Jumbo Peanut Butter Polka Dot Cookies

... or Polka Dot Peanut Butter Jumbos from the Favorite Brand Name Recipe Cookbook.  We always called them Jumbo Peanut Butter Polka Dot Cookies at my house.  My Mom used to make these and send them with us in our lunch box for school lunch.  My brother would sell them to other kids during lunch, they were so popular!

Ellie made them today to give to her AWANA leader tomorrow for her appreciation exercise in her handbook. 

Here's the recipe:

1 cup margarine (or butter, we only use butter at our house)
1 cup peanut butter
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
2 eggs
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon soda (baking soda)
1 and 1/2 cups M & M's Plain or Peanut Chocolate Candies

Beat together margarine (or softened butter), peanut butter and sugars until light and fluffy; blend in eggs.  Add combined flour and soda; mix well.  Stir in candies.  Drop dough by level 1/4 cup measure onto greased cookie sheet about 3 inches apart.  Bake at 350 degrees F. for 14 to 15 minutes or until edges are golden brown.  Cool on cookie sheet 3 minutes; remove to wire rack to cool thoroughly. 

Makes about 2 dozen 4-inch cookies

You can make them smaller if you like and just lessen the cooking time.  Last time Ellie and my Mom made these cookies, they used leftover Peppermint M&M's (from my Christmas candy stash) and butterscotch morsels, because I didn't have enough M&M's in my stash.  Today, we ran out of peanut butter and Ellie didn't want to add sunflower seed butter to make up the difference (Wyatt is allergic to peanut butter, so I keep sunflower seed butter on hand for recipes that he will eat...and I like it just to make sandwiches for me).  Anyway, we made up the difference of peanut butter with nutella.  It was a yummy chocolaty addition, not a huge change, but a subtle hint.  With all the different kinds of nut butters and M&M's, the possibilities are many!