#37. Candy Corn Pinwheels

Well, this has got to be fake news:

“The results of a 2017 survey…revealed that 49 percent of [U.S. consumers] think candy corn is tasty, while 23 percent of respondents think that candy corn is gross.”

Almost a 1/4 of my fellow Americans hate candy corn??? What is wrong with you people!?!

Fine, haters. But keep your shirt on; these cookies don’t actually taste like candy corn.

Ingredients

• 2 sticks butter brought to room temperature

• 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

• 1 egg

• 2 tsp vanilla extract

• 1 tsp baking powder

• 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

• yellow and orange food coloring

Just about to add third layer…

Directions

1. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.

2. In a mixing bowl, cream butter and powdered sugar.

3. Add in egg and vanilla extract.

4. In a separate bowl, combine flour and baking powder.

5. Gradually add dry ingredient mixture to wet ingredients.

6. Separate dough into three portions.

7. Leave Portion #1 as is and dye Portions #2 and #3 yellow and orange, respectively.

8. Chill all three dough portions for 20 minutes in the fridge.

9. On a floured surface, roll out Portion #1 (white) into a rough rectangle.

10. Do the same for Portions #2 and #3.

11. Layer (note, opposite order) the dough rectangles bottom to top: orange (Portion #3) to yellow (Portion #2) to white (Portion #1).

12. Trim edges with knife for more uniform edges.

13. Roll into log. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for 1 hour in fridge.

14. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

15. Slice log as to form pinwheel discs.

16. Space evenly on cookie sheet and bake 10-12 minutes.

#36. Astros Cookies

In celebration of their recent victory.

With hopes of a repeat!

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 1 teaspoon baking soda

• 2 sticks premium butter

• 1 cup white sugar

• 2 eggs

• 2 tablespoons vanilla extract

• 1 bag of Astros M&Ms (found online as well as at some Kroger and HEB grocery stores)

• Handful of optimism

• Sprinkle of hope

• Dash of derring-do

Directions

1. Preheat over to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

2. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

3. In a large bowl, combine flour, salt, and baking soda.

4. In a separate mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar.

5. Add eggs, then vanilla extract.

6. Gradually beat in dry ingredient mixture.

7. Form into mounds (get it???) that are evenly spaced on cookie sheets.

8. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until just a bit brown.

9. Enjoy with ice-cold milk.

#35. Spritz Cookies - 1st Attempt

Let’s hope practice makes perfect, or at least, passable.

In the middle of sweaty July, I bought a heavily discounted Wilton Spritz Cookie Press at Kroger with dreams of churning out batches of beautiful spritz cookies during the holidays.

I did not anticipate using the machine would be So. Damn, Hard. Yes, I followed the directions, which promised that “one click” was all that would be required to produce a single cookie. Hence, in theory I would just click click click my way to a dozen cute spritz cookies.

I’m sure they taste good…

In practice, three solid pumps of the press were required just to dispense enough dough for a decent-sized cookie, which then sagged rather than retaining the sharp edges of its shape. I think a YouTube tutorial is in my future.

Ingredients

• 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

• 1 teaspoon baking powder

• 1 1/2 cups butter

• 1 cup white sugar

• 1 egg

• 2 teaspoons vanilla

• 2 tablespoons milk

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

2. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

3. Select press design for cookies and assemble press according to directions. Or not, hah!

4. In a large bowl, combine flour and baking powder. Set aside.

5. In a separate mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar using a hand-held mixer.

6. Gradually beat in egg, vanilla, and milk.

7. Slowly beat in dry ingredient mixture to wet ingredient mixture.

8. Load dough into press….and….um…..try to use it correctly.

9. Bake whatever emerges in oven for 12-15 minutes.

10. Eat while perusing interwebs for technical support.

#34. Mocha Crunchy Espresso M&Ms Brookies

Guys, guys, guys!!! IT’S THE MOST WONDERFUL TIME OF THE YEAR!

I’m talking about Halloween, my favorite season. Because it’s not just a “holiday” as in a singular 24-hour celebration but rather a month-long festival.

[I would seriously be this excited even if I hadn’t eaten several coffee-infused baked goods.]

I could and probably should write a book on why I so adore Halloween. However, since brevity is the soul of wit, I will simply say any occasion that sanctions pumpkins, the color orange, and the copious consumption of candy deserves my love.

