Classic M&M Cookies FTW
Every time I start a new semester, I think to myself, “Okay, this is it—this semester, I’m going to be REALLY tough!”
Fast-forward five weeks in, and I’m bringing my students cookies:
Tough teacher fail. But the cookies? Oh, the cookies were a MAJOR win.
And I wasn’t just bringing my students cookies out of the goodness of my heart. My poetry and fiction classes started their workshops this week—that is, the portion of the class where they bring in their own poems or short stories to be scrutinized, criticized, questioned, and (hopefully) praised. Workshop almost always ends up being the most fun part of any creative writing class, but when you’ve never taken a writing workshop before, the idea of dropping one of your poems or stories in front of twenty strangers and saying, “Okay! Talk about this! Tell me what you like and tell me what you hate!” can be daunting. You’re putting a pretty intimate part of yourself out there for the world (or at least the class) to see, and there’s no guarantee that someone won’t take a big crap on it.
Metaphorically, of course.
So I wanted to soften blow of the metaphorical crap with some cookies.
That’s a really weird sentence.
I made these cookies from this recipe that I found on the blog Sally’s Baking Addiction, and MAN are they delicious. The only change I made to the recipe was to add a 1/2 teaspoon of salt, just to increase the sweet/salty factor.
My students really did go crazy for these—they kept saying over and over during our class break, “These cookies are SO good! These cookies are SO good!” which was a little awkward, but ultimately flattering.
And I think it did a nice job of softening the blow when I found myself saying things like, “I just don’t believe that this character would ever exist in real life,” or “This story basically chugs along for twelve pages without developing a single ounce of conflict, which is kind of impressive until you realize that the lack of conflict ultimately causes the entire story to fail.”
Ouch.
Now here—have a cookie. 
They look amazing! I’m so glad you made them. These will always be a favorite cookie of mine! I’ll try increasing the salt next time. I love salty sweet
They look sooooo good! Your students are lucky!!
In my teaching career, I found that food works wonders with students (and adults). M & M cookies are always a hit and we often made them for different holidays by using the holiday M & M’s. These look yummy and I wish I was close enough to try some😊
FTW indeed – I remember always getting an M&M cookie at the mall growing up. Best ever!
I will take a cookie! Or two or three or four! I always used to bake for my students too
Thank you for sharing another delectable recipe and post. This whetted my appetite for dessert! I hope you have a love-filled week, my friend!
A cookie always softens the blow! I need to make more cookies around here with the crappy attitude I’ve been giving the guys. Oops!