GOLDEN NUGGETS

These cookies contain two of my favorite things, apricots and coconut. The first step was to cook the dried apricots to "plump" them up. The final step was to roll the dough in coconut before baking. The final result was a soft cookie that was strong on coconut and lacking in apricot. Maybe the cooking took the taste from the dried apricots or there weren't enough of them, but either way, it made the cookies just a bit above average. Guido really liked them , however , so I may just be overly critical since I had such high hopes. Look forward to feedback tomorrow!

RECIPES!!!

I am only going to post the recipes of cookies that people seemed to like. So, if there is one of your favorites missing, let me know and I will post it next time or email it to you!

CHOCOLATE CHIP BARS

It has been awhile since we have used chocolate chips and I think its about time for some chocolate! These are not as moist as a traditional brownie but more like a cake. The brown sugar makes it similar to a caramel cut with a chocolate twist. They were a hit around here. The only problem is that the recipe only makes a 9 X9 inch pan.....not enough if you have a crowd! Enjoy!

SUGAR AND SPICE COOKIES

A thin, crisp, delicious molasses cookie. The only suggestion is to not over bake them. I kept them on the small side and pulled them out of the oven about a full minute early. The directions said to roll them in powdered sugar while they were warm but I think just sprinkling them with the sugar would be sufficient.

CANADIAN HONEY DROPS

Sometimes it would be nice to have a bit more information about where the recipes come from. Is it really from Canada or was Betty just having an unpatriotic moment? As for the cookies, they are good...not exceptional. This is a sandwich cookie with apricot jam being the filling between the honey cookies. They are a bit on the sweet side so you don't want to make them too big. They also need to bake a full 11 minutes. The brown color was the same at nine minutes and when I took them out....don't panic and take them out too early!
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RAISIN CRISSCROSS COOKIES

It may actually be Crisscross Raisin Cookies but to check the cookbook would mean walking back to the kitchen, which is not going to happen at this late hour, so the listed name is going to stand. Whatever they are called, I really like them! They are a crisp lemon shortbread which will go very nicely with tea. I have to admit that I added a bit more lemon extract than called for ( my hand slipped!) but I think it was a good addition. One of the variations is to add chocolate chips instead of raisins which would also be good. This was one recipe that needed the full time listed to bake. Also, they just slid off the pan so clean up was very, very easy. Hope everyone enjoys them tomorrow!

COFFEE FRUIT DROPS

These cookies were a bit different to make. The fruit in the name comes from diced apples and raisins that are cooked in strong coffee and spices. It all makes for a cookie that has an interesting taste. They were soft, which may be a problem in Hawaii, but the coffee keeps them from being too sweet. Guido liked them and I rate them a bit above average. Oh, they also have nuts as well as the fruit and I had to mix pecans and walnuts (recipe called for walnuts) as I only had 1/2 cup of each. I guess it is time to hit the store again!!

Banana Spice Cookies

Another average cookie.......they were at their best warm out of the oven. They tasted a bit like banana nut bread, which I really don't like, so I have to admit to a bias against them. But even accounting for that, the texture was just too "cakey" for me and they got very soft overnight. We will see if others agree with me. I am going to be a bit more selective with the recipes I make. The next recipe is a cereal cookie which I am going to skip and move on to a coffee cookie.

Applesauce Brownies

The batter for these brownies looked like chocolate mousse...very light and airy. The final result was a brownie that was more like a cake than a traditional brownie. However, I liked it! There may be some of you that don't like it, feel it doesn't have enough chocolate to qualify as a brownie, but I liked them! A little ice cream would have been nice also. I was getting a bit discouraged with all of these previous cookies just being average and fairly similar. I was actually feeling that Betty should have just published a pamphlet instead of a full cookbook since there were not enough great recipes just good ones. I am interested in seeing what other people think.

APPLESAUCE RAISIN COOKIES

Another good basic, cake-like cookie but nothing exceptional. The recipe also called for nuts but 1/2 cup was not enough. The cup of raisins was also lacking as there were too many cookies that were only dough or with just one raisin. I liked adding the applesauce and look forward to another recipe coming up that also uses applesauce.

SPICED PRUNE COOKIES

I will take prunes over dates any day!! This is a nice, soft cookie but not a home run. I like the spices but I think the cookies are at their best when they are warm and so they may not be as good in the morning. We shall see!

New Northland Cookies

I would love to have a bit of history as why these cookies are named after New Northland..even where exactly New Northland is! The cookies are a refrigerator, sliced cookie that is crunchy when baked with a light cinnamon taste and sliced almonds. They are good but they could use a bit more flavor. I would double the cinnamon next time. Also, be careful to not overcook them. They harden while cooling so just leave them in until they are lightly browned. We will see how they hold up overnight. I don't think they will be as good if they loose their crunch! Enjoy!

Cranberry Drops

I never finished the entire Xmas cookie section so I am going to jump around and try the ones that look good. These cranberry cookies were in the holiday section but I think they are good all-around cookies so I started with them since I love cranberries. The recipe had some interesting elements such as orange juice and milk and a mix of brown sugar and white sugar. I made them on the small side and so they only took about 9 1/2 minutes to cook (recipe calls for 10-15 minutes). I made one batch and let them brown a bit more (about 10 1/2 minutes) but I think I like them just lightly browned on top and a bit more chewy than crunchy. I really like these as the tart cranberries offset the sweetness of the cookie. I also used pecans which gave them a nice crunch. Looking forward to some feedback!!!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday filled with lot and lots of good cookies!!! At our house we had several cookie tastings with the best of previous cookies which I had put away in the freezer. It is good to have my freezer back, I didn't realize how many I had baked and how much room it would take! A quick recap of the family evaluations pretty much mirrors the results of the other tasters. The top rankings cookies are are follows:
On a scale of 25 points

24: chocolate krinkles
snickerdoodles
22: chinese almond cookies
ginger almond cookies
toffee squares
21: golden carrot
russian tea cookies
orange drop
20: chocolate drop
pinapple raisin
19: lemon bars
oatmeal w/raisin and nuts
snowflake cookies
lemon snowballs
18: brown sugar drops
jubilee jumbles
17: butterscotch brownies
applesauce w/ lemon icing
16: teatime cookies
molasses jumbles
pecan spice
15: crunchy nut
14: lemon cheese pressed cookies
Now to start the baking for 2010!!!