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As promised, here's my peanut butter cookie topped with honey and sea salt.

I know...you're probably thinking I've lost it. Peanut butter, honey, and sea salt? Trust me. You'll like it.

I love the crunchy/chewy texture combination about as much as I love the salty/sweet flavor combination...which is a lot. And this cookie hits all the right mouthfeel and flavor buttons. It's like a chewier, more flavorful, less tooth-damaging version of peanut brittle. Sounds perfect, doesn't it?

I thought these would come out looking like old school peanut butter cookies--the flat kind with the crosshatches on top from the overlapping indentations of fork tines. They didn't, but the flattening step played an important part because it gave a nice, even surface for the honey and salt to stick to.

Using honey as a cookie glaze can be a little tricky. It's sticky and doesn't spread easily when cool but runs all over the place when hot. If you keep an eye on your oven, you'll see that the honey gets foamy as it heats up. If you've got a flat surface to coat, your honey will stick pretty much where you put it.

I used flaked sea salt because it's not as salty as regular old table salt and because it holds up pretty well when you sprinkle it on top of stuff and bake it.

Makes 2 1/2 dozen cookies. (To see this recipe in process, check out Picturing Honey-Roasted Peanut Butter Cookies.)

1. Preheat oven to 350º.
2. In your Kitchen Aid or a large mixing bowl, cream together the creamables.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients and then add to the creamables. Mix together until smooth.
4. In another large mixing bowl, add the dry ingredients. Using a spatula, fold together until evenly distributed. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the creamables and wet ingredients. Mix until evenly combined.
5. Shape dough into balls--about 2 tablespoons each.
6. Place dough balls about 2 inches apart on Silpat- or parchment paper-lined cookie sheets.
7. Using a fork or a spatula, flatten the dough balls a little.
8. Drizzle each flattened dough ball with honey and top with a pinch of sea salt.
   
9. Bake at 350º for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Remove the cookie sheets from the oven and let stand for 2 minutes. Then place cookies on wire racks to cool.

Here's the recipe for my Honey-Roasted Peanut Butter Cookies in process.

Cream the creamables: butter, dark brown sugar, peanut butter, and white sugar.

Combine the wet ingredients: an egg, vanilla, and milk.

Add the wet ingredients to the creamed creamables. Mix.

Grind the Cap'n Crunch and combine the dry ingredients.

Combine the dry ingredients and add to the combined creamables and wet ingredients. Mix again.

Scoop the cookies and flatten them with a fork or spatula.

Drizzle with honey, sprinkle with sea salt, and bake. Salty/sweet, crispy/chewy, yum yum.

Olivia, a reader and real-life recipe user, had this to say about my Pumpkin Cheesecake Cookies:

I'm a HUGE fan of pumpkin cheesecake and made these last night. They are AMAZING! I never would have thought to bake with graham crackers!

Thanks, Olivia! I'm so glad you like them. And kudos to you for taking on a stuffed cookie recipe. The process is a little involved, but it's well worth the labor. As for the graham crackers... Well, I gotta give myself a pat on the back for that one.

After running some errands and visiting folks in town, my friend Katie and I stopped by Jacob Wirth to take a load off and to down some German nibbles.

1) A bucket of mini soft pretzels with mustard dippin' sauce. 2) Fried pickles with dill dippin' sauce. Not necessarily German but oh-so tasty. 3) Knockwurst with potatoes and sauerkraut. 4) Wiener schnitzel with Jaegermesiter sauce, dill speatzel, and peas.

Here's the recipe for Rene's Oatmeal Shortbread Cookies in process.

Add all the ingredients to a bowl. Surprise! No eggs.

Combine all the ingredients until the butter and vanilla are evenly distributed. Then grease a pie plate with butter.

Place the combined ingredients in the greased pie plate and press down into a flat, even disk.

Bake, slice into wedges, and let cool. Perfect for dunkin' in tea.

Rene, a fellow foodie at my new office, gave me this recipe to try out after I told him I had a strawberry shortcake cookie recipe on The List.

I told him I wanted to use a shortbread cookie base as the "shortcake" and then add dehydrated strawberries and strawberry jam.

He said I should give his oatmeal shortbread cookie a try and then play around with the recipe to incorporate the fruit. I told him I'd of course give it a try!

Buttery, oaty, and just right with a cup of tea. A 1/2 batch would also make a really good crust for a cheesecake or key lime pie. (Hmmm...I'd better write that down!)

Makes eight 1/4"-thick wedges. (To see this recipe in process, check out Picturing Rene's Oatmeal Shortbread Cookies.)

1. Preheat oven to 325º.
2. In a medium-sized bowl, add all the ingredients and mix until well incorporated and the butter is evenly distributed.
   
3. Grease a pie plate with butter.
4. Add the combined ingredients to the greased pie plate and pat down until you form a firm, flat disk of dough.
5. Bake at 325º for 20-25 minutes, or until the edges of the cookie disk are brown. Remove the pie plate from the oven and let stand for 5 minutes.
   
6. When cool, transfer the cookie disk to a cutting board and cut into wedges.
7. Let wedges cool for 30 minutes to firm up and get crispy.

When you're waiting in the ER for a CT scan, the strangest things pop into your head...like "What cookie am I going to do this Sunday?" and "Why can't I find a video of that song on YouTube?"

I've written about finding cookie inspiration before. I especially like the story of how I came up with my Sweater Weather Cookies. (If you couldn't tell by now, I really like this recipe.) But it occurred to me that there was something else that contributed to the DNA of that recipe. I know it sounds weird, but the cool, mellow feeling of Yo La Tengo's "Autumn Sweater" played a role in there somewhere. Download the song from iTunes and do some leaf-peeping...before the snow starts to fly. Enjoy!

Hey, everybody. Sorry for the recent blog silence. The flu has really knocked me out. But I hope to be up and baking again this weekend.

My blog buddy Laurel wrote in to add an interesting twist on candy corn cookies:

Here's another thought Greg...I like to eat candy corn with peanuts. It is the perfect sweet and salty combination. Maybe you could add some candy corn to some almost cooked PB cookies. That way they keep their shape and don't melt or let them melt if the cookie consistency is good. Or stuff a PB cookie with candy corn and let them melt inside. Do you think this would work? If it doesn't have enough of the salt flavor, you could top them with some kosher salt like you do with the salted caramel cookies.

Thanks, Laurel! I'll have to try that combo. But you've sparked an idea for a non-candy corn cookie. I'm thinking of a salty/sweet honey-roasted peanut cookie. I know it's off topic, but you can never tell where the ideas will take you. :-)

Koreen, a new reader, sent me the loveliest email last night:

I recently moved to London from beautiful Los Angeles and while my fiance is away all day I am learning to cook. I have always loved baking (I was nicknamed Betty in high school for Betty Crocker) and when I found your site, I think I found heaven. Thanks!

Hi, Koreen! Thanks so much for writing in. I hope you're adjusting well to life in London and enjoying baking--and this blog. It all sounds very Julie & Julia! For an American take on a British classic, try out a batch of my Lemon & Gooseberry Biscuits.

Happy National Pumpkin Cheesecake Day, everybody!

To celebrate, why not bake up a batch of my Pumpkin Cheesecake Cookies?

JS5981 wrote in to ask a question about meal replacement bars:

Hey Cookieguy, I don't know how long it's been around but I've been noticing in the news lately that there's something called the "cookie diet". They say it consists of 5 high protein cookies which are to be eaten throughout the day when you're hungry. Which got me to thinking, have you ever tried to make a trail mix style cookie or a dense "clif bar" style cookie that you could use as a meal replacement?

Hey...that's a pretty good idea! I'll have to do some research on what high-protein stuff would have to go into a meal replacement bar. Nuts, certainly. But I wonder what else... Stay tuned!

Nothing says howdy and takes away the rainy-weather blues like a mailbox full of goodies.

So, instead of testing a new recipe on Sunday, I baked up a double batch of my Sweater Weather Cookies and sent some care packages down to New York.

All it takes is a box and some postage to make someone's day.

Here’s the most up-to-date list.

Maureen, a reader and (now!) real-life recipe user, wrote in to say she tackled one of my stuffed cookies first:

I stumbled across your blog several weeks ago and have been salivating over your recipes... well, I finally jumped in and made a batch last night.  I decided to go with the Peanut Butter Cup, even though I was a little intimidated by the idea of stuffing the cookies.  Oh my goodness!  These are the best cookies ever, and everyone that tried one (that was at least 10 people today) said the exact same thing.  My roommate said "these are like heaven bundled in heavenliness."  I think she likes them :)

Anyway, I just wanted to drop you a line and say thank you.  I will certainly be attempting more in the near future!

