Day 11: Chocolate Chip Pudding Cookies

So I've been playing external flashes as of late. The SB 600 is a little bulky for my taste, so I used my dad's SB 400 for these pictures. It's the perfect size for me! It's kinda cute, too... It makes my camera look a bit like Wall-E. I don't know why I never used external flashes before.. they make a heck of a difference in pictures!

I'm so excited because I'll be going to the Lakers game tomorrow night all thanks to my friend, Matt! First game I'll be going to this season. Let's hope they learn how to step up and play better-- the Christmas game was SO disappointing. I'm not gonna lie, I miss Luke Walton a little bit.

Day 11 of my twelve days of cookies: I adapted these from Natalie's Killer Cuisine-- it makes about 4 dozen cookies. These were definitely a moist and chewy cookie. The pudding does that-- it keeps them moist for days. Not only that, but look at the shape of these cookies! They turned out perfect! They rose beautifully and maintained their shape. Although, I'm not gonna lie.. nothing beats my favorite Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe (I just noticed how similar these cookies look to them!).

• 1 cup Butter (2 sticks), softened
• 3/4 cup Brown Sugar
• 1/4 cup Sugar
• 2 Eggs
• 1 1/2 tsp Vanilla
• 2 1/4 cups AP Flour
• 1 Vanilla Pudding (3.4oz) Mix by Jello (I used the bigger mix and probably used about 3/4 of it)
• 1 tsp Baking Soda
• 1 tsp Salt
• 1 3/4 cup Chocolate Chips

preheat oven to 350 degrees

1. Cream the butter and sugars together, about three minutes. Next add the eggs and the vanilla.
2. In a separate bowl combine the flour, dry pudding mix, baking soda and salt. Add to the wet mixture and mix until combined.
3. Add the chocolate chips and combine again.
4. Scoop out tablespoon sized scoops and roll in a ball, having at least 1.5 inch space between each cookie.
5. Bake 11 minutes and remove from the oven. Let cool on the baking sheet 2 minutes before moving to a cooling rack.

Day 10: Toffee Walnut (Heath Bar) Cookies

I hope everyone had a great Christmas! So I definitely didn't complete my goal in blogging about 12 cookies before Christmas, but I'll finish it by the end of the month.. Promise! I got so wrapped up in baking for the holidays that I didn't have time to take a breather and take pictures/blog. For Christmas, I ended up baking 24 dozen cookies for my family and close families to me. I know, crazy, right? I used two ovens and baked for 4 hours straight. I made all the dough the night before so I could just bake all of yesterday. There were a total of 6 different types of cookies and the result was well worth it!

Day 10 of my twelve days of cookies: Heath Bar cookies! These are hands down my boyfriend's favorite cookie. He adores toffee and even sneaked a ton to save for himself for later. I found the recipe over at Simply Recipes and adapted it just a tiny bit with the amount of vanilla. This made just over 4 dozen cookies for me, since I made a slightly bigger cookie than normal. These cookies are some of my favorites as well, since the walnut and toffee just go hand in hand.

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 1/2 cups chopped Heath Bar pieces (Eight 1.4 ounce bars)
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1 Sift together the flour, salt, and baking soda. Set aside. In a separate bowl, combine Heath Bar pieces and chopped walnuts. Set aside.

2 Cream butter until fluffy. Add the sugar and continue to beat until light and fluffy (a couple minutes). Beat in eggs one at a time, and vanilla.

3 Alternatively mix in the Heath Bar mixture and the flour mixture, a third at a time, until well blended. Chill cookie dough for at least 30 minutes (better an hour).

4 Preheat oven to 350°F. On cookie sheets lined with parchment paper or Silpat, spoon out the cookie dough in small 1-inch diameter balls (size of a large marble). Place dough balls 3 inches away from each other on the cookie sheets. (Make sure there is plenty of room between the cookie balls, and that the cookie balls aren't too big. These cookies spread!)

