White Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Today my daughter was supremely disappointed by a couple of her friends. As many mothers in the past, I decided to make cookies with her to assuage her sadness. We flipped through Martha's cookbook and decided on White Chocolate Chunk Cookies (page 172) because (a) we had all the ingredients and (b) it was the one cookie that both of my daughters and I could agree on.

These cookies are supremely easy to make - just mix up the ingredients, drop onto the baking sheet and slide into the oven! A relief after the last recipe! This recipe is rightly included in the "chunky and nutty" section as it has all kinds of goodies - oats, coconut and walnuts - which make it a very satisfying cookie. The recipe also calls for golden raisins, but my daughter requested I omit those and I happily obliged.

One of the comments on the web version of the recipe suggested substituting macadamia nuts for walnuts, and I think that would be a nice variation.

She was delighted with the result and declared them delicious!

Pecan Linzer Cookies with Cherry Filling

I was really excited to make these cookies and use my new Linzer cookie cutters. These cookies are the Pecan Linzer Cookies with Cherry Filling (page 137) from the "crumbly and sandy" section of Martha's cookbook.

These cookies are named after the city of Linz, Austria and are a holiday tradition in that part of Europe. I just wanted a tasty treat and a chance to use my new baking toy!

Traditionally, linzer cookies use hazelnuts, but this recipe called for pecans. The recipe had several steps, including toasting the pecans, grinding the pecans with cinnamon and sugar, mixing and refrigerating the dough, rolling it out and cutting the pieces, baking the cookies and finally assembling them. Wow! When I write it all out, it seems like a lot of work! But, it honestly didn't take long and I was able to fit in the baking while making dinner and then before I put the kids to bed.


Here's a picture of the cookies after they have been baked. I was very impressed with how they turned out. They held their shape very well. The cookies themselves are not terribly sweet, but with the addition of the jam and powdered sugar they are just sweet enough. They are absolutely gorgeous, and I quite like the delicious combination of the pecans & cherry. Yum!

Chewy Chocolate Gingerbread Cookies

This is my first "do-over" recipe. I tried making these cookies for my husband to take on his poker weekend, but I accidentally used bittersweet instead of semi-sweet chocolate. Let me just say, it was not a happy accident. Huge waste of time and ingredients.

In any case, I was excited to give Chewy Chocolate Gingerbread Cookies (page 67) a second chance. By the way, these are cookies pictured on the cover of Martha's cookie cookbook so somebody must like them!

They are an unexpected mix of flavors - bitter and sweet. They have a nice crunchy outside and a chewy, gooey, chocolately inside. My husband went crazy for them. They are a little bitter for me. The online comments on the web recipe are somewhat divided. This seems to be one of those recipes you either love or hate.

I followed the recipe pretty much to the letter and the cookies are beautiful and tasty.

Chocolate Crackles

Finally, I cookie that was simple to prepare! I feel like I have been tackling all kinds of crazy cookie recipes lately, and this one was refreshingly easy. I flipped through the cookbook quickly, looking for something I could make with one stick of butter, since that was all I had. I discovered Chocolate Crackles (page 68) in the "soft and chewy" section.

I am in love with these cookies. They are beautiful, and SO DELICIOUS. These are the dangerous kind of cookie that I could devour a whole in batch in about 90 seconds. They are very rich and chocolately, but because they use bittersweet chocolate and not much sugar, they aren't very sweet.

Instead of using a full eight ounces of bittersweet chocolate, I combined six ounces of bittersweet with two ounces of semi-sweet chocolate, and achieved the perfect level of sweetness.