Chocolate Chip M&M’s Halloween Cookies

October. The month that smells like cinnamon and tastes like apples and feels like the world putting on its best outfit before going to sleep for the winter. Nashville does October right — the hills around the city go red and gold and the air sharpens and every porch has a pumpkin and every coffee shop has a sign that says "Pumpkin Spice Is Back" like it's a returning war hero.

Chloe is CONSUMED with Halloween planning. Again. Last year she was Elsa. This year she wants to be a doctor. Not Elsa. Not a princess. A DOCTOR. She said, "I want to help sick people, Mama. Like you help teeth people." Teeth people. I help teeth people. That is my professional title and I am keeping it. I found a toy stethoscope at Goodwill for $2 and I'm going to make a white coat out of an old button-down shirt of mine. Total costume cost: $2. Total pride: immeasurable.

Jayden will be a firefighter. I bought a plastic helmet at Dollar Tree. He wore it for six hours straight, including dinner and bath. He tried to wear it to bed. I drew the line at bed. A mother has to draw lines somewhere, and "no fire helmets in bed" is a reasonable line that I feel confident defending in any court of law.

At the clinic, Dr. Whitfield pulled me aside after a particularly complex patient — a man with advanced periodontal disease who needed extensive treatment planning. She said, "Your assessment was thorough, your plan was appropriate, and your patient rapport was excellent." She said THREE THINGS. Three positive things in one sentence. Dr. Whitfield, who communicates in nods and silence, said three positive things to me. I may have peaked. This may be the high point of my entire dental career. I'm going to live off those three things for a decade.

I made a batch of caramel apples for the kids — Granny Smiths from Kroger, melted caramels (the bag kind, not homemade, because I am not a person who makes homemade caramel and I'm at peace with that), dipped and set on wax paper. Chloe decorated hers with sprinkles. Jayden licked the caramel off and abandoned the apple. I ate my apple standing at the counter at 10 PM and thought about last October — the midterm (96!), the Halloween trick-or-treating, the Marcus no-show. A year later, the midterm is a memory, Halloween is coming again, and Marcus is still a no-show. Some things change. Some things calcify. You learn which is which and you stop being surprised by the calcium.

The caramel apples were a hit — or at least Chloe’s half was, since Jayden apparently came for the caramel and had no use whatsoever for the apple underneath. So this year I’m leaning into what actually gets eaten in this house: cookies. Specifically, these Halloween chocolate chip cookies loaded with orange and black M&M’s, because if we’re celebrating a future doctor AND a firefighter on the same Halloween, we are doing it with sprinkles and candy-coated chocolate and zero apologies. Dr. Whitfield gave me three compliments; I’m giving myself cookies.

Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 11 min | Total Time: 26 min | Servings: 36 cookies

Ingredients

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp fine sea salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 1/2 cups Halloween M&M’s (orange, black, and purple)

Instructions

Preheat oven. Heat oven to 375°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
Whisk dry ingredients. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
Cream butter and sugars. In a large bowl using a hand mixer or stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the softened butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
Add eggs and vanilla. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix in the vanilla extract.
Combine wet and dry. Reduce mixer speed to low and gradually add the flour mixture, mixing just until no dry streaks remain. Do not overmix.
Fold in mix-ins. Using a rubber spatula, fold in the chocolate chips and 1 cup of the M&M’s, reserving 1/2 cup of M&M’s for topping the cookies after baking.
Portion the dough. Drop rounded tablespoons of dough (about 1.5 tablespoons each) onto the prepared baking sheets, spacing them about 2 inches apart.
Bake. Bake for 9 to 11 minutes, until the edges are set and lightly golden but the centers still look slightly underdone. They will firm up as they cool.
Press on reserved M&M’s. As soon as the cookies come out of the oven, gently press a few of the reserved M&M’s into the tops of each cookie for that bright, festive look.
Cool. Let cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack. Cool completely before storing in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.

Nutrition (per serving)

Chocolate Chip M&M’s Halloween Cookies — Because the Kids Deserve Something Festive (And So Do You)