TASTE OF HOME: The Ultimate Cookie Collection

PUBLISHER: Reiman Media Group, 2006
GENRE: Nonfiction/Cookbook/Baking
PURCHASE: link
MY GRADE: A++

FROM PUBLISHER: 499 scrumptious cookie recipes--from classic cookies, brownies and bars to holiday favorites. 304 pages. 8½" x 11" hardcover book. Color photos on every page. 

Index: Cookies 101, Cookie Jar Favorites, Chock-full of Chips, Easy Drop Cookies, Timeless Slice & Bake, Shaped Sensations, Cookie Cutter Delights, Snazzy Sandwich Cookies, Unbeatable Brownies, Delectable Bars, Shortcut Creations, Christmas Classics, Big Batch Bonanza.

THINGS I'VE MADE

CRISP LEMON SUGAR COOKIES

These are good. The dough uses equal parts butter and shortening. They're crunchy outside and a little dry on the inside when baked for 10 minutes at a lower temperature than the recipe states. I used 1/2t. less lemon extract. There's a little too much salt in this so I'll use a less next time.

I bake small batches so I baked all the rest for 9 1/2 minutes on 350 F and they were perfect.

I got 40 dough balls using a 1T/1.5" diameter scoop. I rolled the dough balls in sugar too.

This cookie is on the cover, right under the pinwheel cookie on the left.

WALNUT BROWNIES

This recipe uses shortening and cocoa powder and makes a tiny batch using a loaf pan. I got four regular size brownies. I omitted the walnuts. I doubled the salt and vanilla. These took two minutes longer to bake than the time indicated. They're a little bitter. They only needed two of the three tablespoon of cocoa powder. They're very moist and chewy but the flavor's nothing special and the outside is too crusty/hard for my liking, so I won't make again.

CHERRY COCONUT BARS

These two-layer bars have the classic thin flour/sugar/butter crust. It's topped with a filling of eggs, sugar, salt, maraschino cherries, nuts, coconut, vanilla extract, flour, and baking powder that you pour onto your prebaked crust. I used sliced almonds in place of walnuts and I ground my cherries up in the food processor instead of chopping them. I added a little almond extract but it needed more and used less vanilla than called for and a little more salt.

I used an 8" square pan instead of a 13"x9" pan. It was a little more filling than I needed so I just left some out. Mine baked in 19 minutes. The top browned from the egg so after they cooled and before cutting I dusted the top with powdered sugar. I got 8 bars. They don't look too great when you cut them because of the coconut.

SWISS BROWNIES

These cakelike brownies are made with melted unsweetened chocolate and sour cream. They're good and very moist. I made half the recipe in an 8" square pan but they're too thick and should have been made in a 9" square pan. They took a lot longer to bake because of how much batter was in the pan, 42 minutes or so. I doubled the salt and used a lot more vanilla than stated in the recipe. I will definitely make these again because I prefer a cakelike brownie to a fudgy one.

PEANUT BUTTER OATMEAL COOKIES

These are actually a peanut butter oatmeal cookie called 5-Chip Cookies and they use multiple types of chocolate chips. They're very good but slightly salty. They didn't spread out as much as the ones in the cookbook did. I got 30 dough balls using a 1.5" diameter/1 T. scoop. I'd definitely make these again

RASPBERRY SHORTBREAD BARS

These are three-layer bars. The bottom crust is your typical shortbread crust that you find with lemon bar recipes but this one uses twice the sugar and produces a very crunchy crust, which I really like. In the crust I used equal parts butter and margarine (80% oil) because I just don't like the all-butter version. The middle layer uses raspberry jam to which I added 1/8 t. almond extract. The top layer consists of eggs, brown sugar, vanilla, flour, and one cup of nuts. I used pecans in place of walnuts. I added 1/8 t. salt to it though the recipe called for none. The top cakelike layer browned a lot because of the egg and is very ugly so I dusted the tops of the cooled bars with powdered sugar. I used an 8" foil-lined pan, not a 9" that was called for and cut them into 9 bars. Please note that the photo of these in the book have a top layer that looks much much different and better, almost like it's a different recipe.

I really like this recipe because of the crunchy crust. Because I used half margarine this doesn't have a strong butter taste. This recipe lacks salt. All three components need it desperately.

PEANUT BUTTER MAPLE COOKIES

This is an peanut butter oatmeal cookie that has a tiny amount of maple syrup in it. I made half the recipe and used light corn syrup in place of the 1.5 t. maple syrup. This cookie spreads out nicely and is very flat. As long as you don't overcook the cookie it will be crisp on the outside and chewy inside. The dough is very creamy and you'll have to refrigerate it for two hours so I'll be firm enough to scoop with a cookie scoop. I used a 1.5" diameter/1 T. scoop and got 26 doughballs.

These get baked at a lower temperature for a longer time. My first batch was slightly overbaked at 14 minutes so the other batches baked perfectly in 13 minutes. My cookies spread out to almost 3". I didn't add peanut butter chips. These taste very good and I have no complaints.

MY THOUGHTS: Excellent book, no doubt about it. It's in full-color with two recipes per page and one color photo per page, so one photo per two recipes.