Turtle Brownies

Carmel and nuts
and everything nice
makes this fudgy treat
something neat

overall rating:4.53
ease to make: 4.5
clean up: 3 (don't forget about the caramel mixture in the pan!)

how could anyone not like these? if you are a nut and chocolate lover there's no way you could say no. there's an easy brownie on the bottom... let it cool... make your own caramel sauce (which i have never done before....it takes a while but definitely worth it!) and stick it in the fridge. it only makes 16 bars but i guarantee you won't have any to worry about afterwards!

Candy-Stripe Cookie Sticks

cute looking stick
lacking in taste
hope the calories
don't go to your waist

overall rating: 3.88

ease to make: -5
clean up: 2

OH MY GOSH.
is this really a recipe that you're going to ever want to make again?
i wanted to pull my hair out
i wanted to burn the cookie book
i got so angry i shut the oven off, with cookies baking in it and went to bed
i have vowed, never, ever again.

here is how the recipe goes:
1) make batter (still happy)
2) take out some batter and dye it red (still happy, as long as you don't spill the dye in the grout lines of your counter like me, getting grumpy)
3) make (i can't believe i actually did this) a 3x6" stencil for your cookies
4) put batter in rectangle stencil, spreading out evenly as you can. THEN make diagonal striped lines with the red dough
5) bake for 6-7 min, pull out of oven, burn fingers on hot dough and roll into cylinders

it was *so awesome,* please note my sourpuss attitude.

and to top it off they were boring cookies! for all that effort, if yo'ure going to make them (exclusively for the color, like i did) stuff a little nutella in the middle as a little flavor is needed.
this is messing up again...and again... and again...
think how many minutes wasted...(you only make 2-3 cookies at a time)

Almond Spice Wafers

crisp and crunchy
with a hint of nut
makes your holiday plate
simply great

overall rating: 4.4

ease to make: 4.5
clean up: 5!

having guests that want some spice in their cookie? make these. the best part about them? the recipe makes a million of them and.... ta da! they're easy! you only have to plan ahead for freezer time. you're supposed to make these in miniature loaf pans. i went to walmart for some cheap ones and it seems like every grandma in denver was making the exact same thing because they were out of the good, sturdy ones. i made do with foil and it came out all wrinkly on the bottom, like this. this is fine until you go to make the actual cookie and then they look like a 3rd grader made them. the downfall to these? almost cutting your fingers off when having to use an extremely sharp knife. (i only know from experience!)

Pfeffernussen

molasses
covered in
powdered sugar
yum!

overall rating: 4.58

ease to make: 4
clean up: 3. powdered sugar everywhere!

if you had to make cookies for a party in a pinch these would be it. forget the fact that it requires things like ground ginger, cloves, allspice..... if you have these in your kitchen they're the easiest to make! they are the perfect size and most people can't keep their hands off of them.

Fatal Kitchen Accident (hopefully the only one)

my favorite small spatula was put on permanent disability leave today so i decided to suck it up and let it go forever. *tear*

tonight there is a little work white elephant exchange party. i thought i'd make a quick batch of cookies and have all day to do other things. uhm, no. look at these. sadly my mom's most awesome-est recipe (that should be in martha's book) somehow failed and i'm stuck with a bunch of giant poop pies. there is no way that i can bring myself to serve these, esp being martha stewart jr this year.
off to the store for the little weenies back up plan .........

Iced Oatmeal Applesauce Cookies

applesauce and raisins,
with frosting on top!
how could you go wrong
with this little drop?

rating: 3.75

ease to make: 3, i hate frosting
clean up: 4

i realize that this is not a Christmas cookie but i had applesauce in my fridge so i made them anyway. i think martha messed up on her frosting directions. it has a great maple taste but the way it is written it ends up being a glaze instead of an icing. did you see!? i figured out how to make the icing more attractive! in case you don't own a frosting kit thingie you can stuff frosting in a ziplock bag and just a corner off to the desired gauge you like. it works wonderful (isn't "green") but if you can easily dispose of frosting by all means i believe you are allowed. the only complaint is they are too big. i concur. make them smaller than the recipe says

you probably thought i had stopped making cookies. i did. after finals i decided it was time for a break from everything, including, gasp (!) cookie making. it really has been wonderful having no real responsibility but i have BIG plans for the neighbor cookie platters this year so you better get your oven mitts on and get ready!!

