Easter Bunny Cookies

Cookies are my love language and baking holiday versions are extra special. For Easter, I made my classic chocolate chip cookies with a festive spin by adding pastel m&m's in the shape of a bunny. They turned out so cute! Love the little crunch the candy shell added to an already delicious treat.

ingredients

1 cup (2 stick butter), softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
2 1/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 3.4 oz package of vanilla pudding mix
1 cup mini chocolate chips
1 package of pastel m&m's

directions

{1}
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Separate m&m's by color. Cut some of each color in half to make the ears.

{2}
In a stand mixer, cream together butter, sugar and brown sugar. Add eggs, one a time. Add in vanilla.

{3}
In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking soda and salt. Slowly add the flour mixture to the stand mixture. Stop halfway through to scrape down the bowl and ensure all ingredients are thoroughly combined.

{4}
Add in the dry vanilla pudding mix. Sprinkle in the mini chocolate chips and fold in with a spatula.

{5}
Scoop dough with a 1-inch cookie scoop and place on a non-stick baking sheet at least one inch apart. Bake for 9-10 minutes until the edge are golden brown and the center is slightly undercooked.

{6}
As soon as you take the baking sheet out of the oven, you need to act fast to add the m&m bunnies before the cookies cool down too much and they won't stick. 

On each cookie, lightly press 2 whole m&m's side by side in the middle. Then gently place two halves of the same color, (chocolate side down) above the whole m&m to form the ears. Repeat for all the cookies. 

{7}
Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in a air-tight container and enjoy at room temp or freeze for up to a month.