"cookie a day" news and stories

We're a little behind on our a Cookie-a-Day, but we'll try to catch up before the end of the year. We have to! Starting on January 1, all of us will be forgoing cookies, candy, doughnuts, and cake, as per our New Year's Resolutions, right?

Right.

So until then, let's cut into a giant pan of baklava, which you might not consider a cookie -- rather a dessert pastry -- but hey, if we're calling brownies "cookies" because they're "bar cookies," we count baklava, too. Basically, baklava is layers of phyllo dough filled with chopped nuts, usually walnuts or pistachios. The layers are prepared in a large pan, drizzled with honey or other sweet, spiced syrup, then cut into bars or other shapes.

Yes, we know the baklava pictured above isn't as beautiful as the ones you'll see in Mediterranean or Middle Eastern restaurants, or out of the home kitchen of your favorite Greek aunt. However, it was a good attempt at working with phyllo dough, which is tricky because it's so thin and fragile.

We've fallen a little behind on our cookie of the day posting, mostly because we thought that you might all be a little overwhelmed by the avalanche of sweets and treats that have a way of filling our homes around the holiday season. It's taking all my willpower right now not to go and cut a slice off the chocolate and caramel covered apple that is currently hanging out in the fridge.

If you aren't totally tired of cookies, I came across a recipe a couple of days ago and spoke to me. I haven't tried it out myself yet, but it's from Julie at Noshtalgia and her recipes tend to be pretty darn reliable. It's for Oatmeal Cranberry Cookies, a style of cookie that is good any time of year, not just around the holidays.

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We've been baking cookies like crazy around these parts, all December long. I'm giving my rolling pin and baking sheets a break today and dipping into the archives to bring you some cookies from our archives.

Looking for a recipe that will look gorgeous on your buffet? These Cranberry-Cherry Icebox Ribbons are alternating stripes of red and white and are awfully nice to look at and will be tasty to boot.

Nicole's Vanilla Cut-Out Cookies incorporate buttermilk for a soft consistency that isn't cake-like. She also brought us Gingersnaps Two Ways last holiday season.

Want an easy, seasonal cookie? What about this Cranberry, Orange and Dark Chocolate Chip cookie? It's a quick mixing drop cookie with a great taste.

For the chocolate lovers in the crowd, check out these Chocolate Peppermint Drops.

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When I got home for the holidays, my mom mentioned that she'd been craving some peanut butter cookies with bits of chocolate chips in them. I smiled and nodded and didn't think that much more about it. Then I saw this recipe on Smitten Kitchen and realized that these might just be my mom's dream cookie. Being the kind of daughter I am, I decided to pull together a batch and so last night ran out to Safeway for some chunky peanut butter and chocolate chips.

I knew they were a winner when I tasted the batter and when they baked up they were even better. The one thing I have to stress about this recipe is that you must follow Deb's instructions and get them out of the oven before you think they are done. I cooked the first tray a little bit too long and ended up regretting it as it somehow cooked the essence of peanut out of them. But as long as you take them out before they really start to brown up, you will end up with some amazing cookies.

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Believe me, they taste a lot better than they look.

I started out this day with a simple plan: make some Ghirardelli White Chocolate and Macadamia Cookies for my Cookie-A-Day post. Three hours and one trip to the store later, I came out with Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies.

It's a long story.