Chewy Molasses Cookies

chewy or not
the hint of gingerbread
will make you the most popular
guest at the party

overall rating: 4.85

ease to make: 4.5
clean up: 4.5

just a typical cookie except you have a refrigeration step in here. once the dough starts thawing out you get "madam sticky hand trying to roll dough into nice ball." but it's not too bad. this makes a lotta cookies....hope you have some friends. if anyone out there knows why mine were NOT soft please tell me. normally i condone cheating but i had to stick them in a container with bread for a few hours in order to justify the name.

Hazlenut Cookies

a uniquely shaped cookie
to match its taste
make copies of the recipe
to give away

overall rating: 3.96
ease to make: 4
clean up: 5

well, these are supposed to be triangle shaped, but i think the more p.c. 3-D term is pyramidal square. the only thing you may not have at your house to make these is an entire 6 oz bag of hazlenuts. otherwise, the batter is very unique as it has an egg white beginning. with only a little flour and sugar, it's easy to see why they're in the light and delicate section. the only downfall is that the dough is refrigerated between prep and baking. so when you leave it out while other cookies are in the oven it doesn't work as well when coming back to make pyramidal squares out of the rest!

Cookie Taster of the Week: Beth & Kiki the cat

Beth is my old college roommate who just moved from 3 years of NYC to Belt, MT. (Check out her blog, ROOMMATE!) fun fact: Beth is the least boring person you will ever meet and is the girl to hate since she always dresses cute! :) Kiki is William's (my cat) old gf.
Chewy molasses cookies: 5

Even though they're not chocolate, they're good enough to eat a whole bunch of them at once. Would be good to have if you are stuck inside watching movies all weekend!

Hazelnut cookies: 4

Hazelnut flavor is a little overpowering, but would be good dunked in hot cocoa - the sweet balance would be good for these salty cookies.

Whole Wheat Date bars: 3.5

They were ok, I just don't like dates very much... I like the dough, though. I would serve them with afternoon tea. :)

Whole Wheat Date Bars

the thing to eat
when you feel guilty
about everything you engulfed
over Thanksgiving break
(even has fiber!)

overall rating: 3.83

ease to make: 1
clean up: 2

so either you like these of your don't....which means i don't ever have to make this cookie again because i would be real disappointed if someone didn't like them. has anyone ever tried making something with dates? oh my gosh. here's how this recipe goes in a nutshell: make dough and refrigerate in rectangle things. boil dates in applejuice and then simmer until almost all the juice is gone. then puree this in a blender and after you have rolled the dough into the thinnest sheet possible cut in half and put date puree in the inside.

here's what i did:
make dough and refrigerate. boil dates in pan and sautee. turn off heat. become sidetracked. come back to pan to realize that the dates have super glued themselves to the bottom of a "stickless" pan. work on super man arms in order to pry them off with a spatula. put in blender. watch dates twirl around, and around, and around in a giant blob instead of chopping up. swtich to a mini food processer....which works only slighly better. get frustrated and decide to start in the morning. stick food processor in fridge. come back in the morning and realize dates are impossible to work with. try microwaving, which makes a runny super glue mixture...etc. so i ended up having only enough date stuff to make 1 rectangle's worth, not 2. so if anoyne wants to make the date portion of this you may have the other rectangle and knock yourself out, but as for me, i'm finished!

Mocha Shortbread Wedges

chopped up expresso beans
mixed with coco
makes this little wedge
a slice of heaven

overall rating: 4.8

ease to make: 5
clean up: 5

i think a coffee lover could live on these. my neighbor would like this with ice cream and chocolate drizzled on top. although this only made 8 slices its well worth the effort. the only downfall....lining the stupid pan with parchment paper. i still have a difficult time with this.

Cookie Taster of the Week: Kim & Phillip

Kim and Phillip are some of my great friends who just recently moved to Germany. Ironically I have worked with them both at different jobs while in college.

Fun fact: Kim has the most contagious laugh in the world and will laugh at anything, even when you get in trouble from the owner of the bookstore while throwing a football in the back shipping room. here is clara with her cookies!

(since i'm still deciding how to do the reviews, i'm just going to put on here what they thought of each of them)
Brownie - P=4, K=4.5 They were really good, sweet with just a hint of saltiness. These were the only ones that didn't make the trip well. They were hard, so if they were fresh and soft they would have definately gotten 5s.

Sticks - P=4.7, K=5 These were our favorites!! We were so surprised that they were so soft. Phillip says if it had been completely covered in chocolate he would have given it a 5!

Carmel cookie - P=4, K=4.8 My second favorite. Couldn't get them apart, so we ate them as big globs. Still good, and still really soft.

Coconut white - P=3, K=3.5 Important to say that neither of us really like cocount, so these were at a disadvantage from the start.

Coconut brown - P=3.5, K=4 These were definately better than the white ones. Phillip thought they reminded him of no-bake cookies. Still mostly coconut though.

Grammy's Chocolate Cookies

flat as a pancake
this chewy chocolate cookie
will have you begging for some more

overall rating: 3.78
ease to make: 4
clean up: 4

ok, not really. this cookie is weird. i really don't think i did anything wrong but ya know..... this one kind of bites the dust. it's super flat, and only taking one from the "air tight" cookie jar, as recommended by martha, is enough. right out of the oven they really form to whatever they're laying on....which makes me think that if you made them a little larger, took them right of the oven and put them in a muffin tin they would be the perfect shape for a scoop of ice cream..... drizzled in chocolate......sprinkled with sprinkles......
ok now im' dreaming.

Chocolate Charms

although they look like truffels
and are cute as a button,
they're not as sweet
as you may think

overall rating: 3.94ease to make: 5
clean up: 4 (cocoa powder everywhere!)

they're more of a shortbread that leaves you disappointed after you bite into it. i made all chocolate this week because it's all i had in the house. (how pathetic is it that all i have chocolate cookie making supplies and a cup of yogurt?) anyway, these are pretty cute cookies, easy to make and of course, martha is right... you should wait for them to completely cool down before sprinkling them with cocoa powder. the melted cocoa powder on top looks like fuzzy brown mold. although not good by themselves i do believe they're quite taste with a cup of joe.

Rum Balls

one taste from these
little rounds and you'll be ready to
ruummmmm-balllllllllllllll!

overall rating: 4.74

ease to make: 5
clean up: 5

these are definitely not for children and if sold in a shop you'd have to card. they're moist, delicious, and perfect in every way.

Cashew Caramel

hard on the bottom
sticky on top
these nutty rounds
will fill you up

overall rating: 4.44ease to make: 2. working with caramel is always frustrating
clean up: 2 cleaning up caramel is always frustrating

they're a little crunchier than i'd like but there's not much i can do about it. martha wasn't lying when she said to store them between layers of wax paper. now, if you want to grab one cookie you get 4: a giant cashew caramel sandwich.... the only thing people were wanting on top was chocolate, to make more of a turtle. oooh, also.... martha kills me. in the picture of this cookie the caramel is neatly put on in evenly spaced drizzles and there is a spoon in the background. so i'm thinking, ok cool! i don't need anything but a spoon for this. WRONG. mine were totally the opposite. putting caramel on with a spoon = big fat blobs = not attractive.

Coconut Macaroons

a wheat free cookie (!)
chocolate, or not,
hard on the outside,
soft in the middle...
how could you go wrong?

overall rating: 3.75
ease to make: 3.8
clean up: 5

the only 2 huge downfalls for these cookies are: a) the yield is wimpy! b) you form these in your hands but the mixture is so sticky that when you're done you can't touch anything and also can't get it off your hands! (i hate that feeling!) they are a wheat free cookie, which rocks! but i still wasn't a fan. they would be killer if i took a plain one and drizzled it in chocolate like an almond joy....hm. now there's an idea!

OK! i couldn't resist! i made my own special batch of coconut macaroons and that's right martha...hire me. yes! i got 5/5! ....just took some tweaking and i got rave reviews!
(no dog in pic. ez is already in bed)

Cigarette Russes

Sweet on one end
crunchy on the other,
hope you dont mind
a few crumbs on your sweater

overall rating: 4.13
ease to make: in all reality, 3, but i thought they were fun! i'm giving them a 5!
cleanup: 4

ok, so you can only make 3-4 at a time, and you have to work fast so they don't harden before you roll them up, but i had fun making them and would totally do it again. these make an uniquely shaped cookie that looks harder to make than it actually is!

Double Chocolate Brownies

when only a cakey,

moist dense mass of
chocolate will do,
you only need 1 brownie
to make you happy

overall rating: 4.2
ease to make: 5
clean up: 4
how easy are these to make? VERY. i'm still trying to grasp martha's concept of lining pans with parchment paper. i have an invention someday for this because seriously they taste good but don't look so hot. here is this mass of chaos going into the oven:yikes!
i seriously don't get it

Cookie Taster of the Week: Mary!

Mary is my old dorm friend who now lives in WI and has a beautiful little baby, Lucy! (sorry it took me so long to get this up! i've been sick)Our ratings are as follows:

The Pecan cookies: 2 (we aren't big on pecans... but they were tasty)

Chocolate Sandwich cookies: 4.5 YUMMMMM
Chocolate Waffles: I gave this a 5. The boys: 4.
Snickerdoodles: 4

Kim: you're up next!

Bailey, the next Vanna

bobbi and jon were tasters this week and submitted this of their dog (one of ezra's girlfriends), bailey with the sample platter!

Chocolate Waffles

when just a little chocolate won't do
and you come in from the snow
this black snowflake is a rich, sweet reward.
hope you don't mind wearing
your own powdered sugar dusting!

overall rating: 4.15
ease to make: 3
clean up: 2

i really think this would have been easier if my waffle maker made more than 2 at one time! it is quite the babysitting chore. after they're all done and waffled, you dip the top in another chocolate layer and then sprinkle w/ powdered sugar. my kitchen will never be clean again. it does make quite a few and it's worth the reaction for how much work it is to make!

Biscuit sandwich cookies

a little pick me up
when you want something
delicious but not so sweet

overall rating: 4.2ease to make: 2
clean up: 4

after making these i have come to discover that martha uses parchment paper FOR EVERYTHING! she does this so that she has less clean up-- i'm fairly certain this is the reasoning behind it. nevertheless i made them anyway and it was not worth the effort. someone told me it was a pepperidge farm (spelling?) homemade remake but since i havn't had that before i really don't know. in this cookie you go to all the effort to roll the dough out to 1/16" thick. so when the 1/16" round sticks to the parchment paper it is extremely frustrating, and to top things off, i read somewhere that it its supposed to make 36 rounds. considering that they are sandwiches, this only makes 18 cookies! the only releive i got from this was skipping making the homemade filling and pulling out nutella instead.

Buttery Pecan Rounds

the perfect cookie
if you're having guests over
and want to make a good first "smell"
when they walk in the front door

overall rating: 3.65ease to make: 4
clean up: 3.8

these are in the "light and delicate" section and they are just that. light and so delicate they break easily and are weird. did i mention that they're weird? mine did not turn out looking like martha's (go figure). seriously! mine are oblong with a hint of rhombus and oval! they kind of took over the entire pan and i'm sure they taste good but they look like complete "grown up cookies" that if were placed by other cookies on a potluck tray, they would be the last to go. i'm pretty sure of it.

Snickerdoodles!

even to the one with
gormet taste,
these thick perfect cookies
top the cake
(seriously delish)

overall rating: 4.87ease to make: 5
clean up: 5

this will new become the "in a pinch need cookies" cookie. these were so easy to make i whipped them up after class one night! according to martha you are supposed to make dough balls 1 3/4". i figured it up and if you make them like you're supposed to you end up with 20. ONLY 20! how does that make enough for cookie tasters? it doesnt. i made them smaller and everyone still liked them.
they're seriously amazing
(well, i havn't had any but people tell me they're THAT good)

Calling Cookie Tasters

i love my current "regular" tasters but i have received several comments about cookie tasting in one way or another. although i am pretty biased, i think this is a pretty fun project and the more people involved the merrier.... thus i have decided to add a feature to my blog:
a weekly featured taste tester

hopefully this will allow you out of town-ers or in-towners a chance at taste testing cookies too.
rules of being featured taste tester:
1) contact me to get on the list
(one featured tester/week)
first come, first served
2) receive cookies in mail
(cannot guarantee freshness)
3) send me email with picture of you, current location (town), a quirky fact about yourself, and a small quote + rating about the cookie

maybe you have friends that would like to test too....have them send their name in! i'll only send cookies that will mail best (like not sticky bars). also no requests for the cookie you hope to get. whatever is on the list that week is what will be mailed.

Lime Meltaways

this little cookie
is not so neat to eat-
but it does,
make a refreshing little treat
(betcha can't eat just one!)

overall rating: 4.48

ease to make: 5
clean up: 5

if you or your cookie lovers like lime there are pretty much the bomb. you make them exactly like the earl grey tea cookies, so once you figure that out then everything is easier. like martha suggests, i did pull my ruler out and measure these to the exact specifications of MIW (martha's infinite wisdom). they do get powdered sugar everywhere, but who doesn't like powdered sugar? the best part about these: they last up to 2 weeks in an airtight container! do you know how long that is? you could make a double batch of these (they would be popular, 1 batch would never last) and have 2 different groups of friends over on 2 different weekends and serve the SAME cookies each weekend... that's baking once for 2 events! whoa! good idea martha!

