Are you ready for Holiday Cookies? Somehow the day following Thanksgiving is somewhat of a comatose one, or at least a day where people actually relax a bit between preparing for the turkey feast and launching into the cheer of December. Black Friday and Cyber Monday have been stretched to almost five days with many retailers hopefully relieving the urge to shop at 3 a.m. or for any tramplings this year. It seems a good time to start turning the corner toward seasonal sweets.
I did some holiday ‘baking’ early this year to kick off your December with some delicious options. I lied, actually. I did not do any baking but I do have some great no bake treats. Chocolate Lavender Fudge with Salted Caramel Top was my kick off and a delectable, easy to make option for the holidays. The unique flavors of lavender mixed with chocolate, topped with caramel is fantastic and if you are more of a fudge purist, the caramel can be left off allowing the fudge to stand on its own.
Today I have an update of a favorite cookie my Grandmother used to make when I was a child: Forgotten Cookies. Basically a meringue chock full of chocolate chips and pecans, the flourless cookie batter is whipped up, scooped onto a baking sheet and placed in a preheated oven which is turned off allowing the cookies to set, ‘forgotten’, overnight. When rising in the morning, you’ll be greeted by a tray of prim, white cookies while have set overnight. They have a melt-in-your-mouth, light, airy quality and are a bit kinder on the waistline than some holiday cookies can be!
I have been a bit obsessed with Mint M & M’s and making something with them. After a few experiments I decided to convert Nana’s Forgotten Cookies into a Christmas-colored mint version using mint M & M’s. There are two options available, the first being Mint M& M’s which come in three shades of green (love that) or a holiday version which comes in a green, red and white mix. I opted for 3/4 ‘s of the green mint and ¼ of plain red M&M’s for color purposes. The M&M’s are very minty so if you want to tone them down, interspersing non-mint chocolate version is the way to go.
Recipe
Mint M&M Forgotten Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 egg whites
- 2/3 cups sugar*
- Pinch of salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 cup pecans or walnuts , chopped
- 1 cup Mint M&Ms (or a mix of mint and plain chocolate), in holiday colors if for Christmas
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Beat egg whites until foamy, approximately 3 minutes.
- Slowly add sugar while beating egg whites until stiff.
- Stir in salt, vanilla, pecans and 3/4 cup of the M&M's. Drop onto a baking pan lined in ungreased tin foil, a baking mat or parchment paper by the spoonful (I used a larger dining spoon or cookie scoop). Hand place the remaining M&M's on the tops of the cookies.
- Turn off the oven. Place cookies in the oven and leave until morning.
Notes
Nutrition
Disclosure: I received copies of each cookbook for the purposes of this review. All opinions are my own.
Real Estate & Lifestyle in Northern Colorado says
This recipe is one of the top high Altitude Cookie Recipes to Bake this Christmas! I am obsessed with the concept of “forgotten cookies”! Genius!
Thank you for letting me share it!! Merry Christmas -Joanna
Teresa D says
I love Chocolate Peanut Butter No Bake Cookies.
Carolyn Daley says
My favorite holiday treat is homemade snickerdoodle cookies.