5 Bake for 10-12 minutes, until the edges are just starting to brown. Remove from oven and let cool for a few minutes. Then transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.

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PS.. I just had to share with you what my boyfriend got me for Christmas. It came in this lovely white box...and when you open it up, there's a little black bag inside of it...
and inside the little black bag, is this beauty!:
It's the YSL mail ring, which is the style I've been obsessed with as of late! I'm dying to track down a YSL mail bag and wallet. But yeah.. LOVE IT! I got him an SB600 external flash for his Nikon. How nerdy, I know. What did you guys get for Christmas? Any fun goodies?

Day 9: Chocolate Bliss Kisses

So lately I've been addicted to watching Food Network Challenges and Unwrapped. The latest food network challenge that I watched was the one where they had to make a bridge out of cereal. It makes me think... have they run out of ideas on what to make? I mean, bridges... really? Oh well, it still beats most of the other stuff that plays on TV now and days. Hah.. listen to me, I sound like some old woman.

Life has kind of become monotonous for me. It's the same routine, over and over again. Now that I know for sure I'm not going to be back in school in January (Dang you CSUN for screwing up my app!! Sorry, I'm still bitter), I'd like to take advantage of the free time I have. I really want to take another trip somewhere. Anyone have any suggestions for a good foodie town to visit?

Day 9 of my twelve days of cookies: I knew I wanted to make something with Hershey's kisses, but I didn't want to do the normal peanut butter blossoms since I realized I wasn't a fan of peanut butter cookies. I saw this recipe from Dragon's Kitchen and had to give it a shot. They turned out very light and vanilla-y. Perfect. One of my friends claimed that they tasted like vanilla ice cream. The use of powdered sugar in place of granulated sugar makes the cookie base very fluffy and light. I was caught off guard at first because there were no eggs involved, but don't fright! They turned out just fine. This recipe makes approximately 3 dozen cookies.

• 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup powdered sugar, sifted
• 1 1/2 tablespoon vanilla
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 36 Hershey Kisses, unwrapped

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 325F. Line a baking tray with parchment paper.
2. Cream the butter, powdered sugar and vanilla until light and fluffy.
3. Sift salt and flour together. Add to the butter mixture. Stir until dough forms.
4. Scoop dough and shape into 1 inch balls. Place the balls 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheet.
5. Bake for 12-14 minutes just until set and the bottoms begin to turn a light golden brown. Remove baking tray from the oven and immediately top each cookie with a Hershey kiss, pressing down lightly.
6. Cool cookies on the tray for 2 minutes. Transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.

And just in case you missed it, Join my facebook fan page for Lovin' From the Oven! :)

Day 8: White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies

Eeeeek! 5 more days until Christmas (just in case you didn't know already). Good thing I only have my boyfriend to shop for and that's already been taken care of. Well, I also got my dad a Ronald Reagan bomber jacket from my work which he absolutely adores. I think it's cute how much he loves his Ronald Reagan gear. I even bought him an air force one plane toy for him! He stared in awe at it for a solid minute and said that this was all he wanted for Christmas. How precious!

Day 8 of my twelve days of cookies: I adapted this recipe from allrecipes. I seriously love that website. You can find a recipe for ANYTHING and know that they've been tried and true. I tend to lean toward the recipes the have a lot more ratings, cause you know it's gotta be good to have that many people try them out. Anyways, I took these to a dinner party and they raved about them! They were soft with the perfect amount of sweetness. The white chocolate balances out the cranberries nicely and it'd be a great addition to your Christmas cookie list!

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 cup white chocolate chips
• 1 cup dried cranberries

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets.
2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar, and white sugar until smooth. Beat in the egg and vanilla. Combine the flour and baking soda; stir into the sugar mixture. Mix in the white chocolate chips and cranberries. Drop by heaping spoonfuls onto prepared cookie sheets.
3. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven. For best results, take them out while they are still doughy. Allow cookies to cool for 1 minute on the cookie sheets before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.

