This cookie went viral in autumn of 2017. [Ed. note: At our current pace, that is roughly 27,538 news cycles, since then. Give or take.] At the time, it didn't really look like much of a cookie to me, but I probably should have believed the hype. Have lost count how many times I've made these.

The recipe comes from Alison Roman's cookbook Dining In. In New York magazine’s Grub Street Diet blog, Roman mentioned that she has but one cookie recipe in her book, and it’s for these cookies. She said that it is, “in [her] opinion, way better than a chocolate-chip cookie.” Not sure about that, but I'll tell you that when I make them the BF and I can't stop eating them. [Ed. note: Sweet.]

A few notes that will perfect your cookies:

• Use a lower protein all-purpose flour such as Gold Medal, not King Arthur.
  
• Use a good salted butter (Kerrygold was used here).
• Do not overbake, even if they look underdone.
  
• Chop chocolate in chunks, not shards.
• Let rest overnight or longer.

PS: A year ago we summoned our Whole30 aspirations with this roasted potatoes and coconut turmeric sauce (www.moveablefeast.me/blog/roasted-potatoes-coconut-turmeric-sauce), then uh well yeah like threw that into the proverbial circular file with some Super Bowl-food Mississippi roast mini cheesesteaks ( www.moveablefeast.me/blog/mississippi-roast-mini-cheesesteaks). [Ed. note: It should be noted that because the game-time food was cheesesteaks that this had everything to do with the Philadelphia Eagles winning said Super Bowl.]

Adapted from: Alison Roman, Dining In and Smitten Kitchen
Number of Servings: 24 cookies

Ingredients

• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (9 ounces or 255 grams) salted butter, cold, cut into small pieces (Kerrygold butter was used here)
  
• ½ cup (100 grams) granulated sugar
  
• ¼ cup (50 grams) light brown sugar
  
• 1 teaspoon (5 ml) vanilla extract
  
• 2 ¼ cups (295 grams) all-purpose flour 
  
• 6 ounces (170 grams) semi- or bittersweet dark chocolate, chopped (you want chunks, not thin shards of chocolate)
  
• 1 large egg
  
• Demerara, turbinado, raw, or sanding sugar, for rolling
• Flaky sea salt for sprinkling
  

Directions

1. Beat the butter, granulated and brown sugars, and vanilla with an electric mixer until light and fluffy, scraping down bowl as needed. Add flour, and mix until just combined. Add chocolate chunks, mix until just incorporated. Mixture will look crumbly.
   
2. Divide between two sheets of parchment paper, waxed paper, or plastic wrap and use your hands to form the dough halves into log shapes about 2-2 ¼ inches in diameter. Chill until firm, at least 4 hours, but ideally overnight.
   
3. When you’re ready to bake the cookies, heat your oven to 350 °F. Line one or two large baking sheets with parchment paper. Lightly beat the egg and open up your chilled cookie logs, and brush egg over the sides. Sprinkle the coarse sugar on the open paper or plastic wrap and roll the logs into it, coating them.
   
4. Using a sharp serrated knife, cut logs into ½-inch thick rounds. You’re probably going to hit a few chocolate chunks, so saw gently, squeezing the cookie to keep it from breaking, if needed.
   
5. Arrange cookie slices on prepared sheets one inch apart (they don’t spread much) and sprinkle each with a few flakes of salt. Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until the edges are just beginning to get golden brown. They might look soft. Take them out of the oven and let cool slightly before transferring to wire racks to cool.
   
6. Plan ahead: the dough can made ahead and stored, tightly wrapped in plastic,  up to one week in the fridge, or one month in the freezer. Baked cookies keep in an airtight container for five days, 
   

Family is not an important thing, it's everything.
~Michael J. Fox

Six years ago today, my beloved momala passed away. The best way we have honored her life and kept her memory alive is to embrace our little family and celebrate each other as often as possible. She used to say, "If you don't have something to celebrate, celebrate anyway." [Ed. note: Spinal Tap keyboardist Viv Savage also said it well, "Have a good time. All the time." youtu.be/WrhzX3dRRiI]

Our family recently got a little bigger. My little sister Julie brought the new man in her life, Frank, by for a whirlwind visit, our first time meeting him. Seems there couldn't be a more perfect person for Julie than Frank; they share a love of nature, geology, animals and family. Bonus, he has an encyclopedic knowledge of sports and wine (we were excited to try riesling and pinot noir from his own vineyard), which endears him even more to the BF. [Ed. note: We even coexist with his love for the St. Louis Cardinals and ours for the San Francisco Giants.] We feel like he's been here all along.

