Holiday Coconut M&M Cookie Bars

This is a picture of the awkwardly cut Coconut M&M Cookie Bars I made for Thanksgiving. Very simple, and the red and green M&Ms make it kind of festive. This is a very coconutty recipe, so you should definitely enjoy coconut if you're going to make this. The recipe comes from Satisfy My Sweet Tooth. I love making cookie bars, because they're so easy.

Coconut M&M Cookie Bars (adapted from Satisfy My Sweet Tooth)

Ingredients
10 Tablespoons unsalted butter
2 cups brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 Tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups white flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 1/2 cups sweetened shredded coconut
1 1/2 cups M&Ms (red and green for a holiday feel)
Note: I didn't measure the coconut and M&Ms, and just added them by sight.

Preparation
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Butter a 9x13 glass pan.
Melt butter in medium saucepan, remove from heat and let cool slightly.
In a large bowl and using an electric mixer, cream together melted butter and sugars. Add eggs, vanilla, and salt and beat until combined. Blend in flours. Finally, mix in coconut and M&Ms.
Pour into prepared pan and bake 25-30 minutes or until lightly browned around the edges.
Cool completely before cutting and serving.

Peanut Butter Cookies

While this might be blasphemy to some, I don't actually care for peanut butter. I don't dislike it so much that I refuse to eat it, but it's also not a staple for me. In fact, I pretty much never buy peanut butter. But I've got a friend who loves peanut butter cookies, and as a thank you for a favor, I made him some. And oh my, they were so delicious. I'm not a peanut butter convert, but I think I could definitely enjoy a good peanut butter cookie every once in awhile now.

Recipe from Better Homes & Gardens New Cookbook, 14th edition:
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour

Beat butter and peanut butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add the granulated sugar, brown sugar, baking soda, and baking powder. Beat until combined, scraping sides of bowl. Beat in the egg and vanilla until combined. Beat in as much of the flour as you can with the mixer. Stir in remaining flour. If necessary, cover and chill dough until easy to handle. (I don't find it necessary to chill the dough).

Preheat over to 375 degrees. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Place balls 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Flatten by making crisscross marks with the tines of a fork. Bake for 7 to 9 minutes (I bake for about 7 1/2 minutes) or until bottoms are light brown. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool.