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!)