May's Cookie of the Month: Lemon Poppyseed Shortbread

One of the things I find most annoying about blogs is the incessantly recycled content.  Maybe I'm not diversified enough in the blogs I follow, but the same cute nursery designs and delicious-sounding pickled ramp recipes get posted on multiple blogs I follow, getting progressively less cute and delicious-sounding with each post.  [Now that a student explained it to me (thanks Pat!), I understand that "RT" in twitter parlance is a "re-tweet": essentially forwarding someone else's tweet like an email to your followers.]  

So it is now with some shame that I join the ranks of the lazy bloggers and re-hash a decent cookie recipe I found on Lottie + Doof.  Good blog (excellent food photography, solid recipe selection)... so-so cookie.  Not hard to make exactly, but lots of refrigeration time between mixing and baking, and I'm not sure shortbread is worth the wait.  They look pretty, though, and could be customized with your cookie cutter collection or you could go crazy with some freehand designs.  The verdict: 6 out of 10.  Eh.

January's Cookie of the Month: Oatmeal Coconut Lace

This recipe from Gourmet magazine is incredibly good... easier than it looks and the results are both tasty (super crispy, like a cookie composed entirely of the edges of Pamela's crepe-like pancakes, topped with chocolate) and elegant. I skipped the white chocolate and the cookie was excellent with just the dark chocolate.  It's fun to get in touch with your inner abstract expressionist with the chocolate swirls-- I had a few very nice designs but I ate them before I took the picture, so the cookie at right does not represent my best work.  Make the cookies a little smaller than the recipe says--- they say to use a rounded teaspoon--- I'd use a scant teaspoon because there's so much butter in these that they spread a lot.  Mine ended up being huge, and because they're so fragile, that makes them kind of difficult to keep in one piece when you're eating them in bed or on the couch.  Also, you don't need a Silpat liner (which can cost between $20 and $25 each); just use parchment paper to line the cookie sheets and you'll be fine.  The verdict: 9 out of 10. Highly recommended. 

December's Cookie of the Month: Chewy Ginger Snaps

Before Christmas, I made some cookies while Dad and Karen watched Peter.  I got the recipe from a link off the Kitchn: chewy ginger snaps.  The recipe was easy and the results looked professional and tasted great.  Mine flattened out more than the picture on the website, but stayed chewy and very ginger-snappy. Actually, they tasted almost exactly like my favorite Starbucks molasses cookie only smaller.  Definitely recommend making them-- B. took some to work and said they were a big hit with his co-workers. (Although I suspect he may have eaten more than his fair share...)  Of course, now I think I need a Kitchen-Aid standing mixer for all of my future baking endeavors, but that will have to wait until Christmas '09.  And a bigger kitchen that can accommodate the extra appliances.  The verdict: 8 out of 10.  Highly recommended.