What better way to get over a case of the Mondays than cookies?

How was your weekend? Mine was the perfect mix of getting sh!t done and celebrating the holiday season. I turn in my capstone assignment and pitch it to the panel of advisors a week from today (!) so I opted to stay in on Friday night and bake these delicious cookies as a stress-relief treat.

Of course, it’s always nice to have several good cookie recipes this time of year, as they make great hostess gifts and party favors. Not to mention, no one has ever denied how well cookies go with wine. Trust me on this, I speak from experience.

So, I wanted to share with y’all my go-to cookies this time of year: these easy chocolate chip and M&M bars. to make them extra festive, I cut them into stars and topped with red and green sprinkles.

INGREDIENTS //

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda (I didn’t have any so used 3 teaspoons of baking powder)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ¾ cup butter
• ¾ cup granulated sugar
• ¾ cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1 cup milk chocolate M&Ms

DIRECTIONS // 

1. Preheat oven 375.
2. Spray a 13×9 inch baking dish with nonstick baking spray.
3. Combine dry ingredients in a small bowl, and set aside.
4. Combine vanilla, eggs and sugars. Melt butter and add into bowl. Then, beat until light and creamy.
5. Add dry ingredients slowly. Once fully combined, beat for two minutes.
6. Stir in chocolate chips and M&M’s. (Do not beat!)
7. Pour into your baking dish and cook at 375 degrees for 20 minutes.
8. Enjoy!

Also, if you want to cut these bars using a cookie cutter like I did, wait until they are fully cooled and spray the cookie cutter with nonstick spray.