Sugar Cookies for the Holidays

Here's a little bit of a Christmas throwback for ya: a glimpse into Piper's and my delightful little Christmas cookie decorating party. There is an undeniable, indescribable pleasure about cutting little adorable shapes out of cookie dough. I say, why limit the fun to Christmas? Maybe for Valentine's Day this year friends could get together for a bit of good-natured platonic-love cookie decorating. Add some red wine, An Affair to Remember...What could be better?

World Peace Cookies

 "But Bailey," I hear you cry, "Why on Earth are there only two cookies in these pictures?" Well, friends, it's because these cookies were gobbled down in the blink of an eye. I was in the shower when Piper came home, found these in the cookie jar, and ate one. I was able to hear her un-printable exclamation over the sound of the shower. They're that good. Dorie Greenspan, who I'm starting to imagine (in a totally non-creepy way) as my fairy baking godmother, jokes that these cookies are called World Peace Cookies because if everyone in the world had one war would be a thing of the past. She may have been joking, but I think she's on to something.

Suspiros

This is the type of recipe I love best. My mom has been making these (cookies? meringues? some weird hybrid of both?) for as long as I could remember. She got them from my great-grandmother Mary, who we used to visit at her retirement home in Santa Fe. I have nothing but the most magical memories of our trips to Santa Fe, and these magical little confections are a fitting reminder of those visits. The name is Spanish for "breath," and it's an apt moniker. One bite and the cookies dissolve into air.

Toffee Crunch Bars

As Piper so eloquently put it, these cookies are a "taste adventure." Don't be fooled by their rather uninspiring looks. These pack a wallop of flavors--there's espresso, almond, chocolate and more than their fair share of delicious rich buttery goodness. There's no actual toffee in the cookie, but something about the interplay of the coffee and the almond...ahh. I had originally made these for dessert, and kept noticing the way my family members kept casually nipping through the kitchen to grab another cookie.

Molasses Spice Cookies

Sometimes, especially after a long series of mishaps, it's pretty wonderful when something, anything just happens to go right. It's been a tough couple of weeks, what with finals looming and two months having gone by since I've seen my boyfriend and then some bug or allergen or something decided to give me big ol' itchy spots ("Boy, this is piquing my appetite," I hear you mutter.) I'd also been tinkering around with new recipes and after a failed tart and a couple failed batches of cookies, things weren't looking (or feeling) too great. Until today. Like I should have known from the start, all's well that ends with molasses, brown butter, brown sugar and spices.

The Classics: Vanishing Oatmeal Raisin Cookie

I know, I know. How many oatmeal raisin cookies does the internet need? Well, dear reader, think of this not as another oatmeal raisin cookie, but as the oatmeal raisin cookie. While I'm as willing to dive into cocoa nibs and almond extract as the next adventurous baker, sometimes you really don't need to reinvent the wheel. These little beauties have served me well my entire life and I'd be hard-pressed to find a new recipe I like enough to replace them. And who knows? Maybe you don't have your own oatmeal raisin cookie recipe yet. If that's the case, start right here.

Chocolate Macarons with Orange Chocolate Ganache

I give you the macaron: though it be but small, it is fierce. This is my second-ever attempt at making macarons, largely because the first time I attempted it I was still young and impressionable and I figure now I'm nice and mature and will follow the directions like a good baker and everything will come out perfectly. And though these little guys are far from perfect, they're just so darn cute you can't help but love them.

Valentine's Brown Butter Spice Cookies

A few days ago I posted my desire to invent my first cookie. A Valentine's cookie. A "sexy" cookie, if you will (not some milksop sugar concoction with tastelessly sweet frosting). And voila, a few tries and a few cardboard-tasting failures later and I have found my cookie. A bit nutty, a bit chocolatey and a bit spicy. Mouth-meltingly soft. What more can you ask for? I'll still be playing around with this a bit; I had one try that came out perfectly and the others have been a bit varied, but I'll keep this recipe updated.

Valentine's Cookie Musings

I've been toying around with the idea of a Valentine's Day cookie for a little while and this morning I had a few ideas that I wanted to jot down. The usual "sugar cookie with crumbly royal icing" has always seemed a little insipid to me, especially where Valentine's Day is concerned. Those cookies are fine if they're representing some kind of little schoolgirl crush, but I want a sexy cookie (yeah, I said it.) A cookie that evokes the deep, toe-curling, passionate feeling of full-blown love.