Day 7: S'mores Cookies

Day 7 of my twelve days of cookies: These pictures are pretty self-explanatory if you ask me. Do you even need to ask me if you need to make these? Heck no. I say get in your kitchen and start baking! These are just that amazing. Dare I say that these cookies have joined by top three list? I do! I love these cookies and they were gone within a day among my friends and coworkers. I'll definitely be baking them again for Christmas. The crushed graham crackers that were incorporated into the dough gave the cookie a chewy and pleasant texture. Besides, I'm such a sucker for s'mores! They remind me of starry nights by the campfire surrounded by good friends. S'mores are surely a beautiful thing. This recipe is adapted from Baked Perfection, who got it from Cookie Madness.

• 1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
• 1 cup graham cracker crumbs
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 eggs
• 2 cups miniature chocolate chips
• 1 1/2 cups mini marshmallows
• 2 Hershey bars, chopped
  

1. In a stand mixer, combine the butter and sugars until fluffy.
   
2. Mix in egg and vanilla until combined. Add the flour, graham crackers, salt, and baking soda, mix well. Stir in the chocolate chips.
3. Refrigerate dough for about an hour.
   
4. Preheat oven to 375ºF.
5. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto cookie sheets. Bake for 8 minutes, and remove from the oven. Push 3 to 4 marshmallows and a few pieces of a hershey's bar into each cookie. Return to the oven and bake an additional 2-3 minutes until fully cooked. Cool cookies on a wire rack.
6. Makes 3 dozen cookies.

Day 6: Grammy's Chocolate Cookies

Whew! We're half way through the journey. Day 6 out of 12 is complete. Now that all the simple cookies are out of the way, the last half of my twelve days of cookies will be a bit more elaborate and unique. I have 10 days left to bake 6 types of cookies. Wish me luck!

Day 6 of my twelve days of cookies: This recipe comes from Martha Stewart Living, Feb 2000. Oh Martha, how you've done it again. Your cookies never cease to amaze me. These cookies were delicious for the chocolate lover. I didn't have any Dutch cocoa powder on hand (where the heck do I even buy that besides online?), so I substituted regular cocoa for it. They turned out just fine to me. The only thing that I would change is to down the sugar a little bit or omit the final stage of rolling the dough in sugar because they were a bit on the sweet side. They would have been better as plain ol' jane.

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup Dutch cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/4 cups unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2 cups sugar, plus more for dipping
• 2 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Directions

1. Sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter, 2 cups sugar, and eggs on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add vanilla, and mix to combine. Gradually add dry ingredients, and combine with mixer on low speed. Cover bowl with plastic wrap, and chill until dough is firm, about 1 hour.
3. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with Silpat baking mats. Roll dough into 1-inch balls. Dip top of each ball into sugar. Place on prepared baking sheets about 1 1/2 inches apart. Bake until set, about 8 minutes. Cool on baking sheets for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Day 5: Soft Sugar Cookies

First of all, I need to vent a little bit, so bear with me here. I had previously applied to a local grad school to get my teaching credential way back in August for the spring semester, which starts in January. We were supposed to hear back by November 30th whether we got in or not. About two weeks before that date, I get a call from the head of the education department asking me where my application was supposed to be sent because it somehow got all mixed up with others. After telling the lady that I was applying for my teaching credential and not my masters in education (you have to get your credential before you can go for your masters), she reassured me that she would send it in the right direction.

A week later, I get snail mail from the school saying that I was denied from the masters program because I wasn't qualified since I didn't have my teaching credential. I email the credential department and they say that they have no records of me ever applying. The head honcho sent my application to the wrong department. Awesome. So I go into the school and talk to admissions. After about 45 minutes on campus, the lady tells me that she now sent me application to the right department and it is being reviewed. She also tells me that I should hear back from them in about a week.

