Favorite Cookie Thread

[Melaine]

I am trying to gather energy to bake cookies for the neighbors. Usually I just do a combo, stick them on the plate, and give them. This year, I'm debating and the whole thing seems very overwhelming right now. Plus, I live on a corner, so I have a ridiculous amount of "next door neighbors" (7). I want to do it, and it's a tradition for us, but I really need to get motivated.

So what is your all time favorite cookie? I will include a poll but feel free to comment and add additional suggestions or even recipes! The first few options are some I have made in the past.

[sweetsue98]

You can't beat sugar cookies this time of year:D

[Melaine]

Oh I'm totally going to let the girls help make these reindeer cookies (http://buddingbaketress.blogspot.com/2010/12/peanut-butter-reindeer-cookies.html).

[SnuggleBuggles]

I vote something with chocolate. :) Sugar cookies are great though. I have been making this Cheryl's sugar cookie knock off recipe lately and the cookies are delicious. The girls can decorate them.
http://www.food.com/recipe/copycat-cheryl-co-buttery-sugar-cookies-395864

You can bulk up the goody stash with something simple like chocolate covered pretzels. In this month's Family Fun they also dipped peppermint sticks in milk chocolate then rolled them in white non pariells. They looked so easy and festive.

Beth

[Melaine]

I agree, something chocolate is needed. I'm thinking about doing chocolate or white chocolate dipped oreos. I'll have to look up the peppermint sticks!

[Pennylane]

I voted Sugar Cookies, but anything other than Chocolate Chip would be yummy. I think holiday cookies should be festive and different. We make Chocolate Chip all the time.

Ann

[DietCokeLover]

I love snickerdoodles. But this time of year I am always craving buckeyes.

A "bouquet" of dipped marshmallow pops would be cute and easy too.

[Twoboos]

OK, I will admit I voted All of the Above. But I like baked goods that way.

Don't forget the deliciousness of Christmas Bark!! Though probably technically not a cookie. I am planning to make a few sheets of these to give out as needed.


Christmas Bark
Makes approx 40 pieces

1 sleeve saltine crackers
1 cup butter
1/2 cup light brown sugar
12oz semi-sweet choc morsals
1 cup chopped pecans

1. Preheat oven to 350
2. Place crackers in one layer on parchment-lined baking sheet (with sides)
3. Melt butter and brown sugar in medium saucepan. Cook for 3 mins, stirring constantly
4. Pour butter-sugar mixture over the crackers, spread evenly
5. Bake for 15 mins
6. Remove from oven and sprinkle with choc morsals. When they start to melt, spread evenly over entire layer of crackers
7. Sprinkle chopped pecans on top
8. Refrigerate 1 hr
9. Remove from frige and crack into pieces
10. Devour

[Melaine]

I'm debating over nixing the oatmeal raisin.

I'm thinking:
Chocolate chip
Peanut Butter Reindeer Cookies (http://buddingbaketress.blogspot.com/2010/12/peanut-butter-reindeer-cookies.html)
Sugar Cookies (http://allrecipes.com/recipe/easy-sugar-cookies/detail.aspx) with red & green sprinkles
SnickerDoodles (http://allrecipes.com/recipe/mrs-siggs-snickerdoodles/detail.aspx) (DH's request)
Oreo Brownies (http://www.singforyoursupperblog.com/2011/06/21/oreo-stuffed-brownies/) (but I will absolutely cheat and use a mix!)

[Melaine]

Twoboos, I loooove any kind of bark! But I have had failure with it too many times in the past. I just can't seem to get it right, temp wise maybe? I'll admit I haven't tried it years but my last effort was a failure.

[Melaine]

Oh here is a cute one I have done in the past and is really yummy and easy. Pretzel "presents" or stars in this case: http://www.thewickednoodle.com/starry-eyed-christmas-cookies/

[BabbyO]

I voted chocolate chip AND peanut butter, because there is nothing better than peanut butter chocolate chip cookies.

At Christmas, however, I have different favorites. Ginger snap and these delicious crispy walnut cookies smothered with chocolate that my mom makes only at Christmas. Of course I haven't been able to eat them for 3 year now because of DS1 & now DS2's dairy allergy/sensitivity.

We do the same thing for the neighbors and here's my 4...this year I'm only doing 3:

Ginger Snaps
Sugar Cookies - from the package where you just add butter & wet ingredients
Chocolate pretzel rings - I make LOTS of these because they're so darn easy and quick. Also the kids can help ALOT by unwrapping the hershey kisses. (well, mine can't because they're too little)
Rum/Amaretto Balls

I'm dropping the Rum balls this year. I know people will hate me for it...but I just think they're too putzy.

[Melaine]

Candy Cane Blossom Cookies (http://www.zupas.com/2010/12/recipe-chocolate-candy-cane-blossom-cookies/) look cute too.