In the spirit of Halloween (get ready, that’s the first of many puns), I’m baking as much as possible with candy for the next 30 days.

Some recent stress led to less-than-restful slumber the last few nights, so to ensure the pep in my step, I decided to supplement my liquid caffeine intake with some edibles in the form of these brookies.* Using brownie mix to make the dough is a cookie hack I had also been wanting to try for a while, and fortunately, it was not a #pinterestfail.

Ingredients

• 1 19.8 oz brownie mix

• 1/3 cup flour

• 2 Tablespoons ground coffee

• 2 eggs

• 3 Tablespoons water

• 2 cups Crunchy Espresso M&Ms

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

2. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

3. In a large bowl, combine brownie mix, flour, and ground coffee. Set aside.

4. In a smaller bowl, beat eggs with water.

5. Gradually add dry mixture to wet ingredients.

6. When thick batter has formed, stir in M&Ms.

7. Chill dough in fridge for 20 minutes.

8. Use an ice cream scoop to form dough spheres the size of golf balls.

9. Place spheres on baking sheets approximately 1.5 inches apart.

10. Bake for 15-18 minutes.

*Betty and I disagree with regards to what constitutes a brookie. I think the composition should reflect the portmanteau and be a true hybrid, not just an unblended part-cookie, part-brownie confection.

#33. Pecan Sandies: Typos Can Still Be Tasty

WHAT. THE. FUCK.

STELLA!!!!!!!!!!!!, I yelped to no one in particular. Flash back to this past weekend, when I attempted to make pecan sandies using (Stella) Parks’ Bravetart, the newest addition to my out-of-control cookbook collection.

Although my mom, as I have oft noted, made some killer chocolate chip cookies, she also wasn’t adverse to purchasing packaged cookies, especially those vended by the playful Keebler Elves, whose treehouse villa just has to exist somewhere. #dreambig

And despite the fact that I generally loathe nuts in cookies, I have many fond memories of nibbling on Pecan Sandies while reading L.M. Montgomery. Something about the shortbread studded with buttery bits of hickory nut felt appropriate for tales of Anne and Avonlea.

Thus, homemade pecan sandies seemed the perfect way to break in Bravetart, but for some reason what I removed from the oven after following the directions in painstaking fashion resembled pancakes more than cookies.

My husband did not believe me. “You have to have messed up something with the ingredients.” I stuck to my story about following the recipe.

It turns out, we were both right. Yes, I adhered to every last detail of recipe, and in so doing, I unwittingly added too much butter because there was an error in the text! And that’s not fake news.

A Lovely Birthday Gift From My Dear Friend Alicia.

Rather than waste what remained of the batter (out of habit, I test half-batches at a time), I winged it with regards to a solution by adding more flour to balance the fat. What emerged in Round Two wasn’t a complete failure, i.e., not a flapjack.

The best bakers annotate their cookbooks with notes and tips based on past experiences, and I have already put a big strike-through on the specification for 1.5 sticks of butter (correct amount: 1.25) in the pecan sandies recipe.

And, Stella, dear, we all make mistakes. You’re still my hero.

#32. Raspberry Chocolate Chip Sugar Cookies

I have this thing about fruit in desserts.

Empirical experience (i.e., a lifetime of eating and enjoying pies and tarts) has shown me that apples, strawberries, peaches, etc., etc., can form the basis of absolutely terrific desserts.

For some reason, however, the healthfulness of fruit leads me to have an irrational hang-up about its ability to bring a confection to the next level.  

But that's exactly what the addition of fresh raspberries did to a standard sugar cookie.  Their slight tartness was well-matched by the tang of the cream cheese (the key, btw, to an exceptionally moist cookie). Furthermore, the berries' innocent botanical sweetness was also a lovely contrast to the headier sugary notes of the chocolate chips. 

Serve with chilled milk during an early evening picnic or hot Earl Grey tea if consuming them in the comfort of your highly air-conditioned home.

Ingredients

• 3 cups all-purpose flour 

• 1 and 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1 cup room temperature unsalted butter

• 2 ounces room temperature cream cheese

• 1 cup  granulated sugar

• 1 large egg, at room temperature

• 2 tsp pure vanilla extract

• 1 cup fresh raspberries

• 1 cup milk chocolate chips

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.

2. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

3. In a mixer bowl, cream butter, cream cheese, and sugar using an electric mixer.

4. Add in egg and vanilla extract until thoroughly combined.

5. Gradually (a good rule of thumb is 1/4 cup at a time) beat in dry ingredient mixture.

6. Add in raspberries and chocolate chips using a spatula.

7. Place golf-ball size scoops on baking sheets about 1.5 inches apart.

8. Bake for 12 minutes or until edges are brown but middle are moist.

#31. No-Bake Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies

WHY IS IT STILL SO HOT OUTSIDE?!?

I have lived in Texas for 10 years and inevitably at some point during the seemingly interminable summer, I start to lose it.  This slow descent into humidity-induced madness is fortunately usually arrested by the arrival of a cold(ish) front right around my birthday (fingers crossed).

Until that point, my faculties become increasingly fuzzy and my relationship with my oven, fraught.  Sophisticated inner monologue: Oven, you make yummies. But when you do, you also make warmies.

At the end of last week, I had pumpkin puree to spare and wanted to use it in cookies but couldn't bear to turn on the oven. So, this is what happened and testimony to the fact that just because you can't stand the heat, you don't have to get out of the kitchen.

No-Bake Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies

Ingredients

• ½ cup butter

• ½ cup milk

• ½ cup pumpkin puree

• 2 cups sugar

• 4 cups rolled (not instant) oats

• scant handful leftover M&Ms

Directions

1. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

2. Melt butter in saucepan over medium heat. Stir in milk, pumpkin puree, and sugar. 

3. Increase temperature slightly and keep stirring until mixture comes to a boil.

4. Remove from heat and add oats and M&Ms.

5. Shape into small scoops and place on cookie sheet. Cool in fridge about an hour before eating.

#30. Uighur Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

....or, rather, Oatmeal Uighur Raisin Cookies....

A good friend supports your crazy plan to make 57 different cookies in one year.

An excellent friend brings you back raisins (and cheese) all the way from Xinjiang province so that one of those 57 types of cookies can have a sort of, shall we say, Uighur flair.

Meet my excellent friend, intrepid traveler, and brilliant writer, Alice Levitt.

We both enjoy tights of bright hues, dinners of multiple courses, and, obviously, staring contests of unpredictable duration.

You should follow Alice to learn more about her incredible trip to Xinjiang, but first make these cookies so you have something to nosh on while so doing.

Ingredients

• 2 cups old-fashioned oats

• 1 cup all-purpose flour

• 1 teaspoon kosher salt

• ½ teaspoon baking soda

• ½ teaspoon ground ginger

• ⅛ teaspoon allspice

• ¾ cup unsalted butter, room temperature

• ¾ cup light brown sugar

• ¼ cup granulated sugar

• 1 large egg

• 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup

• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

• 1 cup raisins from Xinjiang

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.

2. In a large bowl, combine oats, flour, salt, baking soda, ginger, and allspice. Set aside.

3. In a separate mixer bowl, cream together butter, brown sugar, and white sugar using a hand-held or stand-up mixer.

4. Add egg, maple syrup, and vanilla.

5. Beat dry mixture into wet mixture, one 1/4 cup at a time, until thoroughly combined. Batter will be thick like cement. It will not taste like cement.

6. Add raisins to better and mix well with a wooden spoon or spatula.

7.  Portion golf ball-size scoops of dough approximately 1.5 inches apart on cookie sheets.  

8. Bake 15-16 minutes for soft, chewy cookies; 20 minutes (or longer) for crispy cookies. 

#29. Baller Breakfast Cookies

While watching the Chef's Table episode on Milk Bar, I had a revelation.

Well, technically, it was Christina Tosi's revelation that she could be happy baking cookies every day for the rest of her life.  

I had a "me, too" moment but in a good way.

While I don't expect to reach even close to the level of success achieved by such a technical culinary genius as Tosi, I know I have some tricks up my sleeve with regards to creative cookies. And if I have fun while experimenting and satisfy the sweet tooths of those near and dear to me, then I win.

Although incorporating bacon into chocolate chip cookies is not novel, I think its inclusion generally seems like a half-baked (hah!) manifestation of a larger concept. Of course, people eat bacon by itself at all times of the day, but its origin is as a breakfast food, which led me (ah hah!) to realize my greater concept for a cookie.  This first take on a gourmet breakfast cookie employs some iconic dishes common to that matutinal meal like waffles, maple syrup, and, of course, bacon. 

