All things considered I had a pretty pleasant high school experience. I played sports, I had great friends, and I really didn’t get into too much trouble and while I have a lot of happy memories from back then I think one of my favorite memories was a reoccurring one that would only happen during breaks between sports.

 

My best friend Katherine and I would wander around in town and inevitably stop at Starbucks for something to drink and a rainbow cookie that we would share. We’d usually wander over to the beach and sit there and talk about everything that was important in our high school lives–which in reality wasn’t anything important. We had nicknames for our crushes, we’d write weird covers to songs about our dogs, and generally just act weird in a way that only uninhibited high schoolers can.

It was a sad day for both of us when Starbucks switched their pastries and got rid of the rainbow cookie and while it’s been years since they’ve gotten rid of it there are times when I still remember the cracky goodness that is a Starbucks rainbow cookie.

I was reminded of them the other week after not thinking about them for years. I stopped into the bagel shop on my way into work and saw that they had started making M&M cookies and I couldn’t resist. I grabbed one telling myself it would be my afternoon snack that day but that didn’t stop me from taking a bite while I was driving up to work. Yes, this was at 6:30 in the morning and I’m not going to lie it was gone before I had driven a mile up toward work. After that morning I knew I had to make my own rainbow cookies and a friend’s Cinco De Mayo/Kentucky Derby party seemed like the perfect chance.

I reached into my recipe book from when I used to be a baker to try to find the right recipe. I knew I wanted these to be brown sugar heavy and I went with an adaptation of what I think was a Smitten Kitchen recipe but has definitely undergone some changes. The brown sugar in the recipe does make them a bit easy to burn, so be sure to keep an eye on them as the cookies reach the ‘golden’ stage. I made these smaller than the Starbucks version but they still have nice crispy edges with a soft exterior. These cookies are so simple and they’re sure to be a crowd pleaser.

Here’s what you’ll need (Adapted from here):

Makes 18 3″ cookies

4 oz (226 g / 2 sticks) salted butter, room temperature

3 1/2 ozs (100 g / 1/4 cup) granulated sugar

11 1/3 ozs (330 g / 1 1/2 cups) light brown sugar

2 large eggs

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

15 1/2 ozs (440 g / 2 1/2 cups) all purpose flour

1 pound (450 g) M&Ms

In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine butter and sugars.

Mix on medium speed until butter and sugar are creamed together.

Add in the eggs one at a time, incorporating completely before adding in the second egg. Add vanilla extract and mix until combined.

Whisk together flour, baking soda, and kosher salt. Add the dry ingredients and M&Ms into butter mixture. Continue to mix until flour is completely mixed into the dough and no lumps remain.

Cover dough and place in refrigerator for 30 minutes to chill.

Preheat oven to 350 F and ensure the rack is in the middle of the oven. Once the dough has chilled, use a cookie dough scoop to portion the dough onto a lined baking sheet.

 

Place first tray of cookies on the middle rack and bake for 8 minutes. Rotate the tray 180 degrees and return to the oven. Bake for an additional 5 minutes until golden brown on the edges.

Remove the tray from the oven and rest on a baking sheet for 5-10 minutes. Transfer cookies to cooling rack to cool completely…ish. I won’t tell anyone if you eat them while they’re still warm.

Repeat with additional trays until all of the dough has been baked off.

 

Or, wrap the dough and save it in the refrigerator for up to a week. You can also store the portioned dough scoops in the freezer in an air tight container for up to a month. Add a few minutes to the cooking time.

 

In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine butter and sugars. Mix on medium speed until butter and sugar are creamed together.

Add in the eggs one at a time, incorporating completely before adding in the second egg. Add vanilla extract and mix until combined.

Whisk together flour, baking soda, and kosher salt. Add the dry ingredients and M&Ms into butter mixture. Continue to mix until flour is completely mixed into the dough and no lumps remain.

Cover dough and place in refrigerator for 30 minutes to chill.

Preheat oven to 350 F and ensure the rack is in the middle of the oven. Once the dough has chilled, use a cookie dough scoop to portion the dough onto a lined baking sheet. Place first tray of cookies on the middle rack and bake for 8 minutes. Rotate the tray 180 degrees and return to the oven. Bake for an additional 5 minutes until golden brown on the edges. Remove the tray from the oven and rest on a baking sheet for 5-10 minutes. Transfer cookies to cooling rack to cool completely…ish. I won’t tell anyone if you eat them while they’re still warm.

Repeat with additional trays until all of the dough has been baked off. Or, wrap the dough and save it in the refrigerator for up to a week. You can also store the portioned dough scoops in the freezer in an air tight container for up to a month. Add a few minutes to the cooking time.