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.

Cookie Progress: Weeks 26 - 30

Week 26:
Cookies - Key Lime White Chocolate Cookies
Event - Lori's Birthday
Recipe - http://deliciousbydre.com/key-lime-white-chocolate-cookies/
Review - This week marked half way through the year!!  These were super easy cookies to make, using a key lime cake mix as a base.  I liked using the cut up white chocolate bar as opposed to white chocolate chips.  If I made these again I think I would try to add in some lime zest and or juice for an added punch of the lime flavor.  It was subtle but tasty in these cookies.  I might even add a couple drops of green food coloring to give it a nicer color.  These turned out a little more crumbly and rounded than the recipe showed, but they were still delicious.  I'm not sure what the difference was with that, but it didn't seem to be a problem with the flavors.  Lori enjoyed them and that's what matters.


Week 27:
Cookies - Pumpkin Cookies with Cream Cheese Filling
Event - Pumpkin season/fall
Recipe - http://dreamydesserts.blogspot.com/2008/10/pumpkin-whoopie-pies-with-creamy-cream.html
Review - Okay these are at the top of my list - some of my favorites!  Everyone else seemed to fall in love with these as well.  It made so many cookies so I shared with my neighbor and several friends besides my family.  Talk about some time consuming effort, though!  Not only was there a filling, but the cookies also required piping the dough out to bake them.  I was actually tired after finishing these.  They had such a wonderful balance of pumpkin spice flavors and the filling was the most delicious cream cheese frosting I've made.  I will certainly cut the recipe in half next time to save some time.  These were even gorgeous, which is always an added bonus in my opinion.  I will add these to my list of recipes to hold on to, but only for special occassions due to the effort; I like easy!


Week 28:
Cookies -Pumpkin Cookies with Cream Cheese Icing
Event - Fall, for Godparents and co-workers
Recipe - http://www.houseofhepworths.com/2010/10/15/pumpkin-cookies-w-cream-cheese-icing/

Review - These were tasty and everyone enjoyed scarfing them down.  My coworkers were happy to get some of my cookies and my godparents were pleased to receive a special treat as well.  It made a LOT of cookies.  I even halved the recipe and it was still plenty.  I enjoyed the little bit of cinnamon sprinkled on top of these cookies.  With the pumpkin cookies the dough is fairly sticky, so although I did use a cookie scoop, they don't turn out quite as perfectly round.  I suppose adding the icing helps the pretty factor some.  It was probably a bad idea to make these the week after the amazing pumpkin cookies in week 27.  These almost felt like a let down when they were still soft and pillowy deliciousness.



Week 29:
Cookies - Soft Frosted Pumpkin Spice Cookies
Event - Thanksgiving
Recipe - http://www.thebakerchick.com/2015/10/soft-frosted-pumpkin-spice-cookies/
Review - By the time I made these I was a little tired of pumpkin, but since it was Thanksgiving it felt like it was right.  My cookies didn't turn out quite as flat and pretty as the recipe showed, but flattening that sticky dough didn't work too well for me so I just went with it.  I did like all the spices in this one, it was quite flavorful.  I was also tired of having to frost all these cookies.  That is an added step that I don't like having to do!  It does add to the overall cookie and is an important step with these pumpkin cookies.


Week 30:
Cookies - Brown Butter Salted Caramel Snickerdoodles
Event - Carly's birthday
Recipe - http://www.twopeasandtheirpod.com/brown-butter-salted-caramel-snickerdoodles/#comment-234141
Review - These were heaven.  I was so excited about making these.  I snooped around Carly's Pinterest to find a type of cookie to make her when I saw that she had pinned one of the recipes in my list!!  So that was it.  Even better, the blog is two peas and their pod, which reminded that we used to say we were like two peas in a pod because we are such great friends.  :)  So, I cheated on the recipe a little.  I am a fan of simplifying things were possible.  The recipe called for caramels, unwrapped and cut up.  I bought a bag of caramel melts instead to save me the time and effort.  An unwrapped and cut caramel may melt a little gooier in the cookie, but this was just as tasty and much easier.  It was still a process to brown the butter and roll up the caramel in the cookies.  I thought you could really taste the browned butter and it might be my favorite new discovery in this process - so delicious.  The sea salt on top gave it a nice balance as well.  

Cookie Progress: Weeks 21 - 25

And I'm almost half way there...Let the baking continue!

