Ice Cream Sandwich Cookies
I am going on a trip to India in March, and my dad was very helpful by going to the India visa office three times to get my visa for me since he works downtown. I told him he could pick any cookie out of my giant cookie cookbook (The Complete Book of Cookies by Catherine Atkinson) and these are the ones he picked. I think we rolled them a little bit thick, as we only got 10 cookies instead of 12, and to me it seemed like it was a lot to bite through. My dad said he thinks if we let them thaw a bit before eating them it might help them become a bit softer. It was nice to set up a little "cookie bar" with different toppings to choose from, and we will do that again on our second round of ice cream sandwich eating. They were delicious! I'd try them with different flavors of ice cream too - we did plain Vanilla Bean this time.
Lemon Bon Bons
I was drawn to these cookies by the combination of pistachios and lemon. Please be aware that the dough requires overnight refrigeration... I overlooked this and ended up finishing these without help the next morning. It took awhile to roll and decorate and I wish I had had someone to help me! Anyway, they were fun to decorate with brightly colored icing and they looked great even with my lack of artistic talent. They look like they'd be quite sweet, but don't be fooled - they are more like a shortbread cookie with nuts. Although the recipe says the icing is optional, don't skip it! They look and taste a lot better than plain ones. These were a fun addition to my Christmas cookie collection to take to Grandma and Grandpa's house.
Gingerbread Cookies
with Royal Icing
I had planned a gingerbread cookie decorating party... and we had our first blizzard of the winter, so nobody could come. So Derek and I baked anyway! We worked all afternoon cutting out and baking, and still only got 2/3 way through the dough. We had too many cookies for 5 people to eat. They lasted 3-4 weeks before the last one was eaten. I froze the rest of the dough for another time. The cookies stayed crisp even after putting them into a tupperware container. These cookies would be fun for kids to decorate. The cookie-making process was a bit grueling for two of us, however. It was nice to get some help with decorating.
Greek Honey Crunch Creams
After first determining what, exactly, "Greek honey" was, and then deciding we indeed would not be using it (apparently it's among the "most expensive honey in the world"), I went ahead and made these cookies with regular honey. By all means, if you try these with Greek honey, which was said to have hints of anise, please let me know how they taste!
