I'm sure we all have out favorite.  This one is mine.

                CHOCOLATE CHIP-DRIED CHERRY-PECAN COOKIES

• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1 large egg, room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 1/2 cups unbleached flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup dried sour cherries
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans

1.  Preheat oven to 375˚F.
2.  In a large bowl, combine the granulated and brown sugars and butter.  Mix well.  Add the egg and vanilla and continue to mix until smooth.  In another bowl combine the flour, soda and salt.  Add this to the sugar-butter mixture and mix until it is just combined.  Fold in the chocolate, cherries and pecans.
3.  Drop small mounds of dough onto a parchment-lined baking sheet.  Bake on the oven's middle rack for 10 to 12 minutes.  Transfer to a cooling rack

  If I have to choose between chocolate and vanilla, I will always choose vanilla. These delicate little biscotti get a double dose from a vanilla bean and vanilla extract.  The smell was intoxicating while the cookies were in my oven, and many disappeared before the second baking.  We couldn't wait to get our hands on them!  This recipe is from the New York Times magazine; a serving suggestion to the fruit and herb iced teas featured in the article.  The dough was very sticky and working with it at room temperature was practically impossible.  To remedy this, I spooned out the 3 logs onto a parchment lined cookie sheet and placed the sheet in the freezer for 10 minutes (no longer).  At that point I was able to take a long metal spatula and press them into shape, easily.

                                            VANILLA BISCOTTI
                     adapted from the Sunday New York Times, May 1993

• 1 vanilla bean, split in half lengthwise
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 cups unbleached flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/4 cups blanched slivered almonds
1.  Preheat the oven to 325˚F.  Position rack in center of the oven.  With a small knife, scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean and place in a small bowl.  Add the sugar and mix to distribute evenly.  Set aside.  With an electric mixer, cream the butter until light.  Add the vanilla sugar and mix until fluffy.  Add the eggs and the vanilla extract and mix until smooth.  Combine the flour, baking powder, salt and almonds and stir into the butter mixture.
2.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.  Divide the dough into 3 lengths onto the parchment.  You will want the logs to be approximately 1 1/4-inches in diameter.  Place the baking sheet in the freezer for 10 minutes.  Remove and use a long flat knife or a metal spatula to flatten and shape each piece of dough.  They will roughly be 12-inches by 1 1/4-inches.  Try to space them as far apart as possible since they will spread while baking.  Place in the oven and bake 30 minutes or until lightly browned.
3.  Place the logs on a cutting board and let them cool slightly.  With a serrated knife, cut the logs on the diagonal into 1/2-inch pieces.  Place on the baking sheet, cut side down.  Bake until lightly browned, about 15 minutes, turning them once.  Transfer to a rack to cool.  Store in an airtight container. 

  When I traveled to Paris for the first time in 1997, I was introduced to  macarons.  They are amazing little almond meringue confections with endless varieties of fillings.  If you've never had one of these you are truly missing out.  The December 1996 issue of House & Garden magazine published a beautiful article, "Cookie Fortune" which included the history of the French macaron, photographs that I have been tempted to frame, and a recipe from patisserie Ladurée.  I found that recipe and the procedure totally intimidatiing.  I filed it away, only taking it out occasionally to admire again the photographs of the beautiful, pastel-colored marcarons.  As I've become more involved in visiting pastry-themed blogs, I've realized that the French macaron does not have to be intimidating and is something that can easily be made at home, and has been on my growing list of "things I need to bake".  In fact, it has been on my list for quite a long time, but a photograph that was posted by Corey of Tongue and Cheek was what finally inspired me to set aside a morning for my first attempt at making macarons.  I am now hooked and on the way to further experimentation.
  What I learned:
  • There are many recipes on the web for macarons and different baking times and techniques.  I found Corey's to work the best for me.  She baked her macarons at 300˚F for 12-16 minutes, then left them in the oven with the heat off and the door ajar for another 2 hours.  I found that this technique preserved any color that was added to the meringues.  When I baked them for 16-18 minutes, as another recipe recommended, they were brown, instead of the intended pink.
  • They really don't spread much after being piped onto the parchment.  I used 4 cookie sheets for this recipe since I left about 2-inches in between each meringue.  Next time I'll be fine with just 2 sheets.
  •  Drawing circles on the underside of the parchment paper will help achieve more consistent-sized meringues.
  •  Serious Eats has a great post on making and baking macarons.  I used their recipe for ingredients and some of the procedures along with Corey's of Tongue and Cheek

