A very heart-y followup

The Peanutella project is a mixed bag. On one hand, the product itself is so very good. On the other hand, the Peanutella sandwich cookies were a colossal failure.

Some things I've tried, and some upcoming projects

I dunno about anyone else, but this time of year always gets me down. I'm laid off for a few months, it's cold, I'm bored and housebound, and I get sick of cooking the same thing in-and-out. My live-in is what some people would generously call, "a picky eater," and what I call (in my less-kindly moments), "A GIANT PAIN IN MY ASS!"

It's hard for me to find things he'll eat; given his druthers, his entire diet would be made up of Little Debbies, spaghetti marinara with garlic bread, steak, cake, and ice cream. I've tried over the years to expand his palate a little, but much of the time I'll just go, "Welp, I'm making this, so grab some ramen for yourself if you don't want to eat it."

So this time of year is my time for combining recipes, combing the web for new ideas, and raiding my local library for cookbooks.

The way to a person's heart is through their truffles

Warning: This recipe may cause spontaneous declarations of love and ardent offers of sexual favors.* Do not make these without proper safety procedures in place.

Right, so a lot of people I know love chocolate chip cookies and their dough; me, not so much. I mean, they're okay. But I've been making chocolate chip cookies since I was about seven; they just don't hold much interest for me anymore. I know I'm in the minority here, and realizing this I decided to try out this recipe for all the people in my family who lick the spoon after mixing up some cookie dough.

Wherein our illustrious guest blogger makes an appearance

A little about me: I'm frequently broke, especially around the holidays, and I have a large family and a huge pool of friends. All of this breaks down into one thing: I don't give presents, I give baskets and bags of baked goods and candies for the holidays. Some recipes are a given for certain groups: I can be pretty sure most of my presents for my friends will involve alcohol, I have to find a tasty diabetic-friendly recipe for my live-in's grandmother, I have to find something that ships well for his father, and I have to figure out something interesting that can be made in advance for the voracious and superlatively picky bunch that are related to me.

As a result my "holiday baking" starts early with new recipe testing. And as with all recipe testing, things go wrong. For today, I'm trying out Chocolate & Peanut Butter Meringues.

I was specifically thinking of my brother and mom for this one as they both adore meringues and macaroon-type cookies. Myself, I am not a fan. But these were pretty tasty. Also, the only thing that might go wrong if you let the batter sit for a while (as I did) is that the second batch that's been sitting doesn't poof up as much. They still taste good, they're just a little flat.

I should place here a disclaimer: I am not a photographer and my food frequently turns out delicious but homely. If other food bloggers have pictures that are considered food porn, mine's food amateur porn: lots of enthusiasm, but messier than a professional job.

Snickerdoodles.

One of my best childhood memories is of making snickerdoodles in my grandmother's kitchen. My favorite thing to do was pop one of every three balls of dough I rolled in cinnamon sugar into my mouth without Grandma noticing. Snickerdoodles are also one of the foods that I am so picky about it borders on a bit scary. I won't buy them at those cookie stands in the mall, or bake sales, and rarely I'll try one from a professional bakery but almost always am disappointed. For the record:

- Sugar cookies rolled or dusted in cinnamon sugar, or with cinnamon mixed into the dough, are not snickerdoodles.

- Butter cookies similarly treated are not snickerdoodles.

- Neither are shortbread cookies, etc.

I have a trusted favorite snickerdoodle recipe that my grandmother passed on to me that interestingly enough wound up more or less in its original form on allrecipes.com. Mrs. Sigg's Snickerdoodles have that wonderful balance of soft, pillowy insides to crispy, chewy outsides that a good snickerdoodle should have. They also bake up with the picture-perfect crackles that one envisions snickerdoodles having every time. This recipe also contains my #1, never deviate from it rule for cookie baking; an equal ratio of butter to shortening. Trust me on this one, if you want cookies that bake up soft and tender as well as chewy, you will listen and obey.