Week 21:
Cookies - Almond Meltaway Cookies
Event - Leza and John's Anniversary
Recipe - http://www.thenovicechefblog.com/2013/03/almond-meltaway-cookies/
Review - I decided to make these cookies to celebrate Leza and John's anniversary because they reminded me of all the italian wedding cookies at their wedding.  These were delicious.  They really did melt away in your mouth.  I loved the texture of these cookies.  The glaze turned out better than any I've made so far.  I think it may have been due to actually sifting the powdered sugar to even it out and having the right measure of everything to get the right consistency.  It was a pretty white instead of a somewhat clumpy clear-ish glaze I've made in the past.  It was also a bit thicker so it stayed on the tops of the cookies better instead of dripping down.  This may have been helped by using the back of a spoon to apply the glaz, as well.  Delicious and beautiful are always a good combination for my favorite cookies.  The best part was getting an excited and grateful text from my cousin telling me they loved the cookies! I'm happy they were included in the challenge.


Week 22:
Cookies - Pretzel Cookies with Chocolate and Peanut Butter Chips
Event - For Laura, who wanted to be part of my challenge
Recipe - http://sugarcooking.blogspot.com/2010/07/pretzel-cookies-with-chocolate-peanut.html
Review - These were at the top of the list.  I had high expectations for these cookies and they came through.  Laura lived in my mom's neighborhood growing up, we went through school together behind my brothers and her sister.  She's good people, so when she asked on Facebook to be part of my cookie year of course I said sure.  She was kind enough to come pick them up so I didn't have to mail or deliver  them.  When I told her what kind of cookies I made her she said "It's like you know my soul!!" :)  So, definitely a success!  That's probably the best reaction I have had, and that's the best part about making all these cookies.  The salty sweet combination of these cookies is heavenly - a perfect balance.  I suggest you try them.  They were also quite simple to make and turned out looking great.  The extra sea salt on top of the cookies really takes it over the edge, as well.  I tried one without the salt because I was unsure, but it was a truly vital part to the deliciousness of this well rounded cookie.

Week 23:
Cookies - Strawberry Chip Cookies
Event - Jake's birthday
Recipe - http://www.madefrompinterest.net/strawberry-chip-cookies/#_a5y_p=3537754
Review - Easy and delicious!  These used a strawberry cake mix which made mixing them up super simple.  I didn't even use my stand mixer, just mixed everything up with a spoon.  I have grown to be quite fond of white chocolate chips.  It certainly made for a sweet cookie.  Again, I think these were both tasty and pretty, with a good texture.  I could have made them a little smaller in size since they were so sweet, but that's just preference.  For those that love strawberry cake - I would recommend this cookie.  They might also be fun to make for Valentine's Day since they are a perfect pink color.  It was fun to deliver these as I always enjoy visiting the Bolins.      

Week 24:
Cookies - Lemon Pillow Cookies
Event - Grandma's makeup birthday cookies
Recipe - http://noemptychairs.me/2014/12/10/twelve-days-of-christmas-cookies-lemon-pillow-cookies/
Review - The name says it all.  They were pillows of lemony goodness.  I don't think they were as lemony as some would prefer, but I enjoyed them.  When you took a bite it was like a taking a bite of a cloud.  I do think these were even better right out of the oven because the texture was more pronounced.  The dough balls were rolled in sugar so when they were freshly baked they had a perfect sugar crust on the outside before you got to the pillow center.  Although that texture stayed when they cooled, it wasn't quite as obvious.  I did like the cracked look this gave them, though.  The important thing is Grandma enjoyed them and I think she was happy to have a week dedicated to her, even though she's been able to try most of the cookies.  She was impressed that they stayed soft and delicious as long as they did. 

Week 25:
Cookies - Pumpkin-Oat Chocolate Chip Cookies
Event - Halloween/Fall
Recipe - http://www.cookingclassy.com/2014/08/pumpkin-oat-chocolate-chip-cookies/
Review - My first of several pumpkin cookie recipes!  I enjoyed these.  I have a pumpkin chocolate chip bread I make every fall and these reminded me of that.  The oats in this cookie give it a great texture, just the right amount of chewiness while still a soft cookie.  The only thing I would change about this recipe would be to cut it in half!!  I didn't give these away, so I ended up giving them to Brian to take to work and I took them to a Halloween party, but there were still plenty of cookies left.  I liked them better when I added a few chocolate chips to the tops of the cookies, it made them look more like chocolate chip cookies.  I put them in the fridge and that made them stay moist and delicious as well.  I don't always love pumpkin, but I'm looking forward to more pumpkin recipes coming up.

Cookie Progress: Weeks 16 - 20

The adventure continues!  I'm starting to lose a little steam.  I've done a great job at staying excited and  motivated for 20 weeks!!  Now there's a little less shine; I may need some encouragement.  I'm tired of my kitchen rarely being clean - I'm not great at doing the dishes right away!  Onward!


