This post should be titled “How to completely negate an 8 mile run in one minute.”

Before these life-changing cookies, I could take it or leave it when it came to Nutella. It’s probably the only thing I could watch Ivan eat off a spoon and be content to just watch. I am aware that there is a World Nutella Day, so there’s clearly a very devoted following, including my usually apathetic about sweets husband. I think it’s just because I am not a huge fan of hazelnuts, but anyway, let’s stop talking about why I didn’t care for it and talk more about why I am now reformed.

These. Cookies. Are. Ridiculous.

Ridiculous.

The crackly outer crust with the complex chocolate-ey smooth and chewy center smacked with gobbers of milk chocolate is pretty unbeatable. This was the best reward for a run I’ve ever had.

For the Recipe, click here:

Nutella Chip Cookies

Sneak Peak: We are headed to Utah this weekend for another round of snowboarding! I will be making a Moussaka ahead of time to pop in the oven after a powdery day on the slopes. Stay tuned…

I’m doing flips about these cookies. They are reason #399 why I adore Ina Garten and the way she says “Isn’t that just grEAAt?” about everything and anything. That woman knows how to work it in the kitchen, that’s no debate.

Everyone I work with is crazy about ginger…It’s all ginger tea and ginger pills. You would assume we are a bunch of geriatrics right? Let’s be honest, ginger isn’t a toddler’s favorite food. I’m scared to say that I am getting older and have fallen in love with ginger in all forms.

But THIS has got to be my favorite form…cookies that are slightly crisp on the outside and gooey and chewy on the inside with an amazing snap from the crystallized ginger pieces. Ina was right when she called this the Ultimate Ginger Cookie. Give it a try. It will make you feel like it’s Christmas.

For the Recipe, click here:

The Ultimate Ginger Cookie

Most of the time when I’m making cookies, it just comes down to what I have in my kitchen. I’ve gotta have an extreme craving to make me actually go to the store for specific cookie ingredients. I prefer to improvise with what I’ve got in my pantry. This time, I had a couple bananas that were past their prime, a bit of butterscotch and a bit of chocolate. So these came about!

The best cookies come from a little improvisation. That’s what I’ve learned. So I’m teaching my little sous chef Uni the tricks of the trade. He is a master chef in training as you can see.

For the Recipe, click here:

Banana Butterscotch Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ok, possibly I spoke too soon. It’s harder than I thought to stay away from Busy As a Brie! Of course, I have been in the kitchen, and I will admit, it’s nice sometimes to just cook by feel and not worry about writing down measurements, but I just made this batch of Pecan Sandies and as I was savoring my second one, I started to feel like I was cheating on you. They were so tasty that not posting the recipe would have made me feel just as guilty as eating the entire batch myself.

So maybe I will just stick to once a week until Ivan and my long overdue wedding extravaganza is over! That way, we both win. Now get on these cookies. I bet you have all the ingredients sitting in your pantry.

For the Recipe, click here:

Pecan Sandies

I’m in a mundane rut that consists of peanut butter, jelly, fruit and nuts at the moment. Ivan likes to call this birdfood, and I’m sure it disgusts him that I have been eating nothing else, and a ton of it. This is either because of my hectic schedule or due to a small case of homesickness. Homesickness specifically related to the sale of my childhood home. My parents are moving… tomorrow. I’m a bit sad that I won’t get to play one last game of Bocce in the backyard.

Melancholy has made me an absolute bore in the kitchen. So today, I bought a boatload of fresh veggies which are now hanging out in my fridge, chattering about what delicious little munchies they will become. So stay tuned, but as I said, for now I leave you with peanut butter… and jelly if you like…

For the Recipe, click here:

Peanut Butter Cookies

I apologize for being a tease and making you wait two days for these, but considering I ate them all and had to make another batch, I hope you will understand.

I don’t want to brag, but I make a silly good chocolate chip cookie. Growing up, I had my family convinced that I added a secret ingredient and kept them guessing by kicking them out of the kitchen every time I made a batch, but here’s the truth… I use the recipe on the back of the chocolate chip bag.

Alright, I do make a few changes. The biggest one being the proportion of white sugar to brown sugar. If you want a caramelized crisp bottom instead of a thick crunchy one, you have to use more brown sugar. Secondly, you must refrigerate your dough before baking. I repeat, cool the dough down! I know this seems stupid and a waste of time, but it is the kicker to a good cookie.

Here’s the thing…you know how the recipe calls for softened butter? Well, softened butter = a spread out, thin cookie. So chilling the butter keeps the dough in one place, making a layered masterpiece. Try it once, I beg you!