A week goes by... nothing. A week and a half... still nothing. My status online still says that my application is "being reviewed." I email the credential department telling them by situation and if I could find out the status of my application since school is about to start in oh... 3 weeks. I finally get an email back from them today saying that I was admitted in Fall 2008 and that there is no current application from me. What... the.. heck?! I have never applied to that school in my life, and why would I apply in fall 2008 when I was currently a junior at UCLA?

Basically, I'm really frustrated with this school and obviously, I'm not meant to go to grad school *sarcasm*. BLAHH. So now I'm in a bit of a ruckus trying to figure out what in the world I'm supposed to do with my life. I need a job--- can't find one and apparently I don't qualify for most because I have no "real world" experience, being a recent grad and all. Is life always this hard? //End rant.

Day 5 of my twelve days of cookies: So what do I do when I'm in a bad/frustrated mood? Bake! These cookies come from the blog Delish, who adapted it from America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook, 2006. I adapted it just a bit further by chilling the dough and changing some of the techniques. The cookie dough is seriously amazing and the cookies turn out soft, chewy, and fluffy. I got into the Christmas spirit and busted out my holiday sprinkles to decorate them before tossing them into the oven. The cookie itself didn't end up tasting like the dough (Bummer!) but they still tasted good. It's a simple cookie that'll surely please the crowds.

2 cups granulated sugar*
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
14 Tbsp (1 3/4 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
2 large eggs

Spread 1/2 cup of the sugar* in a shallow dish for coating and set aside. In a separate bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together and set aside.

Beat the butter and remaining 1 1/2 cups sugar together in a large bowl using an electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy, 3-6 minutes. Beat in the vanilla, then the eggs, one at a time, until combined, about 30 seconds, scraping down the bowl & beaters as needed.

Reduce the mixer speed to low and slowly mix in the flour mixture until combined, about 30 seconds. Give the dough a final stir with a rubber spatula to make sure dough is combined. Refrigerate dough for at least an hour.

Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350°F. Using palms, roll 2 Tablespoons of dough at a time into balls, then roll in sugar to coat. Place balls on baking sheets, spaced 2 inches apart.

Bake cookies, one sheet at a time, until the edges are set and just beginning to brown but the centers are still soft and puffy, 10-12 minutes, rotating the baking sheet halfway through baking. Allow cookies to cook on baking sheet for 10 minutes, then serve warm or transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely.

Day 4: Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies

Day 4 of my twelve days of cookies: I know, I know.. this is so similar to my last post! Well, after despising the last cookie so much with the peppermint extract, I had to redeem myself with a better tasting mint cookie. Finally... a cookie that I'm a fan of so far on this list.

As you may or may not know, I love mint chocolate (not PEPPERMINT chocolate). I saw these lovely cookies on the back of an Andes mint baking chips bag, but I substituted the Andes mints for Nestle's dark chocolate and mint chips that I found while wandering around Target. Dark chocolate and mint morsels? How perfect! You can even see the pretty mint chip sneaking out in the last photo. These must be limited edition because I've never seen them before. I snatched up two bags and used one on these cookies. As for the other bag, I'm still trying to decide what I want to bake with it. This makes just over 3 dozen cookies.

After baking all these cookies so far, I've learned that refrigerating the dough is a must in all situations. When dealing with refrigerated cookie dough, the cookies taste and look so much better! Trust me. Patience is a virtue, even in the baking world.

Side note, I've created a Facebook Fan page for my blog! That'll make it easier for me to keep in touch with you guys! Feel free to join if you'd like:
Lovin From the Oven Fan Page

• 1/2 cup softened butter
  
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
  
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 eggs
  
• 1 (10 ounce) package Nestle dark chocolate and mint morsels
  
• 2 2/3 cups AP flour

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Blend butter, brown sugar, white granulated sugar, baking soda, baking powder, vanilla and eggs until ingredients are mixed.
3. Add Nestle dark chocolate and mint morsels and mix.
4. Add flour and continue to mix until all ingredients are well blended together.
5. Cover and chill in the refrigerator for 45-60 minutes.
6. Spoon out approximately 1 oz of dough per cookie.
7. Form a ball and then slightly flatten.
8. Place on non-stick baking pans and bake for approximately 8-10 minutes.
9. Cool on pans for 2 minutes, then remove.

