Cookie Progress: Weeks 31 - 35

And the journey continues - a whole blog full of BIRTHDAYS!  I'm getting closer.  I'm enjoying it, but I'm getting to the point where I will be ready for a break.  Thank you for your continued excitement and interest, as that is a major motivating factor for me.

Week 31:
Cookies - Homemade Oreos
Event - Mom's Birthday
Recipe - http://www.mykitchenaddiction.com/2012/02/homemade-oreos/
Review - Mom enjoys Oreos so I thought these would be fun to make for her birthday.  They were fun, I really enjoyed making these and eating them!  I wasn't convinced they would actually turn out as a hard crunchy cookie with a set filling inside.  I thought they surely would turn out more like whoopie pies.  They proved me wrong, they were a harder cookie with a perfect filling.  It was interesting to see these come together.  The cookie was a good cocoa flavor without being too rich and overpowering and the filling was a great balance without being too fluffy and sweet.  Although they weren't quite like Oreos, they were certainly closer to them than whoopie pies.  They were a little tedious to make since you had to roll out the dough and cut them out to bake, then make the filling and assemble.  I also gave a few to my friend Jessica's mom, Chris, who shares a birthday with my mom!


Week 32:
Cookies - Caramel Stuffed Soft Gingerbread Cookies
Event - Barbara's Birthday/my birthday
Recipe - http://thebellevieblog.com/caramel-stuffed-soft-gingerbread-cookies/
Review - A winter cookie as a gingerbread, but with the caramel they were a bit different.  They didn't turn out to look like the picture at all, that seems to be happening a lot lately.  They still tasted good, though.  I liked that these were soft and chewy instead of hard and crunchy like I normally think of gingerbread.  They weren't overpowering on the ginger, but had great spice flavors.  Again, I cheated and used caramel bits instead of unwrapping individual caramels.  They may have melted a little better but it was so much easier this way.  It still took plenty of effort to roll out two balls of dough and roll them around the caramel in the middle.  Since the caramel was in the middle, these tasted best right out of the oven or better in the microwave for a few seconds so it wasn't hard in the middle.  I think everyone really enjoyed these, which is really all that matters.


Week 33:
Cookies - Fairy Bites: Tiny Shortbread Cookies
Event - Cora's 5th Birthday
Recipe - http://pinkpiccadillypastries.blogspot.com/2014/02/fairy-bites.html

Review - These didn't turn out quite like I wanted them to or how they looked on the recipe, but still yummy and fun.  Tate was in town so he got to help me make these.  We both had fun.  The dough was still crumbly for me and never turned into real dough which I was worried about.  You pressed it into a pan and then cut it up to bake.  It was a challenge to get full pieces from the pan to the baking sheet without falling apart, so they were misshapen and a bit crumbly, but actually mostly stuck together.  They were a delicious light shortbread and the sprinkles made it fun.  Even though it was supposed to be crumbly, I think it was meant to stick a little better than mine did.  I triple checked the recipe so I'm not sure what went wrong.  Other than the fact that they didn't come together too well, they were super easy to make.  The best thing was that Cora really didn't care.  She still enjoyed them and was nice enough to share them.    


Week 34:
Cookies - Dark Chocolate Almond Butter Cookies
Event - Jessica's Birthday
Recipe - http://sallysbakingaddiction.com/2014/02/24/dark-chocolate-almond-butter-cookies/
Review - Gluten free and delicious with the dark chocolate, these were more winners.  I get the special privilege of always trying a cookie straight from the oven.  In this case in particular it was a real treat to have this hot and fresh with the gooey dark chocolate.  I had never tried almond butter before so that was fun.  The recipe said you could substitute peanut butter but I wanted to try it as it was and try something new.  If I made them again I may use peanut butter just because the almond butter is so darn expensive.  These were easy to make and stayed together better than other gluten free cookies I have made in the past.  I got these mailed quickly so Jess could enjoy them as fresh as possible and she did!  Success!  She had several people offer to help eat them.  I also put up my new kitchen decor from Donald!


Week 35:
Cookies - Flourless Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
Event - Regina's Birthday
Recipe - http://tastykitchen.com/blog/2013/05/flourless-peanut-butter-oatmeal-chocolate-chip-cookies/
Review - These were delicious and probably some of my favorites I've made.  Regina said it really made her day, so that's the best part of all!  These were the best gluten free cookies I think I've made.  They stuck together so well and were chewy and soft.  Although, if I were giving these to someone with a severe gluten allergy I may be in trouble with the potential for trace amounts of gluten in the oats since I didn't buy specifically gluten free oats.  Thankfully that wasn't the case with these.  They were so easy to make.  The combination of peanut butter and chocolate is always a win in my book.  These were another cookie I was extra lucky to test straight from the oven with the warm and melted chocolate chips.  They weren't quite as beautiful as the picture in the recipe, but still pretty good looking cookies.  They were bite size which is my favorite so you can have just one for a small treat, or a few for an indulgence.