Week 16:
Cookies - Soft and Chewy White Chocolate Cinnamon Cookies
Event - Early Happy Birthday to my co-worker Brenda and Loretta's wedding weekend
Recipe - http://backforseconds.com/white-chocolate-cinnamon-cookies/
Review - These were some of the most well liked cookies I've made to date.  Everyone who tried them wanted more.  I brought them with us for Loretta's wedding and we all ate several before the reception as well as during!  Loretta even enjoyed one.  They were delicious.  They were soft and chewy just like they claimed, with a slight crisp on the outside.  My favorite.  The cinnamon was a delicious twist in this cookie.  The dough was a great dough and easy to make.  These will become a go-to cookie recipe for sure.  



Week 17:
Cookies - Cinnamon Honey Oatmeal Cookies
Event - Ron's birthday
Recipe - http://chasingdelicious.com/honey-cinnamon-oatmeal-cookies/
Review - My first ever baking failure!!!  The recipe was all in ounces.  I have a chart to convert it but I must have done something wrong.  The recipe calls for you to scoop out the dough and then refrigerate.  I did this and it seemed okay.  It seemed a little "wet", but it was staying in the scooped mounds just fine.  I figured that's why it was important to refrigerate, to get the dough to set up a little.  So I put the cookies in the oven and checked on them at the low end of the time suggested.  They were huge.  They spread across the entire pan.  I let them cool and had to literally peel them off the baking sheet.  At that point they were sticky and flexible.  I put them in a gallon bag and they turned into one big lump of cookie.  They were cooked even though they didn't appear to be.  I let Ron try them anyway.  He agreed the taste was good, but not so much the texture!  Brian, however, ate these all up!



Week 18:
Cookies - Softbatch Funfetti Sugar Cookies
Event - Tate's birthday
Recipe - http://www.averiecooks.com/2013/07/softbatch-funfetti-sugar-cookies.html
Review - I made these a little early for my nephew's birthday since we celebrated the Sunday before his actual 4th birthday.  I was excited to make him cookies with sprinkles in them, and I'm pretty sure he was excited I made them.  I bought sprinkles at the last minute and I couldn't find any with blue in them.  However, the large container I bought was still less than the recipe called for.  I had some leftover 4th of July and Christmas sprinkles.  So I got a few blue in there, but also plenty of red and green.  Oh well!  These had a little bit of almond extract in the dough, which I love.  I think it gives the cookie a little something interesting more than using vanilla extract.  These also called for being refrigerated, which I think helped.  Even with that, my cookies flattened out a little more than what the pictures showed with the recipe.  I don't know that they looked as wonderful, or if they were quite as soft, but these were still quite tasty.  The important thing is Tate was excited that I made him cookies for his birthday!


Week 19:
Cookies - Perfect Snickerdoodles
Event - Hairstylist and Kathleen's last radiation treatment
Recipe - http://rachelschultz.com/2012/11/13/perfect-snickerdoodles/
Review - I told my hairstylist about my cookie adventure the first time I got my haircut after I started.  I took him a couple leftovers from that week I had.  He was interested in knowing more and he made sure I knew that if I ever needed to get rid of some I could bring some by the salon!  So I knew I had to make him some on this journey.  He said he was a fan of snickerdoodles so I chose a basic snickerdoodle recipe for him to enjoy.  He was so excited when he saw me.  That is the best part of all this.  My mom was going to go to a surprise dinner to celebrate her friend Kathleen's final radiation treatment, so we thought that would be a good way to share the cookies as well.  Definitely something to celebrate!  Snickerdoodles may be one of my favorite cookies, and I probably could've eaten these until I was sick.  I think everyone loved these.  Again, these were a bit more spread out than the pictures in the recipe, but they were still a great texture.



Week 20:
Cookies - Award Winning Lemon Cookies
Event - Meredith's birthday
Recipe - http://www.ldsliving.com/LDS-Living-Lemon-Crinkle-Cookie-/s/64185
Review - Another tasty lemon cookie.  I like the powdered sugar coating on these.  It was a little bit of a crunch on the outside.  They were a bit of a cakey cookie, so depending on your preference it may or may not hit the spot.  However, they had a good balance of citrus tart and sweetness in my opinion.  Everyone seemed to enjoy these, but didn't have a whole lot to say about them.  They were a solid cookie, but maybe not at the top of the list so far.  Making them was a breeze - kind of even fun to roll them up and toss them in the powdered sugar.  They cooked fairly quickly which is always nice.

Cookie Progress: Weeks 11 - 15

The adventure rages on: Alissa's #52weeksofcookies.  KitchenAid mixers make baking even more fun!