                                      Almond Macarons

• 225 grams powdered (Confectioners') sugar
• 125 grams almond flour (I ground 125g of blanched almonds along with the powdered sugar to a very find powder in my food processor)
• 110 grams egg whites (leave in a jar at room temperature for 1 to 2 days before using in this recipe)
• 30 grams sugar
• pinch of salt

1.  Preheat the oven to 300˚F.  Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
2.  The powdered sugar and almonds should be mixed together in a food processor to a fine powder.  Pour into a large mixing bowl.
3.  In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt to soft peaks; slowly add the sugar and continue to beat until stiff peaks form.
4.  When the egg whites are glossy, add food color, if desired, until combined.
5.  Gently fold the egg whites into the almond mixture, folding until fully incorporated. 
6.  Using a pastry bag with a 3/8-inch round tip, pipe the macarons onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper (it helps if you secure the parchment to the cookie sheet by placing a little bit of the meringue on each corner between the sheet and the parchment) in 1 1/2-inch discs.
7.  After piping, let the meringues set at room temperature for 1 to 2 hours before baking.
8.  Bake for 12 minutes at 300˚F, turn off the oven, and open the oven door.  Leave the meringues inside the cooling oven for 2 hours.

The fillings:  Buttercream is typically used for the filling of French macarons, but anything and everything is possible.  I made a chocolate ganache for half of the macarons and a white chocolate-raspberry for the other half.  For each I started out by pouring a little heavy cream in a small saucepan, heated over a low flame, and removed before it came to a boil.  I removed the pan from the heat and added enough dark chocolate or white chocolate to give a good spreading consistancy, stirring until melted.  I added a little unsalted butter to the dark chocolate to give it some shine, and seedless raspberry preserves was added to the white chocolate.  These were piped onto the meringue discs using a smaller pastry tip.

   I made these dog biscuits for Pipi, piercing the little rounds with a chop stick, thinking they would look like a button.  Instead, I only see a pig's snout (or maybe, a Frenchie's?).  Oh well, the important thing is she seems to love them.

  Pipi was out of her store-bought biscuits, which she expects me to  place in her mouth several times throughout the day.  When a biscuit occasionally misses her mouth and falls to the floor, I get a disgusted look that clearly says, Hey, can we get this right?  Pick it up and try again!
  I was ready to make the pet-store-run to replenish her French Champagne tin, which holds her biscuits and sets on the floor next to her water dish, but had all of the ingredients (organic, of course) to make my own. 

  They actually go together very quickly and cost much less than what I usually pay.  Pipi highly recommends them.

                                     DOG BISCUITS

• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 cup oatmeal
• 1/2 cup organic peanut butter
• 1 cup whole milk
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 organic egg

  Combine the flour, baking powder and oatmeal.  Stir in the peanut butter, then add the milk, egg and butter.  Knead the dough together.  Add more flour, if necessary, to get a soft dough that is no longer sticky.  Roll the dough to 1/4-inch thickness on a lightly-floured surface and cut out with your dog's favorite cookie cutter.  Place onto a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake in a preheated 375˚F oven for 20 minutes.  Cool on a baking rack when out of the oven. 

I am still playing around with the orange sorbet I made the other day.  And I am still using it to top off a drink.  This time, instead of the classic cocktail of Campari and orange juice, I poured Campari into a glass  along with ice cold club soda and finished it off with scoops of homemade orange sorbet.  That was served with Double Chocolate Almond Biscotti... and that was our dessert.