Day 3: Peppermint Chocolate Chip Cookies

Day 3 of my twelve days of cookies: These may LOOK like your average chocolate chip cookie, but I assure you, it's not! This recipe comes from Une Gamine Dans La Cuisine, and they are peppermint chocolate chip cookies. They are easy to make and come out looking as cute as a button. I made mine a little smaller-- two bites and they're gone!

I have a confession to make. I actually hated these cookies. Whoever invented peppermint extract must have been on drugs or something because that stuff does not belong ANYWHERE besides the trash can! I was so excited when making these too, thinking that they would come out all Christmas-like. But nooooo.. since I have never worked with peppermint extract before, I didn't know what to expect. The texture, consistency, and taste of these cookies would have been pure bliss if it weren't for the peppermint extract that ruined it. I would make these cookies again, but substitute MINT extract for peppermint extract next time. TRUST ME, there is a difference! I suppose you could also substitute the peppermint extract for vanilla as well, making a grand ol' chocolate chip cookie.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups of all purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp. of salt
• 1/4 tsp. of baking soda
• 1/2 cup of butter at room temperature
• 1/2 cup of tightly packed light brown sugar
• 1/3 cup of granulated sugar
• 1 egg (beaten)
• 1/4 tsp. of peppermint extract
• 1 cup of chopped dark chocolate

Method:

1. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
2. In a larger bowl, beat the butter and sugars together on medium speed until light and fluffy (about 2-3 minutes). On low speed, slowly add the beaten egg and peppermint extract. Beat to combine, scrape down the sides of the bowl.
3. Add the flour mixture and beat just until there are no more streaks of flour. Stir in the chopped dark chocolate by hand. Cover and refrigerate for an hour.
   
4. Preheat the oven to 375F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Scoop out well rounded tablespoonfuls of the dough and roll them into balls. Leave about 2 inches between each ball. Bake for 8-9 minutes. If you prefer crispier cookies increase the baking time by 1-2 minutes. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for about 5 minutes before removing.

Day 2: Chewy Chocolate Gingerbread Cookies

I almost forgot how hectic baking 12 days of cookies before Christmas is. Basically, I have to update about a cookie approximately every two days. That means I'm already off schedule! Oh, shoot. I've been busy catching good deals online and thinking about what gift I should get for the bf. Anyone have any good ideas of what to get a boy for Christmas? Help a girl out. :)

Day 2 of my twelve days of cookies: Oh, hey Martha Stewart. You have some great ideas for just about everything. I don't know how you do it, but boy do I love it. This is only my fourth cookie that I've tried from the book by Martha Stewart, Cookies. They were everything that they were described to be.. chewy, chocolate-y, and gingerbread-y. They baked perfectly and held their shape. Personally, I'm not a fan of the taste of molasses so these cookies didn't tickle my fancy. My boyfriend, on the other hand, rather enjoyed them and sneaked bites by every now and then. Molasses has a very distinct taste that is just too strong for me, so I'll avoid it for now. Maybe it's an acquired taste and I'll eventually learn to love it....