[SnuggleBuggles]

Candy Cane Blossom Cookies (http://www.zupas.com/2010/12/recipe-chocolate-candy-cane-blossom-cookies/) look cute too.

I make one like that every year. Love them.

Beth

[daisymommy]

I voted all of the above :D
Generally, anything that includes chocolate! But during the holidays I love things with like gingerbread men & molasses crinkles, as well other plain cookies just because they are pretty.

[KLD313]

I love my mothers Italian cookies with anisette icing. They're good at any time of the year.

[buddyleebaby]

I voted that I am a grinch and really don't like cookies at all.

It's a flat out lie. I love cookies.

But, I really liked the option and I had to click it. :ROTFLMAO:

ETA: My favorite Christmas cookie are the walnut cups and the chocolate cups that my Grandma used to make.

[marymoo86]

Oatmeal chocolate chip is my fave

[Melaine]

Well, just got back from the store. Ended up making three stops. Why doesn't Walmart have chocolate covered pretzels??? Found them at Publix on sale at least. Now I am taking a break because I need to clean up the kitchen, put up the groceries and make lunch before cookie making can really get underway.

[boolady]

My favorites are chocolate chip cookies and snickerdoodles (both made by my mom :love5:). Every year, she makes those two kinds, plus peanut butter cookies, cookie press cookies (whatever they're really supposed to be called), Cliffords, and "crescents," which some call snowballs-- with minced walnut inside and rolled in confectioner's sugar. I don't really like chocolate chip cookies from a store, but I love, love, love my mom's.

[crayonblue]

Chocolate chip! I see no need for any other cookie. :)

[ilfaith]

I really like pretty much any kind of cookie, but if I had to choose a favorite, they would be anginetti (Italian lemon cookies). Must be the Jersey girl in me.

http://www.food.com/recipe/anginetti-italian-lemon-drop-cookies-104852

The best ones I ever had were from this little hole-in-the-wall bakery behind the Port Authority building in Manhattan. There was this little old Italian lady who must have been 90 with about four teeth in her mouth who worked there. Thinking about these I am really wishing there was a good Italian bakery here in Jacksonville.

[mackmama]

Oatmeal chocolate chip. Some of my favorites are these http://weelicious.com/2011/02/10/oatmeal-chocolate-chip-sea-salt-cookies/, and I use applesauce instead of butter. The sea salt is delicious.

[fauve01]

Chocolate!!! definitely. I have posted that Saltine recipe a couple times in the last couple weeks. we call them "heath bars" at our house, and we don't put nuts on them (we're purists, i guess). i sprinkle with red and green sugar at holiday time.

the other two recipes i make at holiday time for gift plates for EVERYONE are Fudge and Shortbread. both are EASY (i don't bother with recipes if they aren't easy ;)).

here they are:

Fantasy Fudge

this is the original Fantasy Fudge recipe from the back of the Kraft Marshmallow Creme jar. Apparently they changed the recipe on the jar so it's different now--i havne't tried that one!

3 cups sugar
3/4 cup margarine
2/3 cup evaporated milk
1 12-oz. (340 g) package semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 7-oz. (198 g) jar Kraft Marshmallow creme
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Traditional method:
Combine sugar, margarine and milk in heavy 2-1/2 quart saucepan; bring to full rolling bail, stirring constantly. Continue boiling 5 minutes over medium heat, stirring. Remove from heat, stir in chocolate till melted. Add marshmallow creme, nuts & vanilla beat till blended. Pour into greased 13 x 9-inch baking pan. Let cool and cut into 1-inch squares.

Microwave method:
Microwave margarine in 4-quart microwave-safe bowl on HIGH (100%) 1 minute or until melted. Add sugar and milk; mix well. Microwave on HIGH 5 minutes or until mixture begins to boil, stirring after 3 minutes. Mix well; scrape bowl. Continue microwaving on HIGH 5-1/2 minutes; stir after 3 minutes. Stir in chips until melted. Add remaining ingredients; mix well. Pour into greased 13 x 9-inch baking pan. Cool at room temperature; cut into squares. Makes 3 pounds.

Note: Can be made in a smaller pan for thicker squares.

************************************************** *******


EASY Shortbread

1 pound butter
1 1/4 cup sugar
4 1/4 cup flour

preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

Cream butter and sugar with mixer (a stand mixer makes this recipe so easy). Add flour, very gradually, 1/4 cup at a time, until flour is just mixed in (don't overmix). Batter will be crumbly. Press into ungreased 9x13-inch pan. prick top all over with fork and bake at 325F, 30-ish minutes. start checking at 25 minutes. WATCH CAREFULLY -- shortbread should be BARELY light golden. cut into squares while warm. YUMMMMMMMMMMmmmmmmmmmmm!

