Dad’s Favorite (Peanut Butter M&M Candy Cookies)
Dear Dad and Mom,
I don’t even know where to begin in expressing my utmost gratitude for all the unconditional love you have shown me these past almost 26 years. I cannot believe I’m getting married today, but fear not, I am certainly not leaving the family – rather, I’m just acquiring a new son for you!
Well reality has sunk it, and I’ve slowly adjusted to a new ring in one hand and a husband on the other. The hardest part about getting married is the idea of symbolically leaving the family (My cousin says, “In reality absolutely nothing changes in your relationship after marriage – when your car breaks down and your hubby is sick, and you need a ride, you end up calling your parents to bail you out anyway”).
Being sentimental, I wrote long letters to many people for the wedding day, but the longest letter by far went to my parents. It was the both the easiest linquistically and the hardest emotionally to write, but I was very happy with the writing in the end (dare I say, it even beat my letter to the groom).
I’ll spare you the long details of the letter, but in short, I’d like to dedicate this post to my rock star parents, who not only remain married after 27 years, but genuinely are still madly in love. And they’e raised pretty awesome kids (in my humble opinion) who actually like/call each other and also will grow up to be useful members of society. I’m the eldest, so I think I turned out rather well for first-time parent immigrants lost in a new country.
Both mom and dad have made equally large impact on me, but dad has quite the notorious sweet tooth (he used to hide Hershey kisses in his sock drawer because mom would scold him for eating too much candy) and this cookie recipe is in his honor. Aptly named “Dad’s Favorite” this cookie features TONS of peanuts and peanut butter M&Ms! A few of dad’s favorite things 🙂
These cookies, lovingly made by my amazing sister/Maid of honor, were also an option for the popular wedding favors (you can read about the baking of the 500 cookies and the DIY cookie bags). You can also see the jars we got from World Market that held all those 500 cookies. I made the labels with cardstock and vellum, calligraphied the font, and taped/tied the label around the jar with yarn.
Also, for those curious, I will NOT be officially changing my name, so I’ll remain “Chef Uy”. I knew very early on there was no way ever was I gonna give up my family name (even if people butchered the pronunciation all the time). I did consider hyphenation, but after much internal struggle, decided to just keep my name as it. There’s a lot of reasons, but the biggest reason is simply my enormous pride and attachment to my family – and the fact that I’m going to be a doctor just like my dad. So Dad, these cookies are for you!
Dad, your skill and compassion drew me toward medicine, and I am so excited to be the next doctor in the family. In a few short weeks, I too shall become “Dr. Uy”, a title I have always dreamed of, so I could be just like Dad. I will always proudly be your daughter.
Love,
Natalie
More from our wedding series (bridal brunch, dessert and wedding day).
Dad’s Favorite (Peanut Butter M&M Candy Cookies)
Ingredients
2 sticks butter, cold & cubed
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 & 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 &3/4 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup peanuts**
1 & 1/2 cups (8 oz) of peanut butter M&Ms**
Directions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Cream butter & sugars until well blended & fluffy. Add eggs, 1 at a time, then vanilla & beat until well incorporated.
in large bowl: whisk together flour, salt, baking powder, & baking soda. Gradually add dry ingredients into wet ingredients & mix until just combined. Add peanuts & M&Ms.
Scoop cookies & roll dough into balls before placing onto cookie sheet. Bake 10-12 min* or until lightly browned. Cool 5 mins before transferring.
*original recipe called for 14-18 mins baking time. the 10-12 min baking time was for future batches & worked well when doing the wedding cookies.
**Original recipe called for 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips or chunks & 1 8-oz bag Snickers bites. I didn’t have enough Snickers the 1st time, so I ended up adding Milky Ways to the batch.
Sooooo proud of all that you have accomplished Chef / Dr Uy. Wishing you a happy birthday! We love you. DAD. … And oh by the way the cookies were really good… Highly recommended
Beautiful story! Also a wonderful cookie! My favorite of the wedding 😀
I can see why they are your favorites. I am sure they are sweet and rich. Enjoy.
What a sweet (har har) post 🙂 These cookies look fab of course.
these look so yummy and I LOVE the little wedding favor bags….such a cute graphic:)
Oh yeah!! We'll try these this weekend! Thanks for the recipe!
What kind of Dr. are you going to be? Congrats on almost being done! I am doing my PhD right now 🙂 Also, I have much respect for you keeping your last name 😉
Congratulations on your wedding and PhD!!! Your post was delighful to read and I'm so glad you have all this happiness in your life. These cookies look fantastic and I love your blog 🙂
Thanks dad 🙂 The cookies vanished so quickly
One day I'll make a "Husband's favorite"
Haha love the pun 😀
Our family thrives on all things sweet and rich indeed. Thanks
Thank you! You can read on how I made the favor bags here!
http://www.obsessivecooking.com/2016/03/snickerdoodles.html
I'm going to be an M.D. (yay) and I'll be doing residency in the Northeast in Internal Medicine!
A Ph.D. is just as, if not more grueling (I have many PhD and MD/PhD friends and I'm always amazed. Best of luck!
Thank you. I'm actually getting an MD ^_^ I do love science but not enough to also get a PhD haha.
You can't go wrong with peanut butter or M&Ms! Together is awesome!
Looks so delicious! I definitely want to try these!
Xo,
Suz
http://www.suzannespiegoski.com
Everyone in my family would love these.
Even better – peanut butter M&Ms!
These sound fantastic and your pictures are great!
aw! i hadn't even considered writing letters to my loved ones–it's a really good idea! i can tell why these are his favorite. 🙂
These look so good! Peanut butter cookies are pretty much my all time favorite. Add in M&M's and I'm hooked. Thanks for sharing, I just pinned this so I can bake them later.
I love that you used these cookies for wedding favors. What a great way to pay tribute to your dad. I lost my dad 13 years ago, and I still make some of his signature dishes for our family celebrations. Our family recipes are such an important part of who we are and so strongly tied to memories.
These look delicious, and I love that you made cookies as wedding favors! That's an idea I will definitely have to keep in mind 🙂 Pinning! P.S. Love your artwork on the bags!
Oooh yes!! M&M cookies are my favorite.. add in peanut butter and I'm sold!!
Yum! These are so fun and look delicious! You got me at peanut butter 😉 Thanks for sharing!
Yum!!! Those look delicious!
Kari
http://www.sweetteasweetie.com
Congratulations on the wedding!! The DIY cookie bags are just too cute!!
Thanks! I'm a better writer than speaker and I figured a letter was the best way for me to express my thoughts somewhat eloquently and coherently lol. I'd like to hear more about your wedding day actually! 😀
Hope you enjoy them 😀 Thanks!
Anne, I'm so sorry to hear that about your dad. One of my friend's dad passed away the week of her wedding suddenly from a blood clot which was understandably emotional for her. I think food is a great way to honor loved ones – esp when it generates happy thoughts and bellies. Thanks for sharing such a personal story!
Thanks – it was a huge hit at the wedding with all guests! It was fun to cartoon us into a stamp – but a drawing a bike is trickier than it looks!
Thanks for the congrats! Glad you liked the DIY cookie bags
That is just the sweetest and most moving letter to your Dad. They did raise a wonderful child! Congrats on the wedding too! The cookies look awesome and I know my grandson would love them (and he would pick every M&M out first then eat the cookie).
These look sooooooo good! Loved what you shared with us!
Jalynn
http://www.theredclosetdiary.com
Yum! These look delicious and would definitely not last long around here. I am going to have to try them!