SPECIAL EDITION! Is it a Bird? Is it a Plane? Is it a Train? It's Super Cookies!!!!! 4th Of JULY COOKIES...Compliments of a Rockstar!

One major advocate of the creation and implementation of NICHe in the KITCHe comes from one of the most delightful, resourceful, sassy, elegant, tenderhearted, classy - (okay, okay, I'll stop there, but you get the point)- friends I have ever had the deep pleasure of having! Little Miss Sara is the gal that always provides that confidence boost & support you may need when contemplating a dream or considering a new endeavor! I am forever indebted to Sara, A.K.A. "Rockstar", thus it is only appropriate that she assume the position of the first SPECIAL EDITION!

So I received the cutest email from my friend & fellow rockstar and this is a how it went...I present to you, the readers of NICHe in the KITCHe, "4th of July Cookies...Compliments of a Rockstar"...

"Hi Niche in the Kitche! I thought of you yesterday while I was in the kitchen doing my wifely duties by baking (obviously!). What better a way to spread love and excitement for the summer than to share my (stolen) 4th of July cookie recipe with you and all of your loyal followers?!

After almost two hours on my feet (I made a salad and cleaned the stove, too...), $12 bagged r/w/b M&M's from the dreaded Times Square store (thanks hubby!) and a lot of butter later, we think they turned out great -- and can't wait to share them with our family when we travel to Canada for the blessed Independence Day weekend! And yes...you heard right...this is year #2 that we've traveled 659 miles out of the country to Magnetawan, Ontario to celebrate our great nation's birthday (luckily they have fireworks there...but we're usually the only ones setting them off...yah!). And also year #2 that I've upheld the tradition of the homemade cookies traveling by plane and car to get there with us. (May I interject that these delightful cookies will ALSO be traveling by boat this weekend, probably more traveling that most of us lazy bones!)

So without further adieus and my rambling commentary -- here is the recipe stolen off some random site months ago. It's basically a chocolate chip cookie mix but with M&M's instead of chocolate chips. Enjoy! AND HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMERICA!

Ingredients & Recipe: (Note: this recipe makes just about 40 cookies!)

Printable Recipe

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup packed brown sugar (I used dark, but light works well too)
• 1 scant cup sugar (I didn't know what scant meant btw...and they still turned out delish)
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 teaspoon each - salt, baking powder, and baking soda
• 3 cups flour (you can use whole wheat if you'd like)
• 1 (11 oz.) bag of M&M's -- red, white and blue of course (just pick out of a bag if you don't have the $12 to spend)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, combine butter and sugars. When creamy, add in eggs and vanilla. Sprinkle salt, powder and soda over the top. Add flour, 1 cup at a time, mixing until well blended. Stir in HALF of the M&M's.

Shape dough into 1 inch balls and place on cookie sheets (Silpat mats are the BEST! I don't know what I did without them. Oh, yes, that's right...BURNED everything! Yum.) Bake for 8-10 min. (I did 10...) or until puffed and just beginning to brown on the edges. Remove from oven. IMMEDIATELY press a few M&M's into each cookie, tucking them into the dough a bit so they will stick. The colors stay really vibrant and visible, plus you have all of the ones that were mixed in with the dough!

You Could Also Try...

• FUN post-bake TIP from our lovely friend Beth Maxwell: Adding pieces of bread slices (1 or 2) to the Tupperware container helps to keep the cookies moist, soft and fresh! You can improvise with hamburger buns like I did, too :-) I heart this tip!!


• What the heck is "a scant" when it comes to baking measurement?--- Well, it basically means, No More Than. So if you have a recipe calling for 1 scant cup of sugar, it is basically telling you that you don't have to be so specific when measuring but just don't go OVER the 1 cup.