, if you like. Or make them smaller and roll in sugar, then press down lightly with a fork to make a criss-cross grid pattern like traditional peanut butter cookies. I’ve done them each way and included a few extra ideas that I’ve tried in the recipe notes below. What cookies would you make for your school-aged children for the first day of school?
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