Pumpkin Cookies with Brown Butter Frosting

more or less,
a sliver of pumpkin pie
topped with a frosting that
makes you sneak back into the kitchen
just to lick the bowl

overall rating: 4.19

ease to make: 1
clean up: 3, only if you don't let the batter or frosting completely dry and paste itself to the bowl like super glue

ok martha, what up? i followed this recipe step by step and you know what? yeah, that's right. the parchment paper didn't work.... as i'm in PEELING my cookies off of the parchment paper and i can see exaclty where they came from. why? because half the cookie is still stuck to it!!! accck!
they were so bad half my cookies went to ezra, who LOVES "pumpkin cookie" and knows them by name. (yes, pathetic). also, you may remember me saying that i hate frosting. i still hate frosting. i may need to invest in a frosting specific knife or something but in most cases putting frosting on is supposed to make cookies look better, not worse.
yes, it was a frustrating afternoon.

Peanut Butter and Jelly Bars

the cookie for you,
when you want to come home
from a long day at work
and feel like a kid again

rating: 4.83

ease to make: 5
clean up: 4.5 (peanut butter is such a mess!)

i'm sold. this is the next magic cookie. although it does take a large amount of peanut butter, they're worth it! a gooey jelly filled middle is sandwiched between a peanut butter base and pb crumble on the top. minimal dishes and makes 36 easy bars! only downside: baking time 1hr.

Chunky Peanut, Chocolate and cinnamon cookies

good for an afternoon snack
with a rich peanut butter kick
or as a evening conversation starter
with the cinnamon after-taste
overall rating: 4.3

ease to make: 4 (the batter gets soft and you need to keep refrigerating)
clean up: 5 (i'm really learning to love parchment paper)

weird, weird cookies! this batter was really thing and since i'm a "fat" cookie lover i instantly knew these were not going to make the top 5 list. the dough is so thin you actually have to refrigerate them before cooking (another step....blah!) and if you follow the directions to where they are slightly brown they are flat and pretty crunchy. i'm a biased "cookies should be small cakes!" person so maybe my opinion doesn't count for this. surprisingly, the 1/4 t. of cinnamon shows up at the end of your bite for a nice surprise!

*also by request, ezra will now be the cookie mascot (i guess some people just really like ezra) and will be pictured with all cookies*

chocolate mint sandwiches

rich round cookies
sandwiching a mint chocolate filling
to make a delicious treat
for anyone with a sweet tooth

overall rating:
4.4

ease to make: 1.5
cleanup: 2

phew! these are a lot of work for the yield. i brought the ruler into the kitchen for this one, did everything just like martha said, and got maybe 20. but, they are delicious and would be the first to go if you took them to a party!
*(also note that one of my tasters doens't like chocolate unless it's milk chocolate. otherwise, i believe the rating would have been higher)*

freak out!

so doing the math today, i realized that i need to make 3.3 cookies a week to get thru the cookbook in a year. i hope you cookie tasters are ready!

Earl Grey Tea Cookies

pleasant with tea
or cup of coffee,
has a hint of orange
to make the perfect,
mmm...perhaps,
breakfast?

you either like them or you hate them
overall rating:
3.4

ease to make: 3.8
cleanup: 5!

martha errked me on this one. you're supposed to roll these into round logs. anyone that can do this is my hero. i made more of a rhombus. my tester ladies were fans (5 star ratings) while the men had an avg of 1.5. make sure you have your parchment paper for this!

Apple-Cherry Crumble Bars

bars that make people smile
a fruit filled middle between
layers of oatmeal crumble
would taste great warmed up under
a mound of ice cream
overall rating 4.8
ease to make: 4.5
dishes clean up: 5!

these require some ingredients that you probably won't sitting in the pantry. fruit is sauteed in apple cider to help soften. not a good recipe if you are bad at cutting butter into a crumble crust mixture

Chocolate Crackles

These are little tasty treats
with a bitter chocolate bite on the inside
and a sweet sugar taste on the outside
leaving your fingers with a
white dusting to lick off at the end
overall rating: 5.0ease to make: 2
(super sticky dough + refrigeration time)
clean up: 4
(powdered sugar everywhere!)

sometimes martha really peeves me because she's usually right. for example with this recipe you're supposed to split the dough into 4 equal sections, put each section in plastic and refrigerate. although it's an extra step it gets me irritated that it actually works. not only does it refrigerate faster it also makes it easier to split into the 1" dough balls in order to get the cookie yield yo'ure supposed to. martha always knows....

Pumpkin Cookie

although not Martha's cookie, my old friend, Sandy's

PUMPKIN COOKIE

like a small cake,
these are perfect for the season,
retain their moisture very well,
do need frosting (sugar or cream cheese)
disappear fast
overall rating: 4.6

ease to make: 4.5
(easy but sticky batter + frosting everywhere)
amt of dishes and clean up: 4
(i let the frosting dry to the container, whoops!)