M & M Cookie Sticks

M & M Cookie Sticks. I saw this recipe for Cookie Sticks a couple months ago on an awesome blog, Cookies and Cups, and since then, I haven't been able to stop thinking about them... No really, it's true. I've been dreaming about cookie sticks. So naturally, for the next occasion for which these were appropriate, I made them!

This past long weekend, I brought these cookie sticks to a barbecue. They were a cinch to make (seriously - a cinch) and they were a big hit! It was kinda fun to eat a cookie in stick form for a change too. You gotta try it. :)

The exact ingredients I used are below, and they vary just slightly from the original recipe.

Ingredients:

-1/2 cup canola oil

-1/2 cup granulated sugar

-1/2 cup brown sugar

-1 egg

-2 tsp. Grade B maple syrup*

-1 and 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

-1/2 tsp. baking soda

-1/2 tsp. salt

-1 cup M & M's (I used my favorite, dark chocolate)

*I substituted maple syrup for vanilla extract in this recipe. You can read more about this substitution later on!

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a large bowl, stir together the oil, both sugars, egg, and maple syrup. Add in the flour, baking soda, and salt, and stir until just combined.

Divide the dough in half (it's very easy dough to work with). On a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, press each half of the dough into an oblong shape, roughly 15 x 3 inches. Place each rectangle about 3 inches apart on the cookie sheet. Press the M & M's into the dough.

Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, or until the cookies are lightly golden browned. Let cool for at least 5 minutes before cutting into strips. Cool the strips completely before actually removing them from the cookie sheet.

Enjoy!

My two rectangles weren't exactly evenly shaped. Oh well! 

I actually used closer to 3/4 of a cup of M & M's - not the entire 1 cup that's called for in the recipe.

Now, do you remember earlier when I mentioned that I substituted maple syrup for vanilla extract? I am ashamed to admit that this avid baker RAN OUT OF vanilla extract. Whaaat?! Yes, I did. Sad. I'm not sure how it happened; in fact, I didn't even realize it until I was in the middle of making this cookie dough. My heart sank (well, maybe not really, that's a bit of an exaggeration). But I was mad at myself. How could I have not realized that I was out of vanilla extract?

The bright side of this slight catastrophe is that I learned of a great substitute for vanilla - maple syrup!! I quickly did a google search once I realized my error, and multiple sites said I could use maple syrup. Neato! I did, and it seemed to work great! I was also contemplating using some vanilla vodka I had in the cupboard... I bet that would have worked okay as well, no?

Straight out of the oven. They look like giant, rectangular cookie pies at this point.

Cut into strips!

I was a really big fan of this recipe. The taste was great, but honestly, I think I liked this recipe so much because it was so easy and fun! The sticks were a great change from the typical round cookie, and mixing up this cookie dough was pretty much the easiest thing ever. One bowl and no electric mixer needed. And it also didn't require multiple batches of cookies being baked on cookie sheets. It was just one simple batch, baked for 8 to 10 minutes in total!

If you're at all intimidated by baking, this would be an awesome recipe to "get your feet wet" with baking. It would also be a great recipe for the kids! You can use any kind of M & M's that you'd like, and you could also use chocolate chips or other flavored baking chips.

Mmmm, cookie sticks. :)