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Friday, November 28, 2008

Cookie Test Kitchen

I wanted to send some "thank you" packages to some friends this holiday season, and was on the search for some different recipes to accompany old favorites. Before taking the plunge, I made small batches of two new recipes to see how they were...

First up, Blueberry & White Chocolate Chunk Ginger Cookies (what a mouthful!). A twist on the oatmeal raisin cookie it seems, I liked the goodness from blueberries and ginger.


The other recipe I tried out were Apricot Butter Cookies, which had the unique addition of dried thyme. To make these a real test, I tried using the Smart Balance 50/50 Unsalted Butter that I've seen in the store. I'd been intrigued and wanted to see if my testers could tell that real butter wasn't used. This was a winning flavor combination, and best of all my grandfather enjoyed the butter :) hehe, he's a stickler!

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32 comments:

  1. LizNoVeggieGirlNovember 28, 2008 at 2:22 PM

    Damn, I want a "thank you" package from you too!! :-D

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  2. AnonymousNovember 28, 2008 at 2:30 PM

    those cookies sounds so interesting! so many fun flavors!

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  3. ReeniNovember 28, 2008 at 2:39 PM

    They both look so delicious! I found the blueberry & ginger ones especially appealing. Love the flavors!

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  4. AnonymousNovember 28, 2008 at 3:34 PM

    Both sound so yummy and original! Blueberries and ginger would be fantastic, I think. And thyme with apricot? Hmmm. I think I need a tester to be sure ;)

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  5. Balance, Joy and Delicias!November 28, 2008 at 3:59 PM

    Holy yummy~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    these cookies looks so good!!!

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  6. EricaNovember 28, 2008 at 6:44 PM

    I bet those will make beautiful and delicious gifts! Nice work! I'm jealous of your friends ;)

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  7. Jersey Girl CooksNovember 28, 2008 at 8:52 PM

    That is awesome that you used smart balance . Hope you had a nice Thanksgiving!

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  8. MegNovember 28, 2008 at 10:02 PM

    Two yummy cookies! Great job!

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  9. Maggie M.November 29, 2008 at 12:13 AM

    Smart balance is great :) I love it!

    The cookies look delicious.

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  10. AnonymousNovember 29, 2008 at 1:20 AM

    YUM!! Love the cookies - your friends are very lucky to have you!!

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  11. Lee LeeNovember 29, 2008 at 7:07 AM

    I would DEFINITLEY make this-i am just not a huge fan of bluberry--is it possible to omit that?

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  12. UnknownNovember 29, 2008 at 10:12 AM

    lee- totally! i can see dried cherries going quite well with this, or apricots. :)

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  13. Trying To HealNovember 29, 2008 at 11:15 AM

    omg i'm totally going to have to make those cookies for my family; we just bought dried blueberries!

    great job!

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  14. AnonymousNovember 30, 2008 at 1:32 PM

    Nothing like getting gramp's approval!

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  15. GroundedFitnessNovember 30, 2008 at 8:12 PM

    oooo butter and cookie in the same name. Im in.

    Kelly Turner
    www.groundedfitness.com

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  16. AnonymousDecember 1, 2008 at 7:04 AM

    where shall I send my mailing address to again??

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  17. AnonymousDecember 1, 2008 at 9:11 AM

    I love me some ginger. remind me to get on your good side next year!

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  18. laurenDecember 1, 2008 at 11:57 AM

    what great flavor combinations!! wow.

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  19. HangryPantsDecember 1, 2008 at 12:51 PM

    Yummy! Whenever I try to bake something other than muffins or bread w/ blueberries it always ends up soggy.

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  20. MariaDecember 1, 2008 at 3:27 PM

    Oh how I love cookies!! They both look good!

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  21. AnonymousDecember 1, 2008 at 5:44 PM

    Oooh it's Christmas cookie time! My favorite. How are those Eating Well cookies? I'm suspicious...

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  22. AnonymousDecember 1, 2008 at 7:04 PM

    Simply delicious - I wouldn't mind a couple dozen of each, please. :)

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  23. AnnieDecember 1, 2008 at 7:17 PM

    YUM! They both sound really great. I saw Giada DeLaurentiis on the food network make a blueberry cookie once and have wanted to try it! She used lemon with them, but the ginger sounds really good too.

    I love apricot anything and I really love this recipe.

    Btw, I use smart balance a lot. I tried the 50/50 blend recently too. The cookies turned out good, but somehow I think that when I do my own blend of SB and butter it tastes better. I don't know maybe it was just me? I'll have to try it again. :)

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  24. BridgetDecember 1, 2008 at 10:45 PM

    I love baking new fun cookies!! It's definitely that time of year and I plan to break out the cookie sheets in the near future. I should try that smart balance "butter"!

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  25. MacDuffDecember 2, 2008 at 9:11 AM

    Oh wow, those ginger and blueberry cookies are definitely going on my gift list...thanks for the recipe!

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  26. Lee LeeDecember 2, 2008 at 6:29 PM

    Lookin' Good! thank me!

    heheh-awesome creativity!

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  27. healthy ashleyDecember 3, 2008 at 9:48 AM

    Blueberry and WHite Chocolate? Holy crap. I WOULD eat the whole batch. I just can't contain myself around cookies with white chocolate!

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  28. HeatherBakesDecember 3, 2008 at 11:52 AM

    That's good to know about the Smart Balance- so many butter substitutes do NOT work for baking.

    So... do you need my address? I mean, so you know where to send the cookies :)

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  29. Rosiecat24December 3, 2008 at 4:23 PM

    I LOVE apricots in cookies. The thyme sounds interesting. I've never tried a savory herb like that in a sweet, but it could work...

    Yyou've set an excellent example for me: cookies and kindness in the same post!

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  30. SharonDecember 3, 2008 at 11:46 PM

    So which ones did you like the best? They both sound amazing, but I love the sound of the blueberry flavor combo.

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  31. UnknownDecember 4, 2008 at 4:54 PM

    Sharon- you want me to pick my favorite cookie?? i don't think i can, they're different types, each with merit :)

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  32. test it commDecember 8, 2008 at 8:03 PM

    I really like the sound of using dried blueberries and white chocolate in cookies! As it would have it, IO just saw some dried blueberries in a bulk store the other day. Bookmarked.

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