Too Many Cookies to Count!

*Please note that the name of the cookie in bold and underlined signifies a link to the recipe

So I'm down to 1 more batch of cookies - chocolate meringues! I've been putting them off because, to be honest, I'm so worried about messing them up! This will be my first time making meringues...but I keep telling myself I should just go for it, get it over with - I've already baked 59 batches of cookies in less than a month (I was assigned a project to bake 60 batches of cookies and photograph them for our online cookbook, in case you're wondering why I'd even attempt such a crazy task), I should have some faith in my experience!

Just a few days ago I had to make a lemon curd for a cookie/treat. I was so happy that it didn't turn into scrambled eggs! Strangely, the last step in this cookie (they're actually bars) recipe that called for lemon curd required me to bake the curd for 10 minutes, that seemed kind of odd to me. I was afraid the eggs would start to curdle in the oven and destroy the smoothness of the curd. I was right! Thankfully, with a few minor repairs, the lemony dessert was saved...only thing is, after I photographed the one square for the online cookbook, I threw the rest away. For some reason, the thought of eating a dessert that was creamy because of egg yolks that turned into lemony scrambled eggs in the oven somewhat disturbed my taste buds. My husband, the courageous eater that he is, asked to try the small piece I saved...he said it was tasty! Ooh, I felt so bad for dumping the rest in the trash, that's what I get for not trying the strange yellow concoction first! Do any of you know if a curd is supposed to go in the oven? If it should get baked, then why did mine start resembling scrambled eggs after just 10 minutes? I imagine I did something wrong, but I'm still kind of lost as to where I made the mistake :). I'd appreciate any tips you all might have to offer!

I have to say that I really enjoyed baking all these cookies, even if my tummy didn't actually enjoy the results as much as my taste buds did...all that butter certainly did make the cookies delicious, but there is a reason why I don't use such large amounts every time I bake!

There are a few cookie recipes that stand out because of their unique ingredients and fun texture. I'd have to say my favorite cookies of the bunch were the whole wheat raspberry bars. Imagine homemade, preservative free fig newtons but with raspberry jam in the middle. Oh, I also made fig newtons, and I actually had a bit of energy left over to make the fig jam (it was so fun and easy, I didn't know jamming was so simple!), they were yummy but I prefer raspberries over figs :).


My husband's favorite "cookies" were the pecan pie bars. These are really amazing, they're just like the pie but a lot easier to make. I even divided the recipe in half, used less eggs, and altered the crust's recipe and it still came out well. I like this recipe because it's flexible and a lot easier to make than an actual pecan pie. I'll definitely make these in the future.

pecan pie bars

The cranberry and white chocolate cookies were also really amazing. They're basically an oatmeal cookie with white chocolate chips and cranberries.

So far, the two cookies that stand out for their interesting ingredients are the pistachio cookies and rolled maple sugar cookies. The pistachio cookie recipe calls for crushed cereal - it adds a fresh crunch to the cookies. From now on, I plan on keeping at least one box of plain corn cereal around for baking cookies, it's such a cool ingredient. As for the rolled maple sugar cookie recipe, I tweaked it a bit; I didn't have maple sugar, so I used brown sugar and added 1 tbsp of maple syrup to the dough. I also couldn't find any oat flour so I used all-purpose (next time I think I'll use wheat, I discovered it gives cookies a deeper flavor). I'm not a fan of shortening, so I substituted it with butter.

pistachio cookies

If you'd like to make your own candy bar at home, I suggest you try out this recipe for congo bars. Though I only had one bite, so that my gut wouldn't attack me later, it was a savory one. These were a hit at work! Congo bars are a great alternative to rice krispy treats; they're just as easy to make but 10x more savory.

congo bars

Oh, then there's the kolachke recipe, the "my favorite cookie" recipe (that's basically a chocolate chip cookie packed with delicious nuts), and the oh-so healthy survival cookies...but I'll share those later! I plan on making some of these cookies again, but if I can get away with it, I'd like to see if I can use less butter the second time around :).