Week 11:
Cookies - Chewy Key Lime Coconut Cookies
Event - David's birthday
Recipe - http://www.willcookforsmiles.com/2013/08/chewy-key-lime-coconut-cookies.html
Review - I wasn't at all excited to make these personally as I am not a huge lime or coconut fan, but David likes them so that was the purpose.  I ended up really enjoying these.  Everyone else enjoyed them as well, most importantly David.  I think the addition of the cream cheese in the batter really makes it smooth and sweetly delicious.  Neither the lime or coconut were overpowering in this cookie.  They were a great little bite size, too.  The only negative was having leftover coconut in my pantry - yuck!  :)  Maybe I'll just have to make another batch sometime, with just slightly less coconut than it calls for!


Week 12:
Cookies - Salted Margarita Cookies with Tequila Glaze
Event - Loretta's Bachelorette
Recipe - http://www.doughvelopment.com/2014/05/salted-margarita-cookies-with-tequila.html
Review - This was actually my first time using my Kitchen Aid and I absolutely loved it.  It makes mixing much easier and much smoother.  I planned to make these for Loretta's bachelorette so I wanted to make them on Friday before I left to keep them fresh for us to enjoy.  Well my grandma ended up breaking her hip and having surgery that Friday, so these cookies got delayed til after the party.  I still sent some to both Loretta and Jessica in the mail so they could enjoy.  These weren't my favorite, since I don't love margaritas (only when I'm in the right mood for them).  They were a lot of fun though, and interesting to have a cookie that really did taste like a margarita.  The key was that they had salt sprinkled on top of the glaze.  I made a few with no glaze for Grandma and kids, then made a few with the glaze but no salt to test the taste difference.  I think I preferred them with the glaze but no salt.  However, the salt really made them stand out as something different and as a margarita.  The tequila was barely noticable, but a good flavor addition.

Week 13:
Cookies - Perfect M&M Cookies
Event - Jake Waxman request
Recipe - http://picky-palate.com/2013/04/03/how-to-make-perfect-m-and-m-cookies/
Review - Jake had seen all my cookies and wanted some.  When I made my other M&M cookies he said those were his favorite, so I told him to send me his address and he'd be on the list!  I had another M&M cookie recipe to try and a free week, so his mailbox got a special treat.  I think these were even better than my other M&M cookies.  The others were a sugar cookie while these were more like chocolate chip cookies.  I loved the mini chocolate chips and mini M&Ms in these cookies.  The secret ingredient was a little bit of vanilla pudding mix in the dough.  Yum!  Fun, pretty, tasty.  The only trick about these cookies is that they are really only the most delicious within the first few days.  I've noticed this with any type of chocolate chip variety.  They tend to get crumbly after a few days.  They seem to be better when heated up a little bit.  

Week 14:
Cookies - No-Bake Nutella Peanut Butter Cookies
Event - Brandon's birthday
Recipe - http://www.thekitchn.com/recipe-no-bake-160655
Review - Brandon said his favorite cookies are no-bake, so he got the one no-bake recipe I had on my list for his big 30th birthday!!  It was nice to not have to wait to bake these - a much quicker "baking" week!  These were some of my favorite as well.  I think everyone enjoyed them.  The hardest part was waiting for them set in the fridge while I could still smell the lingering melted chocolate.  The combination of ingredients was a great balance.  I think I could've made these a little smaller size, but they looked good as a big mound.  If I'm ever in a rush to make a nice treat, this will be my go to.  The good thing is I pretty much always have these ingredients on hand.  So even if I haven't planned something I will probably be able to grab these few things and whip up a batch to share.

Week 15:
Cookies - Orange Zested Cookies with Sweet Orange Glaze (or chocolate)
Event - Karthick's birthday
Recipe - http://www.suziethefoodie.com/orange-zested-cookies-with-sweet-orange-glaze/
Review - These were some of the best I've made I think.  They were gorgeous as well as tasty.  I always feel more accomplished when they cookies look as good as they taste.  Most of the time I don't have the "make it look pretty" part down, just the yummy factor.  This recipe had an alternative glaze to try with chocolate if you preferred. Karth told me he wanted the chocolate.  Of course I have the try the recipe so I did half of each.  Karth isn't a huge fan of sweets, but I always like to bake him something for his birthday and he always enjoys it.  I thought the orange would be something different without being overly sweet for him.  I loved them.  They reminded me of some carrot-orange cookies one of my grandma's friends used to make for my mom's birthday.  Boy do I miss those!  Karth enjoyed the chocolate glaze more, but I can't decide which is my favorite.  Even after several recipes with zest, I do not have a great talent for zesting fruit!