And chocolate chips, natch, because, after all, this is a cookie.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter (softened)

• 1 cup maple syrup (Grade A is preferable)]

• 1 egg

• 1 tsp baking soda

• 1 tsp baking powder

• 1/2 tsp salt

• 2 cups flour

• 1/2 cup chocolate chips

• 1/2 cup chopped cooked, crispy bacon (try for chunks, not bits)

• 1/2 cup chopped toasted waffles (use frozen at your peril!)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.

2. In a large bowl, beat butter, maple syrup, and egg.

3. In a separate bowl, combine baking soda, baking powder, salt, and flour. Gradually beat into wet mixture.

4. Using a spatula and some strong arm muscles, incorporate chocolate chips, bacon chunks, and waffle pieces into batter. It will be thick and dense.

5. Bake for 12 minutes for ooey-gooey cookies; 16 minutes for crispy cookies.

Superior people, btw, prefer the former. 

#28. Lavender Cookies-ish

Inspired by reading a food memoir about Provence, I decided to bake with lavender.  Dried lavender flowers are usually available at specialty markets; I purchased more than what I needed for a piddling at Central Market.

Because lavender tends to impart a flowery flavor (duh), it is crucial to 1) use sparing amounts lest your cookies taste like garden section of Home Depot 2) balance the botanical with another element, such as vanilla.

Don't let the aforementioned lecture fool you into thinking I know what the hell I am doing. 

Although I made "simple" lavender sugar cookies using a well-reviewed recipe, it was a total fail. What emerged from the oven were lavender pancakes, not cookies. There are many reasons why this may have happened. Next time (and there will be), I will need to be more careful with measurements and ingredients. 

Rather than waste the dough, I decided to circumvent the issue by curtailing the excessive spreading via baking some of the dough in cookie cutters. Genius, yes?

NOPE! Second attempt only produced a mess.

Fortunately, I still had some dough, so I decided to cut my losses and bake a cookie custard, of sorts.  Consider it my lavender lemonade from two batches of lemons.

#27. Strawberry Hamantaschen

Hamantaschen are traditionally associated with the Jewish holiday of Purim (which was February 28th-March 1st in 2018), but there's no law (religious or secular, hah!) against enjoying them any time of the year. 

I enjoy making them not only because of the delightful contrast between the sweet fruit jam and buttery dough but also because I get to practice my pinching technique to form the signature triangle shape.  Btw, although fruit or poppyseed are standard fillings, more unorthodox flavors of hamantaschen (pistachio and triple-chocolate) are arising all over the interwebs. 

The recipe below is adapted from Saveur.

Ingredients

• 4 eggs

• 1 cup white sugar

• 1/2 cup vegetable oil

• 2 Tbs lemon juice

• 2 tsp vanilla extract

• 2 tsp baking powder

• 5 cups flour

• 1 1/2 cups strawberry preserves

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line at least 2 cookies sheets with wax or parchment paper.

2. Whisk eggs and sugar together in large bowl until foam forms.

3. Add oil, lemon juice, and vanilla extract.

4. In a separate bowl, combine baking soda and flour. Gradually add this dry ingredient mixture to wet ingredients until a stiff dough forms. You may have to knead a bit by hand to thoroughly combine.

5. Lightly flour a clean work surface and turn the dough out onto the surface. Use a rolling pin to roll the dough out to an even ¼-inch-thick sheet.

6. With a round cookie cutter or the rim of a glass, punch circles in the dough. 

7. Fill center of each dough circle with approximately 1 tablespoon of strawberry preserves.

8. Fold in the dough from three sides and press the edges together to seal, leaving a small opening over the filling. When all of the cookies are shaped, place them 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets.

9. Bake cookies until lightly brown on bottom (about 20 minutes).

10. Enjoy with a tall glass of milk.

#26. Golden Kiss Surprises

Guys, I PROMISE more exciting recipes are coming but I need to make at least a small dent in my insane supply of Hershey's Kisses. In addition to the gigundo jar (a picture of which I included in my last post), I also have these puppies.

Sadly, the wrapper does not reflect any sort of wonderful mottled chocolate because then I would use them front and center in some sort of PRIDE treat. Instead, I will hide them in "surprise" cookies with some exterior gilding for flair. 

