Salted Christmas Stout Cookies

It's not officially Christmas until the holiday M&Ms hit store shelves. The red and green chocolate candies have been a part of my holiday traditions for as long as I can remember. So earlier this week, when I realized I'd done no baking with this nostalgic candy yet this year, I got to work in the kitchen.

And since we had Founders Breakfast Stout on tap at our house, I decided to throw some of that into the mix as well. Because...why not?

Salted Christmas Stout Cookies

Yields: About 1 dozen

Adapted from CraftBeer.com

-1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

-1/4 cup + 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder

-1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

-1/2 teaspoon baking soda

-1 teaspoon baking powder

-1 stick butter, softened

-1/2 cup brown sugar

-1/4 cup granulated sugar

-1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

-1 large egg

-3/4 cup stout (I used Founder's Breakfast Stout)

-1 cup holiday M&Ms

-Sea salt (I used fleur de sel)

Directions:

1.) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

2.) In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, salt, baking soda, and baking powder. 

3.) In a larger bowl, beat the butter with the sugars until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla and egg and beat well.

4.) Alternate the flour and the beer with the egg mixture until combined. Fold in M&Ms.

5.) Using an ice cream scoop, scoop the dough onto the prepared sheet (you can also chill the dough for 30 minutes before doing this step). Sprinkle a little bit of sea salt over each cookie. Bake for 15-17 minutes or until the top springs back lightly when touched. Cool completely.

[Print this recipe]

The end result was a soft-baked cookie chocked full of those festive M&Ms. The flavor of the stout is slightly apparent, while allowing the cocoa flavor to be the star. And the sea salt? Well, that just adds a lovely salty-and-sweet combination to each and every bite.

What's your favorite holiday candy?

P.S. In case you missed it, I'm giving away a bunch of goodies from Muir Glen Organic Tomatoes and Rialto restaurant. You have through Sunday (12/22) to enter!

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