Your Cookie Guide

 It's that time of year again. Cookie time. Every one wants to make a huge range during these weeks. Yet the question is what to make? Sugar? Sprtiz? Chocolate chip? What's the best and what's the easiest?

Of course the easiest is Pilsbury's Slice and Bake. This classic dough log is easy to bake and decorate. It's perfect if you have very little time  for the kitchen. Just scatter red and green sprinkles on them before baking  for a simple decoration. If you want an easy scratcvh cookie then go for a sugar cookie. It's an easy one that doesn't require a lot of ingredients. They're just sugar , butter and flour mixed together. They can be sprinkled with anything from  chopped nuts to candies. If you wanted you could add a drop of any flavoring from coffee(!) to lemon or almond. Many novice bakers get sugar cookies confused with the butter ones. There is a difference. The sugar ones are often rolled thin and then cut out ousing cookie cutters. Butter cookies are softer in texture when raw and the dough has to be put into a cookie gun or shooter. The taste is also more buttery. The famed holiday cookie, spritz falls in this catagory. They're also a cousin to shortbread except the dough requires an egg. Eggs. help the cookies keep their shape. The dough is usually dyed red and green for the holidays.These are perfect for a fancy dessert party.

What about traditional cookies? Shortbread is one and is also easy. Like sugar cookies it's made with only a few ingredients. A basic recipe has only one part sugar, two parts butter and three to four parts wheat flour.It's an ancient recipe that came from Auld Alliance with France in the 1500's. The texture is lovely and crumbly .It can be baked on a cookie sheet or in  the more traditional pie plate. A design is usually pricked in it, usually  it's the baker's initials Baked shortbread can be dipped in dark chocolate for an extra taste of luxury. Another classic is chocolate chips. People love these and every family has their own spin on them. The unique flavor cones form the addition of brown sugar which acts as the perfect foil  to the dark chocolate chips. Nuts such as walnuts can also be added. A variation is the tasty oatmeal chocolate chip.They 're made exactly the same way as chocolate chips except sub in rolled oats for the flour. Chocolate chip cookies can also be made with whole wheat flour too. If you're making oatmeal chococlate chip you cna also make oatmeal raisin cookies too. These also require brown sugar as well. Craisins can be used isntead of raisins for a tarter flavor.

These are some of the cookies you can bake for your holiday table. They're all relatively easy to make. even better they're easy to eat.