I’m a little surprised that there aren’t more recipes with orange. Sure, a little zest gets thrown in now and then. But I am talking about desserts that really feature orange as the primary flavor. They are rare. I love oranges and I am always on the lookout for recipes that go beyond that bit of orange zest to brighten them up. Orange was what attracted me to these cookies initially, but I am also developing a little bit of a thing for meringues. This recipe combines the two and made it onto the list of 12 cookies from the very start. As Nancy Silverton promises, they are seriously addictive. They also offer a nice change of texture from the usual cookie tray offerings. They are bright and fruity with a nice satisfying crunch. They are one of my personal favorites from this collection of cookies. One more thing that needs to be said about these—and I hope this doesn’t turn some of you off—they taste like FRUIT LOOPS! Seriously. In the very best way possible. Like the fanciest Fruit Loops in the world.

read more+++

I was hoping to find another slice and bake cookies for this collection. Something that could be made in advance and stored in the freezer or fridge until you were ready to bake. Because, let’s face it, this is a crazy time of year and we don’t always get to bake when we want to. Cook’s Illustrated seems to be the king of slice and bake cookie recipes and when I saw this recipe for Toasted Coconut Cables, I fell in love. Yes, I fell in love even before I tried them. They seemed easy to make, could be made in advance and were full of toasted coconut. I really do not enjoy sweetened shredded coconut, but when you toast it—entirely different story. It is transformed. read more+++

By now you know that I don’t care much for chocolate. Unfortunately, most of my friends do and so I thought I would try to selflessly include one chocolate recipe in this cookie carnival. My goal was to find a recipe I might actually like, which means there needed to be lots of butter and other distractions. These Mexican Chocolate Cookies are the perfect compromise. They are a rich chocolate-flavored butter cookie spiced with cinnamon and cayenne pepper. They are tasty and were a big hit with my friends. They are especially nice with a cup of coffee. And because they are slice and bake, you can have freshly baked cookies whenever you like which makes them perfect for the holiday season.

read more+++

I’m not sure when I first looked at a food blog. Are you? Did I even understand what it was when I first saw one? Another weird blog thing? I know that one of the first food blogs I fell in love with was The Wednesday Chef. It was maybe three years ago that I found Luisa Weiss’ outstanding site. I immediately enjoyed her writing—it was smart, it was emotional, and it was funny. Luisa made blogging cool. (At the time, blogging was decidedly not cool—maybe it still isn’t.) It has been a pleasure to watch Luisa cook her way through recipes, both good and bad, and share her stories. I am so very pleased to have Luisa participating in the 12 Days of Cookies, especially now as she prepares to leave the states and head across the pond for exciting new adventures in Berlin (for more on that, read this incredibly moving post). Luckily, she is taking us all with her. read more+++

There is a surprisingly lengthy Wikipedia article on Lebkuchen (or, as I learned, pfefferkuchen), which are German gingerbread. They go back as far as the 13th century to a group of monks who would bake them on top of communion wafers to prevent them from sticking. Or not, it is a wikipedia article after all. I am choosing to believe the article. Especially the part that claims the roots of these cookies go back to ancient Egypt when they were made with honey and used to protect you from evil spirits. read more+++

We’re almost halfway through the 12 Days of Cookies! It is going so fast. I may actually be getting tired of eating cookies. Luckily, we have some friends coming over today to help us eat the growing piles of cookies in our kitchen. This next cookie was a special request from Bryan. He wanted something with anise seed and when I saw this recipe for a Greek-style butter cookie filled with anise and almond and dusted with confectioner’s sugar I knew he would like it. These just dissolve in your mouth, little delicate morsels of liquoricey goodness. read more+++

For the 4th Day of Cookies I am sending you on an adventure over to one of my favorite blogs, 101 Cookbooks. The amazingly talented Heidi Swanson has agreed to provide us with our 4th cookie, and boy did she deliver! Her Sparkling Ginger Chip Cookies are real beauts. read more+++

Growing up, my aunt was the primary cookie-maker in our family. Every Christmas Eve we would all look forward to the giant plate of cookies she would bring (actually, it was usually a sweater box from Marshal Fields that she had lined with waxed paper and filled with cookies). Her cookies were famous. There were an assortment but what I really looked forward to were what we always called kolaches, or more phonetically: kolachkies. They were an unsweetened pastry dough with assorted fruit fillings, somewhere between a cookie and a pastry. Man, I loved those cookies. read more+++

DORIE GREENSPAN! I’m sorry, I can hardly contain my excitement over this next guest! Dorie Greenspan is one of my baking heroes— she is a baking goddess. Though we have never met (someday!), I feel as if I know her from spending so much time with her cookbooks and website. I even discovered one of my favorite restaurants in Paris thanks to her (Bistro Paul Bert). Her books are the ones I return to most often when I am trying to figure out a recipe problem or want to feel inspired to bake something new. Baking, From My Home to Yours is the book that I recommend if someone is only going to have one baking book on their shelf or doesn’t know where to start. I mean, there is an entire blog dedicated to this book and hundreds of home cooks bake her recipes every week.

read more+++

Welcome, dear readers, to the first of 12 DAYS OF COOKIES! That is right, from today until December 12th, I will be bringing you a new post and a new cookie recipe each and every day. 12 Lottie + Doof-style cookies to make for your friends and family (or yourself). But that isn’t all! The best part is that I am going to have some very special guests helping me out along the way. Who, you ask? Well, you’ll just have to wait and find out, but I promise it will be good. We’ve been working together for the last few weeks pulling together some very delicious cookie recipes to share with all of you! Starting now… read more+++