For the Recipe, click here:

Heavenly Chocolate Chip Cookies

I really did try hard to lay off the sweets this week. I promise. After cheesecake and blondies last week, I thought I could do a week of 100 percent greens and beans, but of course, my strike was unsuccessful.

My problem is that I always have a fully stocked baking cabinet. I’m the girl that immediately upon running out of chocolate chips, restocks. This is because when I have a baking urge, I just do it. Pop off the couch, slip on an apron and bam, I want to be on my way. So, I had white chocolate chips and I had macadamia nuts and I had a craving. So, 1 + 1 + 1 equals these divine cookies.

I am going to say without hesitation that these rank in the top 2 best cookies I have ever made. Seriously. These are pretty ridiculous. I think I had four over the course of the day, and I don’t even feel bad. I’m not even upset that my 4 mile run tomorrow will have to become a 6 miler! Sometimes, it’s just worth it.

For the Recipe, click here:

White Chocolate and Macadamia Nut Cookies

I guess I feel that when your pantry is fully stocked with the goodies to make chocolate cookies and there is a competition at work, even if you said you would take the day off, it’s just too easy to melt some chocolate and turn on the oven to duck out. Right?

Well, that’s exactly what happened. And since I will be missing the Anti-Valentine’s Day Party at the Eastern Standard in Boston for I believe the third year, I needed some chocolate to console myself. It’s not that I’m Anti Valentine’s, it’s just that I am Pro the Anti-Valentine’s Day Party at the Eastern Standard. It’s simply a decadent evening with bubbly rose and bubbly people.

So here is my final entry in the cookie competition. They are based very loosely on a recipe I found on Epicurious, but spun and twisted to my taste. Be warned, these are extremely rich, but if you like chocolate, they could become your new best friends.

Coffee Toffee Chocolate Cookies

1 1/4 cups packed brown sugar

4 eggs

3 tbsp strong coffee

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 1b bag semi-sweetened chocolate chips (preferably Ghirardelli or something similar)

1/4 cup unsalted butter

8 oz. toffee bits or crushed toffee bars

1/2 cup roughly chopped walnuts

Over a double boiler, combine butter and chocolate chips. Melt slowly, stirring often to prevent the chocolate from seizing. Once melted, cool slightly.

In a small bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt.

Combine sugar, eggs, coffee, and vanilla in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the wire whisk. Beat on medium for 5 minutes until thick and gooey. After 5 minutes, add melted chocolate and mix until fully combined. Add dry ingredients slowly. Stir in toffee and nuts. Cover and chill batter for 45 minutes to an hour.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cookie sheets with wax paper and grease paper. Drop batter by 2 tbsp measurements onto sheets. Bake 12-14 minutes. Cookies should still look underdone. Allow to cool on the cookie sheet at least 2 minutes before removing them to a cooling rack.

So you are probably wondering, what happened to Day 1 of the cookie contest? I figured 5 days of baking would have been a little too much for even my baking-obsessed self, so I opted out of Hershey’s Kiss day.

So, onto Oatmeal. I have seriously looked through about a million oatmeal cookie recipes and it seems to me, the oldie, but goodie recipe under the Quaker Oats lid is the winner hands down. But this is a competition people, so while I would normally be completely content with this standard, I stepped off the edge and created my own! And since I didn’t even USE the Quaker Oats oats, I figured it would have been pretty rude to rip their recipe anyway.

And lo, and behold, my cookies WON! So now you really have a reason to try these out!

Oatmeal Pecan and Sour Cherry Cookies

1 cup butter, softened

3/4 cup dark brown sugar, packed

scant 1/4 cup honey

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup all-purpose flour (or when not participating in cut-throat competition, whole wheat)

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

dash of cinnamon

dash of nutmeg

3 1/4 cups rolled oats

1/4 cup pecans, roughly chopped

1 cup sour dried cherries, roughly chopped

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle, combine butter, sugar, and honey. Beat until fluffy. With mixer still running, add vanilla and eggs one at a time.

In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Add the dry mixture to the wet in increments, being careful not to overmix. Stir in oats, pecans and cherries. Place the batter into the refrigerator for at least 1 hour. (I swear this is the KEY to “chewy on the inside, crispy on the outside” cookies. The butter needs to solidify before you bake in order to avoid spreading)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Drop tbsp sized cookies on greased, wax paper lined cookie sheets. Bake 10-12 minutes until the cookies look slightly underdone but golden. Allow to cool completely. (Make sure to cool the baking sheets completely before each batch. Place unused batter in the refrigerator between batches.)