I Did It! Well, Sort Of...

Wow. Christmas went by fast. I had a goal. 15 different kinds of cookies. And I met that goal, almost. Here's the story.

Last time I posted, I had created four kinds of cookies: peanut butter and jelly, white chocolate pistachio, sugar, and cake batter chocolate chip.

Between work, making a cake for Sam's dad (for a later post), making a cake for Christmas Eve dinner (my aunt Donna had made a request), and getting ready to go to Italy in January, I had my work cut out for me.

So I made 13 different kinds of cookies. And a cake. And a pie. I'm gonna count that as 15. Is that fair?

We have Brown Butter, Toasted Pepita, & Bittersweet Chocolate Cookies.

I LOVE these. Well, I pretty much love anything with brown butter. I wasn't super happy with their shelf life though--they didn't stay soft for very long (and I very much prefer soft cookies).

Next, PB&J Blondies by Jeff Mauro.

We think Jeff is pretty great. And these blondies are too. I'm a sucker for peanut butter and jelly and I liked that this recipe doesn't hit you over the head with the peanut butter. You get a nice balance of flavors.

Thinnest Oatmeal Cookies.

I saw this recipe for the first time and HAD to try it. It didn't disappoint. The fennel gives it a really interesting flavor--it was a hit. And the recipe mentions that the texture gets worse after a day or so, but we are still enjoying them.

Chewy Flourless Chocolate Cookies.

I've made these before. I really like them because they're gluten free but don't require any strange ingredients (and they taste good).

Brown Butter Blondies with Peanut Pretzel Caramel.

My absolute favorite this year. I love brown butter. I love caramel. I love pretzels. I love peanuts. This bar is amazing. The contrast in textures is fantastic as is the flavor. This one was a major hit.

Gingersnaps.

The family favorite and a must-have on the Christmas-cookie plate.

Then I made a cake for Christmas Eve dinner.

Plane vanilla cake (a Betty Crocker recipe) with a chocolate buttercream. I added melted semisweet chocolate and ovaltine powder to the frosting. Yummy. And I forgot to take a picture of the finished product...

Chocolate Chip and Chunk Cookies.

My cousin was in love with these cookies. They're like little dough balls. The perfect kind of cookies in my opinion.

Chocolate Crackletops.

The peppermint flavor in these cookies is always a nice surprise. I asked my mom for mini red and green m&ms. She brought back regular size regular color m&ms. Minis are getting harder to find. This size worked fine in the cookie though.

And finally, Grandma Dorie's Italian Ricotta Cookies.

I made these last minute and they were an instant success. They were swept from the cookies tray in seconds! I left some without frosting though because I wasn't a huge fan. Most people liked it though.

But wait, there's more!

Christmas Eve night I made a demonstration pie crust. I wasn't planning on making a pie. Or at least I wasn't until my mom insisted that I make one. So, I threw some sliced apples together with sugar, flour, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Then I made a crumb topping with butter, oats, brown sugar, maple syrup, cinnamon, nutmeg, and a dash of salt.

It turned out well for a last minute project.

So there you go. In my head I met my goal of 15 cookies.

Happy Holidays!

-Meri