Best. Cookies. Ever.

I have spent the last two years of my life deliberately researching, tweaking, and tinkering with chocolate chip cookie recipes to try to find one that sticks with me. Because it's my husband's favorite cookie, I feel that, as his domestic partner for life, I simply must possess the ability to create and wield a powerful-good batch of these cookies.

My quest had been on hiatus until last Saturday night. We were lounging on the couch watching Mallrats...

Okay, time-out. No, we do not live in fabulous New York City and spend our weekends watching obscure mid-nineties comedies on HBO. Occasionally we spend a mere fraction of our weekends doing this, but only after a fabulous evening stroll to Bar Boulud, where we had a fabulous meal with some fabulous wine, then walked our fabulous-selves across the street to the Lincoln Center Out of Doors Concert Series for some fabulous musical ambiance.

Where was I? Ah yes. Mallrats.

There is a scene in Mallrats where the two protagonist mall-goers visit the "new" cookie stand (or store, or whatever) in the mall. During that scene, my husband and I think, out loud, simultaneously, how great a warm, chewy, chocolate chip cookie sounds. The next day, in some place I don't remember, there was another reference to warm chocolate chip cookies. I don't remember where we saw it because all I remember is throwing my hands up and saying, "That's it. I'm making cookies. Now."

Prior to Sunday's batch, my cookies have always turned out too light, too dark; too fat, too thin. Too sweet, not sweet enough. Too cakey, too crispy. Etc. I finally went to the right source for guidance. Using Emily Luchetti's recipe for chocolate cookies, making very few of my own substitutions, I fell in love at last with the results.

Recipe for Best. Cookies. Ever. (Based on Emily Luchetti's recipe for chocolate chip cookies):

• 2 and 1/2 cups of flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 10 tbsp cold butter
• 6 tbsp cold Crisco
• 1 cup dark brown sugar
• 1 cup light brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 cups (or one bag) of chocolate chips

In a medium bowl, mix the flour, salt and baking soda, and set aside. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter and Crisco with the paddle attachment until smooth. Add the sugars and beat again until smooth. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing after each egg. Mix in the vanilla. Remove the bowl from the stand mixer, and fold in the dry ingredients until combined. Fold in the chocolate chips. Put the dough in the fridge to chill while you heat the oven to 350 degrees. When the oven is hot, roll the dough into tbsp-sized balls and bake on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper for about 13-15 minutes (depending on size and your preference for gooeyness). Serve warm!

Who Needs Girl Scouts?

I really can't get enough cookies. And since I have more cocoa powder and candy canes left over from the holidays than I know what to do with, I decided to take to the kitchen and create some peppermint-chocolate goodies. These are actually less like cookies, and more like small cakes. The taste is very similar to a Girl Scout's Thin Mint cookie, except it's a soft, fudge-y Fat Mint cookie.

Recipe for Fat Mints (makes about 30 small cookies):

• 1 cup of flour
• 1/2 cup of cocoa powder
• 1/2 tsp of salt
• 1/2 tsp of baking powder
• 1 stick (8 tbsp) of butter, room temperature
• 3/4 cup of sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp peppermint extract

For the glaze/topping:

• 2-3 candy canes, crushed
• 1/2 cup of powdered sugar
• 1 tbsp cocoa powder
• 1 tbsp + 1 tsp of water

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Mix the flour, cocoa powder, salt and baking powder in a medium bowl. In a larger bowl, beat the butter and sugar together until it becomes a paste. Beat in the egg and peppermint extract until combined with the butter and sugar mixture. Gradually mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Shape the dough into rounded teaspoon-sized balls, spread out on a cookie sheet and bake for 12-14 minutes. Meanwhile, whisk together the powdered sugar, cocoa powder and water to make the glaze. When the cookies are cooling, spread a little chocolate glaze on top and garnish with the crushed candy canes.

Happy Cookie Days

Cookies are the food stars of the holidays. Every food magazine in December features beautiful shots of cookies and their corresponding recipes. Every family has a holiday tradition that revolves around cookies, whether it's leaving freshly baked treats for Santa, or hosting cookie exchange parties with friends. As an annual Yuletide ritual, I make the same ginger-molasses cookie every year. It's not the most popular cookie in my household, but to me it is synonymous with Christmas, and it's one of my favorites. My mother's Grandmother, Veronica Townsend (after whom I was named) used to make these for my mother, who then used to make these for me. Someday, I'll make these for my grandkids.

I made a batch of these yesterday, along with some classic chocolate chip cookies for my husband. I thought I might try to experiment and "Christmas them up" by taking a bit of the dough and adding some peppermint extract and crushed candy canes. Not a good idea. I've never baked candy canes in cookies before, but apparently they become a chewy, sticky, red-and-white-runny mess. So I nixed that operation. I still have a lot of candy canes in my possession for test creations, so maybe I'll try something else (being careful not to add them as garnish until after baking).

Recipe for Grandma Veronica's Ginger-Molasses Cream Cookies:

Mix together:

• 1/4 cup of butter (softened, but still a little cold)
• 1/2 cup of sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup molasses

Stir in:

• 1 tsp of baking soda, dissolved in 1/2 cup of warm water

Sift together these dry ingredients, then mix them into the wet ingredients:

• 2 cups of flour
• 1/2 tsp of salt
• 1 tsp of ginger
• 1/2 tsp of nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp cloves
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon

Heat the oven to 400 degrees, and chill the dough in the fridge for about 30 minutes. Drop rounded teaspoons full about 2" apart on a lightly greased baking sheet. Bake until set, about 7-8 minutes. While the cookies are still a little warm, frost with icing.

How to make icing: Stir together 3/4 cup of powdered sugar with 1/4 tsp of vanilla and 1 tbsp plus 2 tsp of cream.