Blueberry Cookie Bars

I finished up my baking for the library spring party tonight by trying a new recipe- Blueberry Cookie Bars. How could I resist the combination of almond shortbread and blueberry preserves? (The almonds and blueberries mean that it's healthy- they're both superfoods, right?) I used Smucker's Orchard's Finest Northwoods Blueberry preserves, and I'm really glad I splurged- it was not too sweet and chock full of whole, juicy blueberries. The recipe made considerably more cookie dough than I was expecting, so I ended up using a 9 x 13 pan instead of the 9 x 9 pan that was called for. All that means is more cookies!!!

They turned out just a tad on the dry side, though I may have overbaked them since I used a bigger pan than was called for (the recipe calls for 35-40 minutes, and I gave them about 30). They were still delicious though- just the right amount of sweet. A few seconds in the microwave and a nice cup of tea make them even better!

Lemon Icebox Cookies

The library spring party is later this week, so I started prepping tonight by making some Lemon Icebox Cookies. I love lemon, and these cookies are light and refreshing. They're also pretty easy, and the dough freezes well. Once you've got the dough mixed, you just roll it into a couple of logs and freeze.

You can bake an hour later or a month later- whenever you're ready for crispy lemony goodness. When you're ready to bake, the recipe suggests rolling the log in sugar and then slicing thinly. I changed it up a little though- I sprinkled the tops with some sugar for a little sparkle. Delicious! 

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

I had the day off of work because of the snow today, which is a perfect excuse to bake some cookies. I've been craving chocolate chip cookies, and I decided to make a slightly healthier version and throw in some oatmeal. I used a recipe that I got from  How To Cook Everything: Simple Recipes for Great Food. This is one of my favorite cookbooks to refer to for the basics. 

The cookies turned out to be surprisingly fluffy- I don't know if the photo does them justice. They tasted more like a light cake than a chewy cookie. Since I tend to prefer my cookies chewy, I'll probably try a different recipe the next time a cookie craving hits. Still, there aren't too many cookies that I'll turn down...

Citrus Sugar Cookies

To finish up my Christmas baking, I made these Citrus Sugar Cookies from the December 2009 issue of Everyday Food.  I love citrus, and the lemon added a really nice twist to these sugar cookies. This is probably my favorite Christmas cookie recipe of the 3 I tried this year. I mixed the dough in my food processor, which turned out to be a bit of an adventure since I forgot to put in my dough blade, and I used the maximum amount of flour that the processor will hold. If you use a food processor to make these, make sure you check the manual to see what yours can handle! They still managed to come together though- it just took a little extra kneading. 

The original recipe calls for royal icing, but I was too lazy for that, so I just went for sprinkles. I'm sure the icing would have been pretty delicious, but sprinkles seemed more Christmas-y to me (and definitely easier). Though these cookies were more effort than I'll usually go for in a cookie, they still seemed like a walk in the park after the Jam Filled Cream Cheese Cookies.

Jam Filled Cream Cheese Cookies

I continued my Christmas baking with these Jam Filled Cream Cheese Cookies from the December 2009 issue of Everyday Food. I love jam filled thumb print cookies, and these looked like a fun twist. They were definitely a Saturday project, because they were rather involved- mixing the dough, rolling it out, cutting out shapes, and then filling and shaping the cookies. Count on a solid 2 or 3 hours for these...

Another fair warning- no matter what I did, not all of these cookies wanted to keep their shape during baking. Some of my cookies turned out to be pretty (like below) and tasty, but others just turned out to be tasty and misshapen.

Christmas Cookie Fest 2010- Chocolate Peanut Butter Pretzel Cookies

These aren't the most traditional Christmas cookies, but when I saw this recipe for Peanut Butter Pretzel Cookies in Rachael Ray Magazine, I knew I had to try them and add chocolate! They remind me of Take 5 bars, and they're a great blend of sweet and salty. Next time I might have to go all the way and include a caramel element...

After making a pretty standard drop cookie dough, the balls are rolled in crushed pretzels and then baked. I ended up with soft, fluffy peanut butter cookies with a nice contrasting salty crunch! Now time for a glass of milk...