The Easiest Cookies You Will Ever Make…Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies with M&Ms

Today I feel very fortunate to be celebrating my 2 1/2 year anniversary with my incredible boyfriend, Goose. He is not only my best friend but also the love of my life. Every month I try to cook something special to  show him how much I care, and this month I decided to cook Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies with M&Ms (after his suggestion of something peanut buttery)

I almost feel like it’s cheating to give him so simple, but the delicious combination of peanut butter and chocolate make these cookies addictively delectable without having to do any baking magic.

1 bowl + 2 types of chocoalte + 6 other ingredients = pure deliciousness

These cookies take a mere 10 minutes plus 12 minutes of cooking time so you could make them while watching the Golden Globes tonight without missing much.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies with M&Ms

adapted from Divine Baking http://www.divine-baking.com/2011/04/best-peanut-butter-cookie-ever.html

Ingredients:

• 1 cup all natural, smooth peanut butter
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup m&ms

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Combine all ingredients in a bowl and stir until combined
3. Use hands to shape the cookie dough into 1 tbs size balls, and place them on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet
4. Bake for 10-12 minutes
5. When cookies are firm enough to transfer, allow them to finish cooling on racks

These cookies are so easy that you don’t have any excuse to mkae them. They are the perfect thing to bake with your family tomorrow when eveyone has a day off for Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

How are you spending your Monday off sweet readers?

2011 movie recommendations

With the 2011 movie award season kicking off this Sunday night with the Golden Globes, I wanted to share with you my  own recommendations about a few movies that may have slipped under your radar. Here are three movies that you should make sure to check out because of the beauty and passion that pervades each of them.

If you liked A History of Violence try…. A Dangerous Method: Director David Cronenberg artfully explores complex questions about sexual taboos and destructive urges. This compelling film tells of how Carl Jung (Michael Fassbender) destroys his relationship with his mentor, Sigmund Freud (Golden Globe nominee Viggo Mortinsten), after having an affair with one of his disturbed, but alluring patient,Sabrina Spielrein (Keira Knightly). Cronenberg uncovers the temptation, betrayal, and ambition of this historic trio who shaped the development of modern psychoanalysis.

If you liked Goodfellas try….Devil’s Double: In his telling of this true story, Lee Tamahori reveals the atrocities that Latif Yahia had to witness as the body double of Saddam Hussein’s son. This film shows the brutality, betrayal, and self-indulgence of Baghdad’s royal family. It is fascinating to watch Dominic Cooper play both the selfless Latif Yahia, who endures the inhumane treatment of the Hussein family to protect his own family, and the egotistic Uday Hussein, psychotically mistreats everyone surround him for his own pleasure.

If you liked Blue Valentines try…Like Crazy: This heart-wrenching story reveals the struggles of first love and long distance relationships. Anna, a British exchange student, and Jacob, her American classmate, fall madly in love, but their romance is put to the test when Anna cannot re-entering the US after she violates her visa. With its authentic display of raw emotion, this film reveals the ugly truth that bring in love isn’t always enough to keep people together when uncontrollable circumstances interfere. Its close look at the unidealized side of love is a breath of fresh air compared to the countless romantic comedies that so regularly flood Hollywood box offices.

I also really loved Midnight in Paris, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, and My Week with Marilyn, and am crossing my fingers that these phenomenal movies win big in Sunday night’s award show.