Unfortunately I ran out of time and could not make cookies for them to take home, but had I been able, these would have been the choice.

My momala would have adored them as well. Chocolate and orange coupled and a hint of fresh ginger and brownie texture. It would have sent her over the edge.

Dorie Greenspan (this is originally adapted from her book Dorie's Cookies) is an excellent source for all things baking. She mentions that this cookie is best on the day it is made, but I have found it stays fresh, moist and chewy for at least 3 days. So it works well for shipping or gift giving.

Number of servings: about 20 cookies
Adapted from: Saveur (Dec/Jan 2017) and Dorie's Cookies

Ingredients

• 2 ½ teaspoons minced fresh ginger
• ¾ cup plus 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
• Finely grated zest of ½ orange (¼ teaspoon)
• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch cubes
• 8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
• 2 large cold eggs
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• ½ teaspoon fine sea salt or kosher salt
• ¾ cup all-purpose flour
• ¼  cup plus 2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar, for dredging

Directions 

1. ​In a small bowl, combine the ginger and 1 teaspoon granulated sugar, mixing with fingers to coat. Set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, add the remaining ¾ cup sugar and the orange zest. Mix well.
3. Fill a medium saucepan 1 inch high with water and set a medium heatproof bowl over the top (be sure bowl does not touch water). Add the butter and ¾ of the chocolate to the bowl. Cook, stirring occasionally with a heatproof flexible spatula, until just melted (do not overheat).
4. Remove the bowl and whisk in the sugar-zest mixture; it will be grainy. One by one, add the cold eggs, whisking energetically after adding each, for 1–2 minutes. Whisk in vanilla, salt, and ginger mixture, which will be syrupy. Using a spatula, gently stir in the flour. Add the remaining chocolate, stirring to blend. Place plastic wrap directly against surface of the dough and chill for at least 3 hours or up to overnight.
5. Set a rack in center of the oven and preheat to 350 °F. If you've refrigerated dough overnight, let it sit on the counter for 10 minutes.
6. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Put confectioners' sugar in a bowl.
7. Using a medium cookie scoop (1 ½–2 tablespoons) or spoon, scoop out level amounts of dough and briefly shape into a ball using fingers (do not overwork or cookies will not have craggly tops); drop into the bowl of confectioners' sugar and toss to coat well. Transfer to the first baking sheet. Repeat until you have 10 cookies, leaving at least 2 inches between the cookies. Cover and refrigerate the remaining dough.
8. Bake for 8 minutes. Rotate the sheet, then bake again until the dough has spread and cracked, sides look set, and centers are a little soft, about 4 minutes more.
9. Remove and let cool for 2 minutes, then carefully transfer cookies to a cooling rack. Repeat with remaining dough and second baking sheet. Cookies are best eaten the day they are made.

Patience is not my virtue. [Ed. note: I want to comment, but appreciate my life.] Rolling out cookie dough and cutting out cookies with cookie cutters? No patience for it. Hell-o slice-and-bake simplicity!

These cookies are tender, lightly sweetened with honey, and swirled with cinnamon and spice–a perfect holiday cookie that travels and keeps well, perfect for gracing your Hanukkah dessert table, a cookie exchange, or to leave as a nice treat for Santa and his helpers. I have been known to have them for breakfast with coffee, or late afternoon pick-me-up with tea.

Winter is coming: let the holiday cookie season begin!

NOTE:  Although the glaze is delicious, I opted not to use it as I prefer it much better plain (plenty sweet for this household), and if you are going to ship it as a gift it's probably more practical to go glazeless. That said, if you're serving at a party or leaving for Santa, by all means glaze it up.

