One of my goals for the year is to bake six new cookie recipes. This should be easy, but I am so frugal that I hate the idea of spending tons of money on ingredients to try a new recipe only for it to fail, so I always make the same three recipes repeatedly (a chocolate chip, molasses, and spiced chocolate chip). Yesterday when I wrote about this, I realized I didn't have a plan for what my new recipes would be, so let's work together to CREATE A PLAN.
Here are some picky bits about me. I do not think raisins should be in cookies, so if you DARE to suggest oatmeal raisin, I will decide you are an unreliable advice-giver re: cookies. Also, oats are basically off the table - Gluten Free Watchdog has found gluten in every oatmeal they have tested, so they do not recommend oats for GF people AT ALL. Oat-based cookies are OUT. I do not like chocolate to be the dominant flavor of a cookie - I'm fine with chocolate as a part of the cookie, but I am not a fan of things like chocolate chocolate chip cookies or whatever.
Whatever cookies I make I will make with GF flour, but I'll figure out those substitutions, so just pretend that's not a thing.
So, based on those caveats, what are your favorite cookies? Do you have specific recipes you'd like to send to me?
Currently I think of the following for my six "new" cookies:
1) Those peanut butter cookies with the Hershey Kiss in the middle
2) Iced lemon cookies
3) Thumbprint cookies with the jam in the middle
4) White chocolate macadamia nut, although to be honest I don't think my husband would like these
5) Snowball cookies
6) ?????
I am not wedded to any of these, though. If you were going to make a cookie today, what would it be? If you're not a baker, tell me what kind of cookie you would eat right now if a cookie could magically appear in front of you?
If anyone tries to give you an oatmeal raisin cookie, let me know and I will eat it for you
ReplyDeleteMy favorites on your list are 2 and 4, and my suggestion to add is an old school frosted sugar cookie. If I was going to make one, I would use the eggnog cookie recipe on the Budget Bytes site, because they were so lovely and soft. I would either make them as is or leave out the cinnamon and rum extract, which are the things that make the eggnog flavor.
I am still shocked to learn that you will eat oatmeal raisin cookies. *full body shudder*
DeleteMy husband did ask for a sugar cookie. I asked it he wanted them frosted and he sort of shrugged, so that's something to think on. I'll look at the Budget Bytes recipe!
I've never tried GF cookies, but my favourite cookies are gingersnaps - chewy ones, my grandma's recipe. I also really like an oatmeal chocolate chip coconut cookie, but you've already said that's off the table. I guess I'd go for the peanut butter ones.
ReplyDeleteGingerbread is hard, but maybe gingersnaps could be a go. I'll think on that.
DeleteI am similarly offended by raisins, Engie.
ReplyDeleteLet's see. I am in a springy mood, so I would look for a cookie with some springiness. Lemon curd sandwich cookies, perhaps? Lemon crinkle cookies? These key lime snowball cookies sound intriguing: https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/recipes/key-lime-snowball-cookies-recipe I also love a good, soft sugar cookie with lots of frosting.
If you are looking for more inspiration, there are SO MANY good ideas here: https://lifeofadoctorswife.wordpress.com/2024/12/27/post-christmas-cookie-swap-baking-giveaway/
Oh, right!! The cookie swap thing I didn't participate in because all I make are chocolate chip cookies!! That's a good suggestion for a resource.
DeleteThe only problem with talking about cookies is that then I want to eat cookies! If my favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe is off the table because of the oats, then I would probably make snickerdoodles. Or meringues! My recipe calls for mini chocolate chips in those, and they're delicious, but they may not be the kind of cookie you're thinking of.
ReplyDeleteHere's the recipe, and what I wrote when I first made them:
https://www.gimmesomeoven.com/chocolate-chip-meringue-cookies/
https://knit-read-cats-hockey.blogspot.com/2015/01/wrapping-up-first-day-of-new-year.html
Those meringues sound lovely! And they are naturally GF. Sold, I think!
DeleteMy friend with celiac was thrilled she could have them!
DeleteI am not really a cookie person outside of my favourite which are ginger cookies. I am with you - raisins (and oatmeal) should NEVER be in cookies. Or coconut. I actually enjoy raisins and oatmeal AND coconut, but never in a cookie. Blergh.
ReplyDeleteThese aren't technically cookies, but you could make them GF - what about the saltine cracker toffee bars? Those are soooo delicious. Really good shortbread is also hard to beat!
I find white chocolate too sweet, so am never really a fan of white chocolate in my cookies.
I find shortbread impossible to make GF. I have tried several times and get frustrated each time. Maybe I'll take out the Test Kitchen's gluten free cookbook and try again!
