Every year the four of us have a cookie bake-off on December 23rd. We each pick a recipe to make and then we all vote on the best cookie of the bunch (you cant vote for yourself, obviously). Some years we opt for more themed cookies (think peppermint, grinch, etc), but this year we realized all of our cookies are very tan and boring, although delicious.
Even though our cookies may not be festive they were delicious. Read on to hear more about each cookie!
Britta’s Cookies: Salty- Sweet Peanut Butter Sandies
I knew I wanted to find a NYT recipe this year because I feel like they’re known for their cookies. These peanut butter sandies stood out to me because they sounded simple, yet delicious. I love how they hold their dome shape so they almost look like little truffles. Whipping the butter and sugar was not an easy feat but I loved the cookie texture and flavor. They ended up being so smooth and rich, with a slightly crispy shell. My only complaint is that they are too salty if you’re not careful. The salt and sugar mixture on top was a little overpowering. If I made them again I would omit that and maybe drizzle with dark chocolate instead.
Tommy’s Cookies: Butter Pecan Cookies
Tommy makes chocolate chip cookies every.single.year. He mentioned them again this year and Carli and I immediately shut it down. We told him he had to switch it up and he found this butter pecan cookie recipe that did not disappoint. He actually had to chill his dough for over three hours and I feel like that always makes cookies 10x better. They had a rich buttery taste with a hint of nuttiness. Truly divine! He tied for first place with Carli and his cookies were even better the next day.
Carli’s Cookies: Crunchy Frostbite Cookies
Carli took inspiration from her favorite cornflake cookie from Sprinkles cupcakes. Her recipe has the crunchiness of cornflake cereal and the sweetness of white chocolate. As she was baking she mentioned there was no butter in her recipe which really had us all skeptical. However, the texture and flavor were so good on these, which is why she tied with Tommy for first place. Overall this is definitely a recipe we’ll be adding to the rotation!
James’ Cookies: Chocolate Peanut Butter No-Bake Cookies
If you remember- Jame’s cheated last year and had his pastry chef at work make his cookie dough. Even so, the cookies were not good and he received last place. So this year we were just happy he was making his own cookies and putting in the effort. He went with a no-bake recipe which is always risky. The flavor was pretty good but the oats were very tough and hard to bite into. They were much better the next day so if we made these again maybe we would cook the oats beforehand or let the ‘dough’ sit in the fridge for a while.
Overall we all did really well this year and it was so much fun, as always! We actually vlogged the evening so look out for that on our YouTube channel soon. We hope you all had a great Christmas!
xx, Britta