                        DOUBLE CHOCOLATE ALMOND BISCOTTI
                           Gourmet Magazine, December 1994

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• 1 cup slivered almonds
• 3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• Confectioners' sugar
1.  Preheat the oven to 350˚F and butter and flour a large baking sheet, or cover with a sheet of parchment paper.
2.  In a bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt.  In another bowl with an electric mixer, beat together butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Add eggs and beat until combined well.  Stir in flour mixture to form a stiff dough.  Stir in the almonds and chocolate chips.
3.  On prepared baking sheet with floured hands, form dough into two slightly flattened logs, each 12-inches long and 2-inches wide, and dust with Confectioners' sugar.  Bake logs for 35 minutes, or until slightly firm to the touch.  Cool biscotti on baking sheet 5 minutes.
4.  On a cutting board cut biscotti diagonally into 3/4-inch slices.  Arrange biscotti, cut sides down, on baking sheet and bake until crisp, about 10 minutes.  Cool biscotti on a rack.  Biscotti keep in an airtight container one week, and frozen one month.

  There's been talk recently in several of the food blogs about "Breakfast" cookies.  Basically, the cookies were oatmeal-raisin (and all sounded yummy), but when I think of a "Breakfast Cookie" this is the cookie that comes to mind.  At first glance, you think you will be biting into a carrot cookie with pecans, but after taking that first bite and then a closer look, you realize it isn't any such thing.  The "orange" color in this cookie comes from the grated Cheddar cheese.  In addition to the cheese, there is crisp bacon, wheat germ, and yes, oatmeal.  This is one cookie I don't feel guilty about shoving into my daughter's hand as she heads out the door to school in the morning.

                                     BREAKFAST COOKIES

• 3/4 cup all-purpose unbleached flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2/3 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1 organic egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 1/2 cups old-fashion oats
• 4 ounces (approximately 1 cup) grated Cheddar cheese
• 1/2 cup wheat germ
• 6 slices bacon, diced, cooked and drained well

1.  Combine the flour, soda, and salt in a bowl.
2.  In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy; beat in the egg and vanilla.  Slowly add the flour mixture, mixing just until combined.  Add the oats, cheese, wheat germ and bacon and slowly mix, again just until combined. 
3.  Scoop about 1 tablespoon of the dough and roll into a ball.  Place onto cookie sheets lined with parchment paper.  Bake at 350˚F for 16 minutes.  Transfer to a rack to cool.

   Many years ago I clipped a recipe for Pistachio-Dried Cranberry biscotti from Metropolitan Home magazine.  What I like so much about this biscotti is, it is made with olive oil instead of butter.  I often bake this cookie during the holiday season, not only because of its wonderful taste, but the green of the nuts and the red of the cranberries seem so festive.  Pistachio-Dried Cranberry Biscotti  It's not too late to make this part of your holiday cookie repertoire.

Didn't everyone grow up eating chocolate cookies rolled in confectioners' sugar?  I certainly remember them from my childhood.  But the ones my mother made were nothing like these.  This chocolate cookie earned the top tier of the old, French cooling rack on my holiday table. 

                              CHOCOLATE ALMOND COOKIES
       adapted from the Chez Panisse Café Cookbook by Alice Waters

• 12 ounces bittersweet chocolate
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup brandy
• 1 cup ground almonds
• 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons cake flour
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3 eggs
• 1/2 cup sugar, plus extra for rolling
• Powdered sugar

1.  Melt chocolate and butter together.  Stir in brandy.
2.  In another bowl, mix together almonds, cake flour, baking powder and salt.
3.  In a third bowl, beat the eggs together with 1/2 cup sugar until just mixed.  Fold in flour mixture.  Chill dough.
4.  When ready to bake, roll dough into 1-inch balls.  Roll them first in sugar, then in powdered sugar.  Bake on a parchment-paper-lined baking sheet at 325˚F until the tops are cracked, about 10 minutes.  When cool, the cookies should be slightly chewy.  Do Not Overbake!