M and M Cookies

Making M and M cookies is really straightforward. Mix the melted butter with the brown and caster sugars, then add the egg, egg yolk and vanilla. Stir in the flour, baking soda, cornflour and salt then fold through the candy of your choice. The important part is to chill the dough for 45 to 60 minutes before baking. This helps stop the cookies from spreading too much and gives you that lovely combination of crisp edges and a soft chewy centre.

The biggest things are the brown sugar, extra egg yolk, chilling the dough and making sure you do not overbake them. Brown sugar helps the cookies retain moisture, while the extra yolk adds richness and helps give the middle its chewy texture. Chilling the dough also helps the cookies hold their shape instead of spreading too quickly in the oven.

Most importantly take the cookies out when the edges are golden and set but the centres still look slightly soft. They will continue cooking on the hot baking tray for several minutes. If you wait until the centres look completely baked they can end up much firmer once cooled. A common mistake that's easily made by many.

Flat cookies are usually caused by the dough spreading too much in the oven. This can happen when the butter is too warm, the ingredient quantities are off, the dough has not been chilled or the dough is simply too warm when it goes into the oven. For this recipe make sure the melted butter has cooled before you mix the dough and don't skip the 45 to 60 minute chill. When shaping the cookies, keep the dough balls slightly taller rather than squashing them flat.

It's also worth measuring the flour carefully. Adding too little flour can leave you with a dough that is too loose and spreads excessively.

The colourful candy shells can crack when they get very hot in the oven. Unfortunately this is fairly normal and does not mean anything has gone wrong with your cookies.

If you want them to look especially pretty, keep some of the M&M's or Smarties aside and press them into the tops of the dough balls before baking. You can also add a few more to the tops as soon as the cookies come out of the oven while they are still soft. A few cracked shells are nothing to worry about though. They are still going to taste fantastic.

Once completely cool store the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature. Keeping them away from air is the best way to stop them drying out and losing their chewy texture. Properly stored, they should stay enjoyable for several days.

If your kitchen is warm then keep the container somewhere cool and away from direct sunlight. You can also place a sheet of baking paper between layers if you are stacking the cookies.

For the best texture I would eat them within the first few days. They are especially good on the day they are baked when you get the biggest contrast between those crisp edges and soft gooey centres.

Yes and it's a great way to have homemade cookies ready whenever you fancy them. M and M cookie dough can be portioned into individual balls, frozen on a tray and then transferred to an airtight freezer bag or container.

When you are ready to bake them, you can bake the dough from frozen, allowing a few extra minutes in the oven. Keep an eye on the edges and take the cookies out when they are golden and set around the outside but still soft in the middle.

Freezing individual portions also means you don't have to bake the entire batch at once. You can make a few cookies whenever you want them which is particularly handy when you have a sudden sweet tooth craving for something warm and homemade.