Ingredients

• 1 cup butter (softened)

• 1/2 cup white sugar

• 1 tsp vanilla extract

• 2 1/4 cups white flour

• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

• 1 twelve-ounce bag of Hershey Kisses 

• 1 jar gold sprinkles (5 oz or so)

Directions

1. Using a hand-held mixer, cream butter, sugar, and vanilla until smooth.

2. In a separate bowl, combine flour and baking soda thoroughly.

3. Add dry goods mixtures gradually to wet ingredients, beating on medium speed until thoroughly combined.  (If your mixture seems too dry/granulated, ditch the beaters and use your hands to massage butter into mixture to form soft dough.)

4. Refrigerate dough at least 2 hours.

5. Preheat oven to 400 degree Fahrenheit. Remove dough from fridge and shape around unwrapped (duh) Kisses to form spheres.

6. Roll liberally in gold sprinkles.

7. Bake on cookie sheets lined with parchment paper approximately 10-12 minutes.

8. Consume while listening to Bruno Mars.

#25. Chocolate Kiss "Wontons"

I don't know how this happened.

How in the hell did I accumulate so many Hershey's Kisses? Someone else must have bought them. 

Guess I'm going to have to go on Kiss Baking Blitz. I already made this Kiss Kake: 

So, I decided to move on to cookies. I love a good ol' Kiss thumbprint, but I wanted to try something more unusual: Chocolate Kiss "Wontons." (Quotes because I used puff pastry.)

Btw, by "unusual," I don't mean "exotic" in that 19th-century racist Occidental/Oriental sense. I mean "unusual" FOR ME. Stop rolling over in your grave, Edward Said.

Ingredients

• 1 box  frozen puff pastry

• As many Hershey Kisses as you have

Directions

1. Defrost puff pastry temperature.

2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

3. On a floured surface, roll out puff pastry using a rolling pin (also floured). Thin the puff pastry dough to half its original thickness.

4. Use a star-shaped cookie cutter to create your "wonton." 

5. Place Hershey Kiss in center. Pinch together five points of star.

6. Bake for 8 minutes (or 2 minutes more if you want very crisp wontons).

#24. Dorie Greenspan's Cornmeal Shortbread Cookies

Dorie Greenspan is a baking genius.

I would say a "master baker" but the pun distracts from her enviable prowess as a manipulator of flour, sugar, butter, and salt. I received her book Baking as a wedding gift and it's been a second Bible ever since.  

I was initially tempted to make her chocolate cloud cookies, but was in the mood for a biscuit that would pair well with tea. These flaky, mildly sweet vanilla cornmeal shortbread are the perfect nibble with a cuppa Irish breakfast. 

The recipe below (only slightly modified) is that of Dorie Greenspan.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

• 1/4 cup cornstarch

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1/2 cup yellow cornmeal

• 2/3 cup sugar

• 2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted, room temperature butter

• 1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract

Directions
1. In a medium size bowl, sift together the flour, cornstarch, and salt. Whisk in the cornmeal, and set the mixture aside.

2. Add sugar, butter ,and extract to the bowl of a stand mixer or other large bowl, the bowl and, using either your stand mixers paddle attachment or whisk, or a hand mixer, beat on medium speed until the mixture is very smooth (about 3 minutes).

3. Reduce the mixer to low speed and add the dry ingredients, mixing only until the flour streaks have disappeared into the dough (do not over-mix).

4. Using a rubber spatula, transfer the dough (which will be soft and sticky) into a gallon-size zipper-lock plastic bag.

5. Leaving the top open, place the bag on a flat surface and roll the dough into a 9 x 10 1/2-inch rectangle that's about 1/4-inch thick. Be sure you don't roll all the way to the open end of the bag, you want to still be able to close it. As you are rolling the dough, turn the bag occasionally to prevent creasing.

6. Pressing out as much air as possible, seal the bag and refrigerate the dough for at least 2 hours. The sealed dough will keep for up to 2 days in the refrigerator.

PAUSE

7.  Position the racks to divide the oven into thirds. Preheat the oven to 350F, and line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silplat mats.

8. Place the dough-filled plastic bag on a cutting board, slit it open, and discard the bag. Using a ruler as a guide and a sharp knife, cut the dough into 1 1/2-inch squares. Transfer the squares to the prepared baking sheets and carefully prick each one twice with a fork (be sure the tines go all the way through to the baking sheet).