Adapted from: Marbled, Swirled, and Layered, by Irvin Lin
Number of servings: 48 cookies

Ingredients
Cookie Dough

• 1 ½ cups powdered sugar, sifted
• 1 cup  (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 large egg
• 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour

Cinnamon Filling

• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
• ¼ cup packed dark brown sugar
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• ½  teaspoon ground nutmeg

Glaze

• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1 tablespoon whole milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ½-¾  cup powdered sugar, sifted

Optional

• Ground cinnamon for dusting

Directions
Cookie Dough

1. Combine powdered sugar, butter, salt, and baking powder in a large bowl. With a hand mixer, start mixing on low speed and slowly increase speed to medium until butter looks creamy and starts to cling to the sides of the bowl (about 2 minutes).
2. Add vanilla extract and beat on medium speed until incorporated. Add egg and beat until Incorporated. Add flour and mix on low speed, then slowly increase to medium speed until flour is incorporated and a dough forms. The dough will be soft.
3. Scrape the dough out onto a clean, floured surface and shape into a ball. Flatten into a circle and then square off the edges. Roll out dough into 13 x 14-inch rectangle with a long side facing you. (You will need to occasionally add more flour to the top and bottom of the dough so it doesn’t stick.)

Cinnamon Filling and Baking

1. In another bowl (use same bowl if you like), combine the butter, brown sugar, flour, honey, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Beat together until the filling is uniform in color, fluffy, and light (about 2 minutes). Scrape the filling out onto the rolled-out dough and spread to cover the entire surface (you may need to use your fingers for this, as the filling will need to be spread thinly). Tightly roll up the dough starting from the bottom edge (you may need to use a little more flour here again so the dough does not stick). Wrap the dough with plastic wrap and freeze for 1 hour.
2. Preheat the oven to 350 °F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
3. Remove dough from the freezer and unwrap. Carefully slice ¼-inch-thick cookie "disks" from the rolled log, slicing straight down (do not saw back and forth). Place on baking sheets, spacing the cookies about 1 ½ inches apart.
4. Bake until edges of the cookies start to turn golden brown (12 to 14 minutes). Let cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat with the remaining dough. NOTE: don't overbake!

Glaze

1. Combine honey, milk, vanilla and ½ cup powdered sugar in a bowl and stir together. If glaze looks too thin, add more powdered sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, until it has thickened to the right consistency. Brush glaze onto cooled cookies with a pastry brush. Once glaze has settled, you can dust the cookies lightly with more ground cinnamon (optional).

NOTE:
Make sure the butter for cinnamon filling is truly at room temperature or even slightly warmer than that. It makes spreading the filling easier.
 
You can make and freeze this cookie dough for future baking. Once frozen for an hour, place the log in a labeled zip-top plastic bag. Slice and bake cookies at your convenience. Frozen dough should keep for up to 2 months.

My BF has a thing for caramely, butterscotchy tidbits and chocolate chip cookies. [Ed. Note: C is for cookie, and after proper advisement from my attorney, I submit that it is, indeed, good enough for me.] I mixed the two together and added liquor and dare I say this is the cookie, at least in our house. The butterscotch schnapps put it over the top with a toasted caramel note without it tasting boozy. Have tried this same recipe with bourbon, and it's good, real good. [Ed. Note: Hiccup.]

There are rules in our house for homemade chocolate chip cookies 1) not flat and crispy 2) not cake like 3) must be cold from the fridge 4) must be soft and chewy in the center and crispy around the edges. Some people like warm cookies out of the oven, but we like our cookies cold from the fridge.

You can eat these cookies with milk, but bourbon also works. Please designate a driver if you go this route.