DeleteAs usual I am no help. Although oatmeal doesn’t work for you, I am reminded of the very big oatmeal cookies that we could purchase freshly baked at the school where I taught. Sometimes they were still a bit warm, and you could specify either crunchy or soft. I would choose soft. If Sue had been there, she would have chosen crisp.
ReplyDeleteI would always choose soft and my husband crispy. We're opposites!
DeleteSnickerdoodles or pumpkin snickerdoodles
ReplyDeleteI have a bag of a premade mix of snickerdoodles. I should make those. I don't actually like snickerdoodles much, but maybe my husband will like them.
DeleteHow do you feel about bar cookies? I am fond of toffee tops: a quick shortbread base under an easy butterscotch layer with a thin chocolate layer on top. There is a recipe deep in my blog archives, which I would be happy to unearth if the idea appeals.
ReplyDeleteAs I said above, I've found shortbread to be challenging in the GF format, but maybe I'll try again. I'd love to do a millionaire shortbread with orange in it.
DeleteI recently made Chinese 5 Spice Molasses cookies and they were delicious. Of course you can never go wrong with Snickerdoodles.
ReplyDeleteOh, Ally. I do not care for snickerdoodles. They're always so dry. I'll ask my husband if he'd like some, though!
DeleteBrown butter brown sugar cookies! SO delish: https://www.aspicyperspective.com/brown-butter-brown-sugar-cookies/
ReplyDeletePerfect! On to the list it goes!
DeleteI once bought oatmeal raisin cookies from Farm boy thinking they were oatmeal chocolate chip and the kids were like what the fuck mom. Oatmeal chocolate chip is my favourite, but of your list I would pick the lemon ones. I'll have a think about recipes I could actually send you. There's a cream wafer cookie I love because it really tastes different from all the other cookies, but it's quite decadent so I only make them at Christmas.
ReplyDeleteIf someone brought me oatmeal raisin cookies, I would think I was being punked!
DeleteWhat's this cream wafer cookie? I wonder if I could make a GF wafer...
https://inspiredbycharm.com/cream-wafer-tree-cookies/
DeleteI love a recipe someone gave me for gf lemon cookies. They are amazing. I accidentally made them once with regular flour (hello, autopilot) AND I ate one before I realized. They turned out flat with regular flour, so they are actually supposed to be GF. These are really light and delicious. Hardly taste GF. They take a little time, because you have to refrigerate the dough midway through the process.
ReplyDeletehttps://thefirstyearblog.com/lemon-sugar-cookies/#wprm-recipe-container-32842
Awesome. I'll experiment with this one because I'd love a good lemon cookie in my arsenal.
DeleteI’m not a big baker, but if this cookie magically appeared in front of me I would definitely eat it. It’s worky, but really good. I really like the bit of lemon combined with the jam of your choice.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/tea-cake-sandwich-cookies
This looks like a lot of work. LOL. But...who said I'm afraid of hard work when I get delicious desserts out of it?
DeleteThey are totally a lot of work. You have to make 2x the cookies, because you make the top and the bottom both, and you have to cut a circle out of the top cookie. Ridiculous. But SO YUMMY.
DeleteI'll warn you in advance that I'm going to be NO help, but here we go. I rarely eat cookies (I know- what a sad, sad life) but if I were going to eat one right now, I would want chocolate chip. My son loves oatmeal raisin (I know- WHY) and my daughter loves white chocolate chips (yuck.) BUT. I don't think you can go wrong with peanut butter cookies! I would go with those. Thumbprints are good too.
ReplyDeletePeanut butter cookies are a good idea! I sometimes feel like they are dry. Hmmm...this is a good one to research.
DeleteI'm not an adventurous baker. I mainly bake sugar cookies and have fun with various frosting colors and sprinkles. I'm with you that raisins are gross. I also despise coconut. I haven't had lemon bars in a long time, so those sound good. Ernie's GF recipe might be just the thing!
ReplyDeleteI have yet to find a good sugar cookie recipe that I could use to cut out shapes and things. But I think we can still have fun with sprinkles and frosting, right?
DeleteI really like the first three cookies a lot. I completely agree with you about raisins, and I put white chocolate in the same category with them. Oh, hell; toss coconut in there, too. Hate it. I'm a huge fan of lemon bars. And fudgy brownies. In that order.
ReplyDeleteHuh. There's a lot of coconut hate in this thread. Do you ever get those seven-layer bars in Ohio? Nuts, chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, coconut, condensed milk? Those things are so good and will make you forget that there's coconut there. Or maybe not. I don't hate it. LOL.