9. Place the baking sheets in the oven and immediately lower the oven temperature to 300 degrees Fahrenheit. Bake the cookies for 25-30 minutes, rotating the sheets from top to bottom and front to back halfway through the baking time. The cookies should be set and just slightly golden.

10. Transfer the cookies to a cooling rack and cool to room temperature.

11. Eat with abandon.

Makes 32 cookies

#23. Fluffernutter Sandwich Cookies

I'm kicking it old-school and keeping it simple, folks, with this post, because I'm leaving for vacation soon and running around like a factory farm chicken with its head cut off. I need fuel and nothing fancy, so I channeled my love of the classic fluffernutter sandwich into cookie form.

When I return, I will be taking it to eleven with regards to cookie complexity in order to compensate, so hold onto your butts.

Ingredients

• Even number of round sugar cookies. You can cheat with store-bought dough or use this terrific recipe.

• Marshmallow Fluff (only the good stuff in the jar with the red top)

• Creamy Peanut Butter

Directions

1. Spread a thick layer of marshmallow fluff on underside of one sugar cookie.

2. Spread equally thick layer of peanut butter on underside of matching sugar cookie.

3. Marry the two undersides to form sandwich. 

4. Enjoy with a very cold glass of milk.

#22. Discount Albeit Delicious Almond Crescents

Work has been crazy and my significant other was away, so I was keeping house, which meant spare time was spent harvesting vegetables from the rooftop garden and tending to the kitties. Could be worse. But my partner in crime is back in town, so it's cookie time! 

My addiction to discounted groceries compelled me to buy a half-price can of almond cake and pastry filling, which, in spite of its name, I was certain I could use in a cookie recipe. Turns out the good people at Solo agreed.

Ingredients

• 1 cup butter

• 1/3 cup sugar

• 1 tsp almond extract

• 1 can (12ish ounces) Solo Almond Cake and Pastry Filling

• 2 cups all-purpose flour

• Confectioners sugar

Directions

1. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.

2. In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar until thoroughly combined.

3. Add in almond extract and almond filling until well-blended.

4. Gradually beat in flour until thick dough forms.

5. Let dough rest in fridge about 3 hours. Solo people say 4 hours but 3 was enough pour moi.

6. Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.

7. Remove dough from fridge. Dust both of your hands with flour to ensure dough does not stick to them. Shape dough into crescents approximately 1.5 inches in length.

8. Place on cookie sheets, leaving some space between each crescent and its neighbor, both of whom will expand just a bit in the oven.

9. Bake 15-20 minutes until crescents are light brown. Cool completely and dust with powdered sugar.

#21. Harry Potter Pumpkin Cookies

Here's a statement that irritates me: Enjoy the fall flavor of pumpkin cookies made with Pillsbury™ Pumpkin Cookie Mix.

Now, I have nothing against Pillsbury. Quite the contrary, in fact, if you are familiar with my well-documented history of obsessing over the doughboy. Nor do I have anything against box cookie mixes, though homemade is always preferable. 

It's the inevitable tethering of "pumpkin" to "fall" that gets my goat because of the implicit assertion that pumpkin-flavored baked goods should only be enjoyed during autumn. Obviously, that practice arose from the fact that pumpkins are in season during those months, but, thanks to the good people at Libby's, there's really no reason why this ingredient, so lovely in its versatility, can't be incorporated in cooking and baking year-round. End of rant.

Isn't his orange checkered apron the best???

My Harry Potter house crest cookie cutters from Williams-Sonoma, which I bought heavily discounted during a recent stress-shopping binge, arrived simultaneous to my discovery of a Pillsbury Pumpkin Cookie Mix I bought last November in the back of the pantry. At the time, I remember thinking, "Your Future Self will thank you when you're craving pumpkin at an 'off' time." Well, you were right, Past Self.

Now, technically, pumpkin JUICE cookies would be the most appropriate medium on which to test Harry Potter cookie cutters, but that's a labor-intensive project for another day. 

I was disappointed that the resulting cookies' surface lacked the clarity I was hoping for in the house crests, whose finer details blurred in the fiery heat of the oven. Additional testing with recipes expressly designed for thick, contoured cutters is definitely in order.

Ingredients

• Pillsbury Pumpkin Cookie Mix

• 1 stick butter

• 1 egg

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. Combine cookie mix, softened butter and egg in medium-sized bowl. 