Inspired by: Baked – New Frontiers In Baking

​Serving size: Makes 1 dozen cookies

Ingredients

• 1 cup + 2½ tablespoons all-purpose flour (spooned into measuring cup and leveled off with a straight-edge knife)
• ½ teaspoon table salt
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, soft, but cool
• ½ cup packed dark brown sugar
• ¼ cup granulated sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• ½ tablespoon butterscotch schnapps or bourbon (I used butterscotch schnapps here)
• 4 ounces bittersweet chocolate chips
• 2 ounces butterscotch chips

Directions

1. In a large bowl, whisk the flour, salt and baking soda and set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, beat the butter and both sugars together until smooth and creamy (I used a hand mixer). Scrape down bowl, add egg and beat until light and fluffy.
3. Add vanilla and butterscotch schnapps and beat for 5 seconds.
4. Add half the flour mixture and mix for 15 seconds. Add remaining flour mixture and beat just until incorporated.
5. Using a spatula, fold in the chocolate and butterscotch chips.
6. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for at least 8 hours.
7. Preheat the oven to 375 °F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper.
8. Use an ice cream scoop with relase mechanism to scoop out dough in 2-tablespoon-size balls. Shape the dough into perfect balls and place on prepared baking sheets, about 1 inch apart.
9. Bake for 12-14 minutes (rotating pan once halfway through), until edges of cookies are golden brown and the tops start to darken.
10. Remove from oven and place cookie sheet on a wire rack for 5 minutes to rest. Then, use a spatula to transfer individual cookies to a wire rack to cool completely. 
11. Note:  These cookies develop more flavor on the next day...if you can hold off that long.

My boyfriend Don and his mother Kathy have many similar traits: a peculiar sense of humor, love of music, financial acumen, and love of all things citrus, vanilla, caramel, butterscotch, and ice cream.

Today is his mother's birthday–she passed away last December 6. Amazingly, she and my mamala have birthdays a day apart (August 3 and 4), and passed one day apart (December 6 and 7). 

Over the years it has become something of a tradition for me to make Kathy a special birthday dessert, and I don't plan on ending this any time soon. I’m not sure if Kathy knew how much joy it gave me to make something special for her. [Ed. note: Um, Yeah.] Hope she enjoyed it as much as I did. Don grew up on Chipwiches and the San Francisco bay area's beloved It's It en.wikipedia.org/wiki/It%27s-It_Ice_Cream, so this was part of my evil plan to get to his heart through his stomach. [Ed. note: Shut up, just shut up...]

The original recipe calls for pecans, which of course complement the butterscotch caramel flavor wonderfully, but since we like our desserts smooth, we sometimes leave them out. This particular cookie recipe works especially well for ice cream sandwiches because it retains its softness, and the butterscotch caramel flavor really shines through. 

Cookies Adapted from The Tenth Muse, by Judith Jones and Orangette
Number of servings:  30 cookies / 15 ice cream sandwiches

Ingredients

• 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
•  ½ teaspoon baking soda
•  ½ teaspoon salt
•  14 (1 ¾ sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
•  1 ¼ cups dark brown sugar (lightly packed, just enough to smooth the top)
•  1 large egg
•  2 tablespoons nonfat dry milk
•  1 tablespoon vanilla extract
•  1 cup finely chopped pecans 

Directions
Cookies

1. Preheat the oven to 375 °F. Grease two cookie sheets, or line them with silicone mats.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt.
3. In a medium bowl, cream the butter and sugar. (I used my stand mixer for this.) Add the egg, dry milk, and vanilla extract, and beat to incorporate. Add the dry ingredients, and beat to blend. Fold in the pecans by hand.
4. Drop the batter by heaping tablespoons onto the prepared baking sheets, leaving 2 inches between each mound (about 8-10 cookies on each sheet). With damp fingers, press each mound into a circle about 2 ½ to 3 inches in diameter. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, or until lightly browned. Carefully scrape up the cookies with a spatula, and transfer them to a rack to cool. Repeat with remaining dough on cooled baking sheets.
5. Store cooled cookies in an airtight container at room temperature. NOTE: the flavor of these cookies takes some time to develop. If you can, bake the cookies 1 day prior to serving.

Ice Cream Sandwiches

1. Choose your ice cream (I used butter pecan, peach and espresso gelato).
2. Soften the ice cream a bit and scoop onto one cookie. Gently press down and place second cookie on top.
3. Place on baking sheet and flash freeze. If you are not serving immediately, wrap each cookie in plastic wrap.