Santa’s M&M Cookies

This was the last cookie I made for the 2025 holiday season.  The main reason it was the last was I had to wait for the red and green M&M's to arrive in the stores.  Since it was the last made it is the last shared.  These are the classic M&M cookies.  You can change out the red and green ones for spring ones for Easter or red and pink for Valentine's day. Keep this recipe handy throughout the year. 

You could add some holiday sprinkles to the cookies as well. 
 

A very basic cookie dough.  You could use it for other things as well. 

Start with two sticks softened butter.

1 cup sugar and 1 cup brown sugar.

Mix those well.  You want it nice and fluffy. 

Add 2 eggs one at a time and mix well between eggs. 

2 teaspoons vanilla.  You can use regular vanilla, I use the vanilla paste.  I think it has a richer vanilla flavor. 

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda.  Mix all these well. 

3 cups all purpose flour.  Add a little at a time.  

Add 10 oz M&M's.  I used the mini M&M's since I make smaller cookies.  If you are going to make big cookies use the larger M&Ms.

All mixed and ready to scoop.  I did put these in the fridge for about 30 minutes to make it a little easier to scoop. 

Scoop out on a parchment lined cookie sheet.  Place in a 350 preheated oven.  Bake for 6-11 minutes depending on the size of the cookies.

Sample them while they are warm from the oven. 

Santa's M&M Cookies Recipe

2 sticks softened butter

1 cup sugar

1 cup brown sugar

2 large eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 bag M&Ms

3 cups all purpose flour

Bake at 350 for 6-11 minutes depending on size of the cookies. 

Easy Smashed Brussels Sprouts

Several years ago I made Flat, Broke and Busted potatoes.  You cook little new potatoes and then smash them and roast them with some seasonings.  We love them and make them a lot.  I found this recipe doing the same thing with brussels sprouts.  They are very good and may be a new favorite way to make them. 

I need to use more olive oil on the pan next time.  They stuck a little bit.

These you finish up with some fresh Parmesan cheese which is a nice addition. 

Start by trimming the sprouts. 

Then wash them.

Have a pan of boiling water ready.

Boil the sprouts for 7-9 minutes to cook them a little bit.  If they are large you might need to cook a minute or two longer. 

Take out of the boiling water. 

Put into an ice bath to stop the cooking. Let them sit in the water for a couple of minutes. 

Then take out of the water.  I put mine on a mat.

Use a paper towel to dry them off.

I brushed the bottom of the cookie sheet with olive oil.  Placed the sprouts on the baking sheet. 

I took a class and busted them up.

All the sprouts are busted up.

Brush the top of the sprouts with more olive oil.  If you have a seasoned olive oil you could use that if you want. 

They have been oiled. 

Sprinkle the top with salt

Pepper.  Add any other seasonings you might wan. 

The recipe called for red pepper flakes.  Next time I will use much less.  These had a little bit of a kick to them. Place in a preheated 425 oven.  Bake for 15 minutes. 

While they are baking grate your cheese. The recipe calls for Parmesan cheese but you can use whatever you want. 

I didn't measure the cheese. 

After 15 minutes take the sprouts out of the oven. 

Flip them over. Some of mine stuck a little. 

Add some cheese to the tops. 

When you get the cheese on all of them, put them back in the oven for another 10-15 minutes.  Start watching them at 10 minutes. 

Take them out of the oven and enjoy. 

Easy Smashed Brussels Sprouts Recipe

2 lbs Brussels sprouts washed and cleaned

olive oil

seas salt and fresh cracked black pepper

1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

finely grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 425.  Bake for 15 minutes, flip and add cheese.  Continue baking for 10-15 minutes.

Easy Chicken and Dumplings

I have a confession to make. I have only had chicken and dumplings one or two times in my life and this is the first time I have ever made them. I saw a video of someone making them this way and I saved it so I could try them. This nice cold snap was the perfect time to give them a try. I wasn’t sure how they would turn out. I’ll let you know the verdict at the end.

Here is the nice potful of dumplings.

This easy recipe uses canned biscuits for the dumplings. It doesn’t get any easier than that.

Start by putting a can of cream of celery soup in your pot. I was wondering about this one. If you don’t like celery you could probably use cream of chicken. But the celery soup works.

To that add a 32 oz carton of chicken broth. I used low sodium.

Bring that to a boil. When it comes to a boil it helps the celery soup to become incorporated.

I cooked the chicken breast earlier so while the soup was coming to a boil I chopped it up. You can use rotisserie chicken if you want.

Now take your can of biscuits. Seperate them. Lightly flour the counter and roll them out very thin.

Then cut them into small pieces or dumplings.

I put them on a plate until they were all cut up.

The soups are boiling pretty good. 

Now start dropping the dumplings into the pot. Stir a little to make sure they don’t stick together.

Put them all in and cook for 10-15 minutes. You will know when they are done.

Add some black pepper. I added too much pepper and they were a little hot. Next time not so much pepper.

After the dumplings are cooked add the chicken. Let them cook until they are warm.

Stir them well.

They are now ready to enjoy.

Serve them up in a bowl. I added some black eyed peas to the plate. Would I make them again? Yes! They were very good and very easy. They are great comfort food on a cold winter night.

Easy Chicken and Dumplings Recipe

8 count canned biscuits

1 can cream of celery soup

32 oz chicken broth

1 lb chicken cooked and shredded.