DeleteYes! The Magic Cookie Bars aka 7-Layer bars. Love them. I can't even tell there's coconut in there. Now I'm thinking about how I can remove the coconut and replace it with something else. I mean, there's a lot of coconut--over a cup--so you can't leave it out. Any ideas?
DeleteI don't know, Nance. I LIKE coconut and use it liberally in cookies and in my granola. I wouldn't want to replace it!
DeleteWhen I was doing a virtual walk of the Camino de Santiago, I wanted to celebrate when I crossed the finish line. I made these Spanish almond cookies - easy and tasty! https://www.thespruceeats.com/easy-spanish-almond-cookies-recipe-3082851
ReplyDeleteDo you ground your own almonds?!?! I clearly need to actually invest in a food processor because that recipe makes it sound like that's just something everyone has!
DeleteI know these are technically Christmas cookies, but you need to try my Vanilla Almond Crescent Cookies. https://theinbetweenismine.com/2017/11/30/30-the-2017-holiday-cookie-swap/
ReplyDeleteThey won me the Christmas Cookie Bake Off last December. They're that good.
Whew! I was happy to see that you said you use almond meal instead of grinding your own almonds!! These do look easy enough...
DeletePersonally, I like MY oatmeal raisin cookies (but only mine) but I understand that is off the table. So I second ginger snaps (so good). My other suggestions would be spritz cookies (but they can be super finicky, especially if a cookie press is involved) or peanut butter (who doesn't love a peanut butter cookie?).
ReplyDeleteEveryone loves a peanut butter cookie, right?!
DeleteI’ve been wanting to try the peanut butter cookies with the Hersey kiss in the middle. I also think it would work well gluten free since peanut butter is also a binder ingredient. I’m here for the review if you make those. I am also usually just stick to making chocolate chip cookies. You can’t lose with chocolate chip.
ReplyDeleteYes, I think those peanut butter cookies with the Kiss in them should be easily made GF. I think my SIL might even have a recipe I could borrow.
DeleteIf I was making a cookie today I would go for shortbread (not a lot of sugar, but if you want a kick to it, a glaze icing is a plus) OR a molasses/ginger -- either snappy or soft. Anything with lemon works for me too, so I might go for a lemon-ginger biscotti. All three, good recipes and easy ones!
ReplyDeleteLemon is such a good flavor. I am digging it right now - I think it's because it's spring.
DeleteLongtime reader, first time commenter: growing up my mom would make these cookies on special occasions. My understanding is that they are a bit labor intensive, but I have FOND memories of eating them! I also think(?) they will naturally satisfy the gluten free requirements.
ReplyDeletehttps://johnpleshettemealoftheweek.com/recipes/lynns-meringue-cookies/
-Steph
Hi Steph! Thanks for commenting. I like how the cookie post is bringing out everyone's opinions! That is a good naturally GF recipe. CCR posted another meringue recipe earlier, so maybe I'll have to try both to see which is the best.
DeleteI would suggest some sort of plain sugar cookie. Basically you can vary it a little and nearly have six different cookies. I like snickerdoodles, so I would put cinnamon on them, but you can do regular sugar or no sugar or add almond extract etc... But basically all they are is sugar, butter, flour, egg, so you don't have to have any wild ingredients in order to make them.
ReplyDeleteOh and I want to add, NOT the ones you make shapes out of. That is too much work. Just a drop sugar cookie!
DeleteDr. BB did request a sugar cookie, so I'll have to dig around for the best one!
DeleteYou already have so many good options here and I don't have much to add. One of my favorite cookies to make is an oatmeal chocolate chip cookie. I made them for game night a few weeks ago and I was OFFENDED when my nephew thought I made oatmeal RAISIN cookies. Gross. Why would I ever do that to our family?!!?!
ReplyDeleteThe PB cookies with a Hershey kiss are my fave, too!
Not sure how you feel about mint and cookies but this one was a hit with book club during the holidays: https://bakedabundance.com/mint-double-chocolate-chip-cookies/
I feel like your nephew and I are on the same page. Someone in my book club gave me some granola and I was really excited until I realized it had raisins in it. Yuck!
DeleteI need to try the peanut cookies.
ReplyDeleteNot sure you like matcha but if you do look at the recipe i posted https://www.craftaliciousme.com/lemon-matcha-cookies-spring-cookies/ i think these are fun spring cookies.
I don't know if I've ever had matcha. My only real experience is from Paul and Mary saying it tasted like grass on Bake-Off. LOL. Where do you buy matcha? Is it in the baking aisle at a regular grocery store?
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