It is time to go full-on blog post for a book I've been mentioning a lot lately. As Christmas was yesterday, I did mt best to fill our house with Christmas cookies, and I got lots of help from Dorie's Cookies.
Dorie Greenspan has long been known to foodies and bakers for her fantastic cookbooks (Baking Chez Moi sits just a couple of feet from me as I type, and Around My French Table and Paris Sweets hang out on my iPad). Last fall, she published Dorie's Cookies, a cookbook specializing in (you guessed it) cookies. And let me tell you, her recipes were the hit of our Christmas!
Her Almond Crescents were just like my boyfriend's grandma used to make, and his mother was delighted. I went to grab a Snowy-Topped Brownie Drop (a sort of Chocolate Crinkle, which we always called "Snow on the Mountain Cookies" when I was a kid), and I found that there were only three left in the bag, officially making it the most popular cookie of the day. And if that wasn't enough, her Lemon Sugar Cookie added the perfect crunchy, tart finish and was so easy, it might be one of my top three go-to cookies from now on (chocolate chip, the original Nestle Toll House recipe with a little extra vanilla splashed in, and snickerdodles from Joanne Chang's Flour cookbook are one and two, respectively. Those are set in stone).
And I have barely dipped into this treasure trove of cookie recipe fabulousness. There are recipes for brownies and bars, cookies you know well and new ideas (a strawberry shortcake cookie), cookies for everyday and cookies for special occasions. And from what I've tried so far, there is not a bad idea in there. I am hoping for some slow weekends in the early part of 2017 so that I can do some more experimenting.
Filled with amazing recipes as well as tips, techniques, and recommendations on tools and ingredients, Dorie's Cookies has everything you need to become a cookie master. It's too late to ask for this for a Christmas gift, but it's not too late to buy it for yourself or to spend some of your Christmas gift cards on it. This is one of the best investments I made this year.