[Melaine]

Well the reindeer cookies was a big FAIL. Maybe I overcooked? The candies and pretzels wouldn't press in without the whole cookie sort of cracking.

ETA: Of course, I used my own PB cookie recipe rather than the one given, so maybe that was part of the issue?

[Pyrodjm]

Other
A nice buttery shortbread cookie is my favorite.

[Trigglet]

This time of year it has to be gingerbread (crunchy, though, not the soft kind) and lebkuchen. Ohhh, I'm so hungry.

I've just got myself a kitchenaid mixer (Kohl's BF deal :yay:) and am about to whip up a batch or six of both :D

[Momit]

M&M cookies - use the red and green M&Ms in place of chocolate chips in the Tollhouse recipe. These are DH's favorite Christmas cookie, and he LOVES cookies!

[Momit]

This time of year it has to be gingerbread (crunchy, though, not the soft kind) and lebkuchen. Ohhh, I'm so hungry.

:D

Do you have a good recipe for lebkuchen? I would love to try to make it! Soooo good!

[Trigglet]

Do you have a good recipe for lebkuchen? I would love to try to make it! Soooo good!

I've used a few, but the best one is this one that I found recently.

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/lebkuchen-vi/detail.aspx

so good, especially if you have the willpower to leave them a few days before eating. I rarely do.

[Corie]

I really like pretty much any kind of cookie, but if I had to choose a favorite, they would be anginetti (Italian lemon cookies). Must be the Jersey girl in me.

http://www.food.com/recipe/anginetti-italian-lemon-drop-cookies-104852




Those sound delicious and I'm not from Jersey!! :)

[sunriseiz]

OK, I will admit I voted All of the Above. But I like baked goods that way.

Don't forget the deliciousness of Christmas Bark!! Though probably technically not a cookie. I am planning to make a few sheets of these to give out as needed.


Christmas Bark
Makes approx 40 pieces

1 sleeve saltine crackers
1 cup butter
1/2 cup light brown sugar
12oz semi-sweet choc morsals
1 cup chopped pecans

1. Preheat oven to 350
2. Place crackers in one layer on parchment-lined baking sheet (with sides)
3. Melt butter and brown sugar in medium saucepan. Cook for 3 mins, stirring constantly
4. Pour butter-sugar mixture over the crackers, spread evenly
5. Bake for 15 mins
6. Remove from oven and sprinkle with choc morsals. When they start to melt, spread evenly over entire layer of crackers
7. Sprinkle chopped pecans on top
8. Refrigerate 1 hr
9. Remove from frige and crack into pieces
10. Devour

We don't use nuts (allergies) and call it Fool's Toffee. It ROCKS!

[tribe pride]

I voted chocolate chip, but I associate Christmastime with "special" cookies. My absolute favorites this time of year are:

sugar cut-out cookies, with icing

candy-cane cookies (this recipe: http://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/candy-cane-cookies/93832e29-3b4f-4977-ae5a-9820053b254c, except that I substitute extra vanilla for the peppermint extract)

linzertorte (more of a bar than a cookie). I use my great-grandmother's recipe that she brought over from Germany, and oh my goodness, is it amazing.

I look forward to these cookies all.year.long!!! Great poll, it's fun reading everyone's favorites!

[crl]

My favorites in general are snickerdoodles. But they aren't Christmas cookies to me. For Christmas, I love thumbprints with jam and iced sugar cookies.

Catherine

[trales]

To be a good cookie this time of year it must have MINT in it. Without mint is just a cookie.

[indigo99]

I'll admit that I'm a little turned off by home-cooked gifts unless I know the person really well, especially if they have kids helping.

[JamiMac]

Chocolate!!! definitely. I have posted that Saltine recipe a couple times in the last couple weeks. we call them "heath bars" at our house, and we don't put nuts on them (we're purists, i guess). i sprinkle with red and green sugar at holiday time.


Do you use the sprinkles from a can or actually dye your sugar? I'm getting ready to make these for a party this weekend and I love the idea of red and green!

[TxCat]

At Christmas, my favorites are walnut cups, Mexican wedding cookies, and biscotti. Biscotti are ridiculously easy, flavorful, and everyone thinks they are store-bought, they are so good.

[citymama]

All of the above - I am secretly the Cookie Monster!!!

[eh613c]

I voted all of the above. I just love cookies!

[fauve01]

Do you use the sprinkles from a can or actually dye your sugar? I'm getting ready to make these for a party this weekend and I love the idea of red and green!

I buy the sugar that is colored and ready to sprinkle. it's at the grocery in the baking aisle; looks like this:
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Great-Value-Dessert-Sprinkles-Red-Crystals-2.25-oz/11989393

It's because i'm lazy i guess--i never even thought of dyeing my own!

[pinkmomagain]

I did choose choc chip. But I just love those snowball cookies made with nuts and rolled in powder sugar.