Chewy Chocolate Gingerbread Cookies
Makes 2 dozen

Ingredients

• 7 ounces best-quality semisweet chocolate
• 1 1/2 cups plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 1 1/4 teaspoons ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 tablespoon cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
• 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
• 1/2 cup dark-brown sugar, packed
• 1/2 cup unsulfured molasses
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions

1. Chop chocolate into 1/4-inch chunks; set aside. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, ground ginger, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and cocoa.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and grated ginger until whitened, about 4 minutes. Add brown sugar; beat until combined. Add molasses; beat until combined.
3. In a small bowl, dissolve baking soda in 1 1/2 teaspoons boiling water. Beat half of flour mixture into butter mixture. Beat in baking-soda mixture, then remaining half of flour mixture. Mix in chocolate; turn out onto a piece of plastic wrap. Pat dough out to about 1 inch thick; seal with plastic wrap; refrigerate until firm, at least 2 hours.
4. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or nonstick baking mats. Roll dough into 2-inch balls; place 2 1/2 inches apart on baking sheets. Refrigerate 20 minutes. Roll dough balls in granulated sugar and return to baking sheets. Transfer to oven and bake until surfaces crack slightly, about 18 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes; transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Day 1: Peanut Butter Cookies with Milk Chocolate Chunks

Are you all ready for some serious cookie-mania? I feel like in the food blogging world, December is the prime month for cookies. Everyone loves doing the 12 days of cookies and since I did it last year, I'll continue my tradition. From now til Christmas, I'll blog about 12 different types of cookies. That way, you'll have plenty to choose from when deciding what to bake for your Christmas baskets. :)

Day 1 of my 12 days of cookies: This recipe is from Baked. I found it on Food Gal's blog and had to try it from her mouth-watering pictures. I've seen this recipe pop up on a few other websites, and it was always raved about. They were good if you were a peanut butter/chocolate lover. I just found out that I don't really care for the combination.... and neither does my family/boyfriend's family. Hmm.. Note to self: Don't bake peanut butter cookies for a family event.

I found them a bit on the salty side and wish they would have been a bit fluffier instead of so flat. I even made sure to refrigerate mine for at least 3 hours! I would definitely try freezing the dough next time instead of just refrigerating, in hopes of a thicker cookie. Oh well.. they still tasted good! The recipe may seem a little lengthy, but I promise it's not!

Peanut Butter Cookies with Milk Chocolate Chunks (makes 24 cookies)

• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 cup granulated sugar, plus more for sprinkling
• 1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup creamy peanut butter
• 6 ounces good milk chocolate, coarsely chopped

1. Sift flour, baking soda, and salt into a medium bowl and set aside.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and sugars together until fluffy. Scrape down the bowl and add eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated. The mixture will look light and fluffy. Add vanilla and peanut butter and beat until just incorporated.
3. Add half of the flour mixture and mix for 15 seconds. Add remaining flour mixture and mix until incorporated.
4. Using a spatula or wooden spoon, fold in chocolate. Cover bowl tightly and refrigerate for at least 3 hours.
5. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
6. Drop dough by rounded tablespoons onto prepared baking sheets, at least 2 inches apart. With palm of your hand, very gently press each cookie down so it forms a very tall disk shape. Do not press too hard and do not press it flat.
7. Sprinkle tops of cookies with granulated sugar and bake for 10 to 12 minutes, rotating pan halfway through baking time, until tops of cookies just begin to brown.
8. Remove pan from oven and cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes. Use a spatula to transfer individual cookies to the rack to cook completely (although they are also delicious warm).
9. The cookies can be stored, in an airtight container, for up to 3 days.

To recap last year's list of my 12 days of cookies:

• Day 1: Outrageous Chocolate Cookies
• Day 2: Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
  
• Day 3: NY Times Chocolate Chip Cookies
  
• Day 4: No Fail Sugar Cookies
  
• Day 5: White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies
  
• Day 6: Oatmeal Toffee & Walnut Cookies, with a hint of cocoa
  
• Day 7: M&M Cookies
  
• Day 8: Andes Mint Brownies
  
• Day 9: Peanut Butter Blossoms
  
• Day 10: Gingerbread Men
  
• Day 11: S'mores Cookie Bars
  
• Day 12: Chocolate Covered Cherry Cookies