a little about A LOT: Perfect Mini M&M Cookies

Do you ever have those days when you look at your kids and realize that they aren't so little anymore? That somehow overnight they magically aged? When I tell others this, they tell me I'm crazy, since "my kids are still babies". The thing is, they aren't babies anymore. My Rugrat turns 2 next month and my Munchkin is 3.5 going on 16.

Now I know they aren't big kids but they sure aren't babies anymore. They talk back, roll their eyes and tell me "No Momma!" way too much. Babies don't do that. They are turning into amazing little girls full of personality and in the past week or so it hit me. They are growing up.

Okay, time to stop whining about my babies getting big. One thing I love about them being "big girls" is how much they LOVE to be good helpers in the kitchen. Baking cookies has now become a team effort which makes the whole process much more fun!

These cookies were from one of the Pintastic recipes I posted last week and they were delicious!

Do you know the reason these are "perfect" mini M&M cookies? Their "perfect" shape. I make cookies all the time and they rarely come out so uniform and well, perfect. Until I came across this recipe by Picky Palate.

There is a secret! In order to get perfectly fluffy and chewy cookies every time, you add 3TBsp of instant vanilla pudding powder to the dough. That's it! Can you believe how simple {but effective} that is?!

Onto the recipe:

Mix the butter & sugars
Add egg & vanilla, Mix
Add Flour, Salt, Baking Soda & Vanilla Powder
Mix until combined

Time to add the best part! Mini chips & Mini M&M's

I might have snacked on a few....

Another tip I picked up was to use a small ice cream scoop {or in my case, a large melon baller} to scoop the dough. That way they are all consistent in size and will cook evenly.