[Melaine]

I'll admit that I'm a little turned off by home-cooked gifts unless I know the person really well, especially if they have kids helping.

Maybe that's why none of these people ever give us anything back!:rotflmao:

The kids don't really help with this though, although I let them shake a few sprinkles on. When I am making them in this quantity I don't really have time to waste.

[StantonHyde]

Oh I'm totally going to let the girls help make these reindeer cookies (http://buddingbaketress.blogspot.com/2010/12/peanut-butter-reindeer-cookies.html).

Thank you!! I am going to a cookie exchange this weekend and was not sure what to make that would be easy and unique!

[Melaine]

Thank you!! I am going to a cookie exchange this weekend and was not sure what to make that would be easy and unique!

I hope they work for you, they did not come out for us. The whole cookie cracked when we tried to add the decorations. No big deal, I just made the rest plain but they would have turned out cute.

[indigo99]

Maybe that's why none of these people ever give us anything back!:rotflmao:

The kids don't really help with this though, although I let them shake a few sprinkles on. When I am making them in this quantity I don't really have time to waste.

It doesn't usually stop me from eating things, but it does DH. Afterall, I do eat at restaurants which are much worse than most people's kitchens. I can put it out of my mind if something looks/tastes good enough :) Not returning a small gift is just rude though.

[Melaine]

Oh it's not a big deal...I don't really expect anything back. I think some people are thrown off by holiday gifts from neighbors that they don't know. It's tradition in my family to take treats to the neighbors at Christmas....very Southern though. We have some renters in our area too so sometimes we don't even know their names!

[indigo99]

I voted brownies although SOFT chocolate chip cookies are better. McAlisters has really good ones that are just barely cooked enough not to be cookie dough.

I'm Southern too. Unfortunately, my area of the city is mostly transplants so they don't act Southern. They're horrible drivers for one thing and will honk ALL the time. That's very UNsouthern IMO.

[almostmom]

I'll choose a ginger/molasses cookie every time...

(other)

[lizzywednesday]

Cookies I like best to eat are chocolate chip, oatmeal raisin (with dried cranberries or other dried fruits instead; I am especially partial to dried cherries), cutout sugar cookies and peanut butter cookies.

I also like to eat springerle and my mom's almond crescent cookies, but they are kind of fussy to make, especially if you're not motivated. The almond crescents are especially fussy because the dough is almost 100% butter, so it's very crumbly.

I like to make (but not eat) pfeffernusse and lebkuchen. They both have candied fruit in them and are fairly fussy (my recipes, anyway, though I don't think I've ever seen a non-fussy lebkuchen recipe!!)

I say if you're going to add something non-cookie, fudge is a great idea. Even my dad, who is often a great deal more ambitious than he has time to be, can manage to make a great fudge. (I think he uses the "no fail fudge" recipe on the back of the Marshmallow Fluff container.)

[mommyapb]

Well the reindeer cookies was a big FAIL. Maybe I overcooked? The candies and pretzels wouldn't press in without the whole cookie sort of cracking.

ETA: Of course, I used my own PB cookie recipe rather than the one given, so maybe that was part of the issue?
Just wanted to say I made the reindeer cookies this afternoon with great success. I used the jif cookie recipe and removed the cookies from the oven as soon as they began to set. Immediately I placed all the antlers, eyes (used choc covered raisins b/c I couldn't find mini mms), and nose before they had a chance to cool...you have to work quickly. Then I let them sit out for 20 minutes to cool completely.

The cookies are super cute & very tasty. They will become part of our annual Christmas cookie tray.

Thanks again for the link & hopefully this encourages someone else to give them a try.

[Simon]

OK, I will admit I voted All of the Above. But I like baked goods that way.

Don't forget the deliciousness of Christmas Bark!! Though probably technically not a cookie. I am planning to make a few sheets of these to give out as needed.


Christmas Bark
Makes approx 40 pieces

1 sleeve saltine crackers
1 cup butter
1/2 cup light brown sugar
12oz semi-sweet choc morsals
1 cup chopped pecans



We use nearly the same recipe but put them on Graham Crackers and nix the choco chips.

[elephantmeg]

those PB ones with the kiss on top-yum! And of course my new favorite, white chocolate peppermint chippers (see the cooking forum's cookie thread)

[Tammy]

I voted chocolate chip for my favorite- any time of year. But I also love the iced sugar cookies at Christmas time. I like the "normal" type cookies best, rather some of the "odd" ones that we tend to receive this time of year. The effort is always appreciated by my family, but we tend to eat just the regular ones and leave the oddball ones to get stale.

[StantonHyde]

Made the cookies tonite. I used a different cookie recipe that was too runny so I couldn't make the dough into balls. I ended up putting the decorations on round cookies and they still look cute!! You do have to work fast to get everything on!