I tried to find some eloquent quotes about cookies to start this post, but really the best statement comes from the cookie expert himself:
Yes, we all want cookies, Cookie Monster! What other sweet treat comes in as many varieties as the simple (or not so simple) cookie? Just in time for the holidays, we can celebrate these delicious morsels of goodness on National Cookie Day, December 4th. You can keep the cookie spirit alive by attending our Notable Noshes Holiday Cookie Swap, December 20th at 7 p.m. Enjoy cookies, hot cocoa, and festive music while sharing recipes of your favorite cookies.
We all have our cookie preferences. I, for instance, do not love sugar cookies. I’ve spent years trying, mostly because holiday sugar cookies are so darn pretty. They look like they should be delicious, but I find myself always wanting a different taste–usually chocolate. So, it’s no surprise that my favorite cookie is a classic chocolate chip cookie. Flat and crispy, soft and chewy; either will do. Double chocolate chunk is even better! While I am open to trying new cookie recipes, I have had the most baking success, believe it or not, with the recipe found on the back of the Nestle Toll House Chocolate Morsels bag. See the Friends episode “The One with Phoebe’s Cookies” (season 7, episode 3) for further confirmation that these are the greatest.
For the holidays, I love making Oatmeal Cinnamon Chip cookies. With no nuts and no chocolate, these cookies are a semi-healthy, semi-allergen-free, cozy winter cookie hit! Be fair warned, however, that locating Hershey’s Cinnamon Chips is not an easy task. While on the subject: if you any of you lovely readers spy some bags while out and about, please drop me a line to let me know where I can find them. Aside from my own baking, my other favorite cookie to enjoy during the holidays is the Rainbow Cookie, a classic Italian confection. My mother happens to make the best Rainbow Cookies. I know I’m biased, but they really are amazing! All chefs and bakers have their own flair, so no recipe can be quite the same as how my mom does it, but this one seems to be pretty close. When you’re in a pinch and/or not the bake-from-scratch kind of person, Betty Crocker has a whole slew of yummy looking cookie recipes, ideal for National Cookie Day, including Gluten-Free Decadent Double Chocolate Cherry Cookies and Chocolate Crinkles.
I’m always on the lookout for different types of recipes, both savory and sweet. Just like there are only so many times you can cook, say chicken, in a week before getting sick of it, there are only so many times you can bake the same cookies before getting bored. I found this awesome compilation of “Deliciously Unique Cookie Recipes,” and I am so excited to try making some of these zany creations. Examples include: Chocolate Chip Potato Chip Cookies (the sweet and the salty together, like a perfect pair!), Maple-Glazed Apple Crisp Cookies (how perfect for fall, right?! And I love maple-flavored ANYTHING!), and Frosting-Filled Deep Dish Cookies (the cookies that children’s dream are made of!).
Cookies are perhaps the most social of desserts, as well. Some might say that honor goes to ice cream, but ice cream isn’t swapped and traded like cookies. We also don’t host ice cream exchange parties. Those of you who attend our Holiday Cookie Swap will see the fun in getting together with friends, family, and newcomers to enjoy the holiday spirit and share the recipes most closely tied to our hearts and heritages. Should you decide to host your own cookie swap party, Bon Appetit has some great guidelines to help you organize your day. The article’s author, Lily Fink Harrington, said it best when she wrote:
Between all the shopping, baking, parties, wrapping, decorating, and travel, most of us would put “more time” as the number one item on our holiday wish lists. So this year, why not kill two turtledoves with one stone by hosting a cookie swap party? With relatively little work and preparation, you can get your friends and family together for a fun fete which will leave all of you with enough baked treats to supply the rest of your holiday festivities and gifting.
If you want to go “full Martha Stewart” the lifestyle icon has her own steps to hosting a cookie swap (of course she does), which include writing display cards for the cookies and setting up a packing station, complete gift boxes and ribbons for trimming.
Visit the LPL to browse our substantial collection of cookbooks, including Tate’s Bake Shop Cookbook, Momofuku Milk Bar, Crazy about Cookies: 300 Scrumptious Recipes for Every Occasion & Craving, and many others. Younger readers can learn about the story behind America’s (and my) favorite cookie, with the new children’s book How the Cookie Crumbled: The True (and not so true) Stories of the Invention of the Chocolate Chip Cookie.
Wishing you all a scrumptious National Cookie Day!
Happy Baking & Reading,
Jess
P.S. If you want to honor our favorite cookie-eating blue monster, head to the blog Katrina’s Kitchen and learn how to make this adorable little cookie.