3. Mix with spatula until a supple dough forms.

4. On a lightly floured surface, press dough by hand into large flat rectangle. Apply cookie cutters. Combine scraps and repeat until you have as many cookies as you want.

5. Bake 9-11 minutes. Cool completely and enjoy with your favorite muggle.

#20. Barbara Bush's Chocolate Chip Cookies

Growing up in a very liberal family of card-carrying Democrats, I wasn't, to say the least, conditioned to develop an adulation of the Bush clan and its matriarch Barbara Bush. But as is so often the case, I read a great deal about her after her recent passing and found much to admire with regards to her life-long dedication to childhood education and literacy. 

By making these cookies, I am not tacitly endorsing every damn thing she (or her husband) did or said. She wasn't perfect. But these cookies come close.

Many thanks to my dear friend, Alicia Dietrich for sending me the recipe.

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour

• 1 teaspoon baking soda

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

• 1 cup granulated sugar

• 1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

• 2 eggs

• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

• 2 cups quick-cooking oats (not instant)

• 1 (12 ounces) bag semisweet chocolate chips, preferably Valrhona

Directions

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Sift together flour, baking soda, and salt onto waxed paper. Set aside.

2. Beat together butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, eggs, and vanilla in a large bowl until fluffy. Stir in flour mixture until well blended. Stir in oats and chocolate chips.

3. Drop batter by rounded tablespoonfuls, 2 inches apart, onto ungreased cookie sheets.

4. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Transfer cookies to wire rack to cool.

#19. Palmiers

David Lebovitz's account of buying and renovating an apartment in Paris has the singular distinction of being the only food memoir I have read thus far that simultaneously made me ravenous (for all the delights available at French markets) and nauseated (due to the byzantine rules and regulations governing, well, pretty much all aspects of French real estate). Fortunately, more often appetite won over anxiety, which is why I was inspired to make palmiers after reading Lebowitz's mention of this glorious cookie. 

Please don't sue me Mr. Lebovitz!!

These cookies are exceedingly simple and the only aspect of the preparation that may trip you up is the folding. Epicurious has a great step-by-step pictorial guide.

Ingredients

• 4 sheets puff pastry (defrosted)

• white granulated sugar (at least 1/2 cup)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Scatter about 1/8 cup of sugar on a clean surface (e.g., your kitchen counter). Cover with puff pastry sheet.

2. Sprinkle more sugar evenly over top (i.e., non counter-facing side) of pastry sheet. Roll sheet into a 10-inch square with a rolling pin.

Let the folding begin!!

3. Fold in two opposite sides of the pastry sheet square to meet in the center. Repeat, folding in again same sides of the pastry sheet. 

4. Cut folded pastry crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick slices. 

5. Place slices on an ungreased baking sheet. Sprinkle liberally with sugar.  

6. Bake until light brown on one side (about 6 minutes), then turn over and bake until other side is equally brown (6 more minutes). Cool completely.

7. Repeat the process with remaining pastry sheets

Try not to consume all at once.

#18. Cranberry Shortbread - Mostly Martha But Some Bridey

I made this delightful shortbread almost two weeks ago, but with family visiting and some travel, I am woefully behind in posting the recipe. This recipe is adapted from one by Martha Stewart for Dried Cranberry Shortbread Hearts. Unfortunately, I couldn't locate my heart-shaped cookie cutter and had to settle for shortbread stars. Some of which broke apart, perhaps because I too vigorously pounded the cutter into the shortbread. Learn from my error!

Ingredients

• 1 cup unsalted butter

• 3/4 cup powdered sugar

• 2 tsp pure vanilla extract

• 2  cups all-purpose flour

• 1/2 tsp salt

• 1/2 cup finely chopped dried cranberries 

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Not Celsius. That would be bad.

2. Combine butter, powdered sugar, vanilla, flour, and salt in a large bowl using a wooden spoon and a lot of upper arm strength.

3. Gradually integrate dried cranberries.

4. Press dough evenly into an 8- or 9-inch-square baking pan. Bake 20 minutes or until golden brown.

5. Cool shortbread for roughly 20 minutes.  Use your cookie cutter (shape of your choice) to cut out cookies. Place on pretty platter for others to admire. If they don't, demand so.

6. Eat remaining shortbread then and there, or save crumbles and bits for ice cream topping.