Cookies!

So I've done all this baking, right? I've even made some things that are pretty darn fancypants, if I do say so myself. And though I've enjoyed everything I've made, I have to say that nothing, nothing, beats a delicious cookie. While I love my cakes and pies, Cookies are King. Or is it Kookies are King? Cookies are Cing? WHATEVER. COOKIES RULE!

Given my feelings on this important issue, you'll be absolutely shocked to hear that until recently I owned nary a cookie cookbook. My journey for a cookbook began in the Amazon... sorry, I mean, on amazon.com - I'm totally the first person ever to make that joke.

After more than a reasonable amount of time spent researching cookies, I decided on One Dough, Fifty Cookies: Baking Favorite And Festive Cookies In A Snap by Leslie Glover Pendleton. This little book, small enough to fit in your (oversized) pocket, is packed with easy to make and totally different cookies. Now baker beware: there are a number of "one dough, [insert number here] cookies" recipe books out there. Be sure to read the reviews first, however, as a number of them apparently stink. I only settled on this one after reading practically every single amazon.com review, barnesandnoble.com review, food blog review, and the author's biography, background, resume, criminal history, family tree, etc.

I absolutely love the book, and would recommend it to anyone who is looking to bake a number of different cookies, but doesn't want to spend eight days doing it. Each individual recipe calls for half of the "master dough," however, I found that most recipes can be cut in half, giving you four different cookies per master dough. 

Given that it was the holidays, I decided that I would make these cookies specifically for our neighbors downstairs. It was really fun baking something knowing that it was for someone else, and I'm glad I chose to do it as part of my 101 in 1001. For this particular task, I made Mocha Butter Balls, Raspberry Jelly Bowls, Graham Cracker Honey Washboards, and Coconut Macaroon Butter Cookies (which I opted to dip in chocolate because, why not??).


Of course, we kept a few for ourselves as well. I thought they all turned out rather deliciously, and it seemed that every day Jake and I changed which one we crowned our favorite.

Now I just need a reason to bake more cookies so I can try four new recipes from the book. The next holiday is Martin Luther King Day... I probably should make cookies in celebration of that too, no?