Chocolate Chips

According to some women on Yahoo! Food: "The best chocolate chip cookies are the following: #1 Brent & Sam's #2 Health Valley Mini Chocolate Chip Cookies #3 Newman's Own Organics Champion Chip Cookies (in Chocolate Chip) #4 Pepperidge Farm Chocolate Chunky Dark Chocolate #5 Chips Ahoy White Fudge Chunky #6 Mrs Field's Semi Sweet Chocolate Chip #7 Kashi TLC Oatmeal Dark Chocolate #8 Keebler Chips Deluxe Soft & Chewy." I actually do not really care. I neither like chocolate nor chocolate chip cookies. Maybe you do. There’s nothing wrong with that. Enjoy.

Greek cookies

Of course, I had never heard of these cookies, much less tasted them. If you are brave enough to order some, let me know how things turn out. Maybe I’ll go out and buy some. They sound yummy. “Evangelia's traditional Greek Cookies are named after Esther Luongo Psarakis' mother-in-law who runs the family farm on Crete. It is her picture on the box. She shared with Esther all of her favorite recipes, and these were among the first. These healthy cookies contain No Trans Fats, No Cholesterol, No Eggs or Butter and No Preservatives - just Unbleached Wheat Flour, Extra Virgin Olive Oil, White Wine, Sugar, Orange Juice, Sesame Seeds, Baking Soda, Baking Powder, and Cinnamon. These cookies have a lovely fragrance and delicate flavor. They are not too sweet and are a nice complement to cheeses, tea and coffee. Try them with goat cheese and heather honey. Or use like biscotti and dip into a frothy espresso drink.” They are produced in a bakery using peanuts and/or other nuts, in case you’re allergic to these products.

Biscochos

People say that Biscochos are a New Mexico treat. I would not know. I do know that they are traditional wedding cookies. This is just one of perhaps a dozen variations of the recipe.

1. 1 cup shortening
2. 2/3 cup sugar
3. 1 egg
4. 2 to 4 Tablespoons red wine, brandy or sherry (optional)
5. 1 to 1 & 1/2 teaspoons lightly crushed anise seed
6. 3 cups flour
7. 2 teaspoons baking powder, (optional)
8. 1/2 teaspoon salt, optional
9. 1/2 cup sugar mixed with 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions – serves 10

Preheat oven to 350 Degrees. Beat shortening with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Slowly beat in the 2/3 cup sugar, then the egg. Beat in 2 Tablespoons of the wine and the anise seed. Toss the flour together with the baking powder and salt (optional). Gently stir in, adding more wine as needed to form a soft dough. Let stand for 10 minutes or cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 15 minutes.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to a 1/4-inch thickness and cut into shapes as desired. Dip the top side of each cookie in the cinnamon-sugar and place on ungreased cookie sheets, about 1 inch apart. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, depending upon size, just until the edges turn a pale blond. Let cool a few minutes then remove to a wire rack to cool. Store in a cookie jar or airtight container.