Hi, Maureen. Thanks for writing in! I'm so glad you and your real-life cookie tasters liked them. (They are pretty really good!)  :-)

Wow...I've got to hand it to you. My stuffed cookies are among my most popular, but the assembly process can be a little intimidating. Good on you for taking such a big cookie-making leap! I can't wait to hear how other recipes turn out for you.

Here's the recipe for my Halloween Pinwheel Cookies in process.

Part 1 of 2: the dough-making phase. Except for a few flavor- and color-specific tweaks, the ingredients for each layer are the same.

The process is also the same. (Note: You will have to make each layer individually.) Cream together the butter and white sugar. Combine the wet ingredients and add to the creamed creamables. Grind the oatmeal. Combine the dry ingredients, add to the combined creamables and wet ingredients, and mix to combine.

Vanilla Layer: vanilla, finely ground Nilla Wafer cookies, and yellow food coloring.

Orange Layer: orange extract and red and yellow food coloring.

Chocolate Layer: cocoa powder and black food coloring.

See Picturing Halloween Pinwheel Cookies II for the assembly phase.

Makes 2 dozen cookies. (To see this recipe in process, check out Picturing Halloween Pinwheel Cookies.)

Repeat Steps 1-4 for each of the three layers of dough.

1. In your Kitchen Aid or a large mixing bowl, cream together the creamables.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients and then add to the creamables. Mix together until smooth.
3. In another bowl, add the dry ingredients. Using a spatula, fold together until evenly distributed. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the creamables and wet ingredients. Mix until evenly combined.
4. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator until chilled and firm.
   

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5. Roll out each chilled dough ball into a 1/8-1/4"-thick sheet.
6. Stack the three layers of rolled-out dough on top of a piece of plastic wrap.
7. Roll the stack onto itself to create a cookie dough log and wrap with the plastic wrap. Smooth out the log until it is even and cylindrical.
8. Place the dough log in the freezer for 15-20 minutes to firm up.
9. Preheat oven to 350º.
10. Remove the dough log from the freezer. Using a serrated knife, cut 1/4"-thick disks from the log.
11. Place the dough slices about 2 inches apart on Silpat- or parchment paper-lined cookie sheets.
12. Bake at 350º for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Remove the cookie sheets from the oven and let stand for 2 minutes. Then place cookies on wire racks to cool.

I've been getting lots of reader queries and comments about new cookies and new ingredients. Bird, who agrees with my friend Katie about doing a goat cheese cookie, also asked this:

Any thought to adding Nutella to your recipes?

That's a great idea, Bird! There must be something in the air because I saw a Nutella commercial for the first time the other night, and--of course--I thought about making a Nutella cookie. Great minds thing alike, I guess.

Nutella, a hazelnut-chocolate spread, is the European equivalent of American peanut butter. In other words, it's pretty tasty stuff. Stay tuned for some stuffed and nonstuffed recipes coming soon.

I've been thinking a lot about Carrie's candy corn cookie query lately, trying to figure out how to get the best result.

At first, I thought I'd make one batch of dough, split the dough into thirds, tint two of the thirds with food coloring, roll out the thirds into bands, join the bands together, and then use a triangle cookie cutter to make 2D approximations of candy corn.

But then I realized I'd end up with triangular cookies with inverted colors on the tops and bottoms and that only half of the cookies would be correct. Hmmm...what a pickle.

Now I'm leaning toward doing a multicolored rolled cookie that you slice instead of cut out or scoop. Oh...why not Indian corn? You know...candy corn with a chocolate layer at the bottom? Back to the drawing board.

My friend Katie is really into my savory cookie recipes (see here and here), and she recently asked me this:

What about a goat cheese cookie?

Hmmm. My first thought was that Mumma wouldn't be caught dead within 50 miles of such a creation. You see, she absolutely abhors anything goat. (Blame it on a pet goat and a crafty mother who had a funnel and an empty milk bottle.)

But the more I thought about the idea, the more I liked it. Goat cheese is one of those ingredients that could go savory or sweet. I love goat cheese in my salad, and cheesecake made with goat cheese is really good.

I'm thinking goat cheese, dried cranberries, and almonds would work well together in a cookie. Just consider it: creamy, salty/tangy cheese + chewy, sweet/tart cranberries + crunchy, savory nuts. It's a combo that hits every flavor and mouthfeel receptor. Stay tuned to see what I come up with!

