A Fun New Take on After School Milk + Cookies

This post was sponsored by AMERICAN HERITAGE® Chocolate as part of an Influencer Activation for Influence Central and all opinions expressed in my post are my own.

I’m happy to be back in my kitchen and even more happy that my kids get to have a full day of school, every day this year. Last year, they came home before lunch. They missed having lunchtime and recess with friends so they’re so excited it’s back. One thing we did A LOT of the last year is baking. My girls both started to really enjoy baking so I promised we could plan to bake at least 1 after school snack a week (they could take turns). That’s why I was thrilled to hear about all the fun things AMERICAN HERITAGE Chocolate® is doing this year to encourage fun and learning in the kitchen.

AMERICAN HERITAGE Chocolate wants to encourage families to learn the history of chocolate through creating recipes from their In the Kitchen with Mars Wrigley, a back to school Recipe Guide, which shares tips and includes fun facts about the history of chocolate and some favorite Mars Wrigley brands by Mars Wrigley’s Chocolate Historian, David Borghesani.

Families are encouraged to learn facts about chocolate as they bake this year. I’ll share a few of my kids favorite facts and a recipe we enjoyed that’s a new take on milk and cookies after school.

Our 3 favorite chocolate facts we learned from AMERICAN HERITAGE Chocolate :

The SNICKERS® Bar was named after a Mars family’s horse!
3 MUSKETEERS® originally had three pieces of candy (one chocolate, one strawberry, and one vanilla) in the same package, which was the inspiration behind its name!
Cacao plants only grow 20 degrees north and south of the equator.

And who is Dave Borghesani, the chocolate historian? He has worked at Mars Wrigley for over 30 years. Dave’s known for his love of books and bowties, and joined the AMERICAN HERITAGE Chocolate team 5 years ago. He researches and shares the story of chocolate and the role that it has played in the history of societies for over 3,500 years.

Which recipe did we try? We made the: AMERICAN HERITAGE® Chocolate and M&Ms® Cookie Cups

All of the photos in the post are the process of me + my 10 year old creating these tasty after school treats. We all know the tradition of milk and cookies after school… well with this recipe the chocolate chip cookie HOLDS the milk! You line the cookies with melted

AMERICAN HERITAGE Chocolate Finely Grated Baking Chocolate and then fill them with milk.

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RECIPE: AMERICAN HERITAGE® Chocolate and M&Ms® Cookie Cups

Prep Time: 45 minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes

Total Time: 70 minutes

Number of Servings: 24

Ingredients:

3 cups all purpose flour
1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
¾ teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup brown sugar
½ cup granulated sugar
3 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 ½ cup M&M’s® Minis
2 ¼ cups AMERICAN HERITAGE Chocolate Finely Grated Baking Chocolate, melted
Milk, for serving

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Coat the cookie cup molds with cooking spray; set aside. Whisk together flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.
Using the electric mixer, beat together butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until light and fluffy. Scrape down sides of bowl; beat in eggs and vanilla until combined. Mix in flour mixture just until incorporated. Stir in M&M’s Minis.
Divide dough into 24 portions. Press into molds to even thickness using the inserts according to the manufacturers’ instructions.
Bake for 15 minutes or until cookies are just set and begin to brown. Remove inserts and trim tops with a small, serrated knife. Return to the oven and bake until cookies are golden brown, 5 to 7 minutes longer. Invert the cookie cups out of the mold onto a wire rack and let cool completely.
Brush melted AMERICAN HERITAGE Chocolate Finely Grated Baking Chocolate inside the cups to coat completely. Let stand until chocolate is set and hardened.
Fill each cup with milk just before serving.

I loved baking with the AMERICAN HERITAGE Chocolate Finely Grated Baking Chocolate. It was easy to use and tastes delicious. It was easier to melt because it’s so finely grated. It’s available on Amazon here. Try it out and let me know what you make!