Here's the recipe for my Peanut Butter and Apple Cookies in process.

Cream the creamables: butter, dark brown sugar, white sugar, and peanut butter.

Combine the wet ingredients: an egg and vanilla.

Add the wet ingredients to the creamed creamables. Mix.

Peel and roughly chop the apples.

Combine the dry ingredients and add to the combined creamables and wet ingredients. Mix again.

Scoop and bake. Light, tasty, and arguably healthy.

Amdanda K. helped inspire this recipe because her blog-love for my peanut butter cookie recipe is what got me thinking about new PB flavor combinations. Thanks, Amanda!

Sure...peanut butter and chocolate and peanut butter and jelly are classics, but there are others, right? Of course! There's peanut butter and celery (with raisins), but that combo doesn't seem very suited for cookiedom. (But maybe it is if you ever find yourself in this situation.)

Peanut butter and apple is a flavor combo that's perfectly suited for cookies...and the season.

I used my standard recipe for peanut butter cookies but made three adjustments. The first was to swap chopped apples for the peanut butter chips. The second was to add 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon to the dry ingredients. (Because what's a baked apple product without cinnamon?) The third was to increase the vanilla by 1/2 teaspoon to help accentuate the apples and cinnamon.

The result is a mighty tasty, practically healthy cookie.

Makes 2 1/2 dozen cookies. (To see this recipe in process, check out Picturing Peanut Butter and Apple Cookies.)

1. Preheat oven to 350º.
2. In your Kitchen Aid or a large mixing bowl, cream together the creamables.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients and then add to the creamables. Mix together until smooth.
4. In another large mixing bowl, add the dry ingredients. Using a spatula, fold together until evenly distributed. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the creamables and wet ingredients. Mix until evenly combined.
5. Shape dough into balls--about 2 tablespoons each.
6. Place dough balls about 2 inches apart on Silpat- or parchment paper-lined cookie sheets.
7. Bake at 350º for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Remove the cookie sheets from the oven and let stand for 2 minutes. Then place cookies on wire racks to cool.

My blog buddy Amelia wrote in to share some kind words about my Sweater Weather Cookies:

Hi Greg, I baked these yesterday and they were a hit with the fam! BTW, I love the SW cookie name!

Hi there, Amelia. Thanks! I'm glad you and the family liked these guys. I have to admit that I was really, really happy with this recipe. They turned out just how I wanted them to! Yay fall. :-)

Greenbean, a reader and real-life recipe user, wrote in to ask about my process for developing, tweaking, and finalizing my recipes:

Hey OCG!

I love how you describe how you develop your recipes. You make it sound so easy. Is it really this easy? How many attempts does it usually take for you to settle on a recipe?

Hi, Greenbean! Thanks for writing in. That's a great question.

I've been pretty good with getting the flavors and textures of my cookies to match my expectations. But there have been a few times when the recipes I thought up just didn't work. (Check out some of my failures here, here, and here.)

I usually get the recipe right on the first test. I've been baking cookies for so long now that I've got a pretty good feel for the measurements. I've learned that some ingredients are tricky and unpredictable, though: apples, for example, because moisture and sweetness levels can vary from one piece of fruit to another. So sometimes I get a cookie that's slightly cakier than I expected but that still tastes great.

I think the key thing is to have fun and not take the process too seriously. If a batch of cookies comes out wrong or just plain inedible, I toss out the cookies along with the recipe, analyze what went wrong, and start over. In baking, as in life, you learn from your mistakes.

Too sweet? Cut back on the sugar or rethink another ingredient that brings too much sweetness to the party. Too flat? Rethink the wet ingredients. Bland? Pump up the flavorings or add them to each step of the recipe--creamables, wet ingredients, and dry ingredients. Too plump? Either increase the wet ingredients or, if the taste is just right, add a smooshing step while baking to make the cookies a little flatter.

It really is just about improvising and making corrections as needed as you go along. Believe me. I've made some humdingers. Just check out my Oops! postings.

Here's the recipe for my Sweater Weather Cookies in process.

Cream the creamables: butter and dark brown sugar.

Combine the wet ingredients. An egg; vanilla, orange zest, juice, and extract; and the contents of six Mandarin Orange Spice tea bags.

Add the combined wet ingredients to the combined creambles. Mix.

Combine the dry ingredients and add to the wet ingredients/creamables mixture. Mix

Scoop, bake, and enjoy. Smells so good!

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