Cookie Advent 2012: Swedish Dream Cookies, Snickerdoodles, and Pecan Chocolate Chip

I tried to do a cookie advent last year which I ended up giving up on for a few reasons. First, it got kind of crazy. Second, I was trying to follow someone else's list of cookies, which didn't always line up with my tastes. This year we decided to try again, but this time choosing all the cookie recipes ourselves! So far, it's going much better. We'll see if we can keep it up! If you invite us over in the next month, expect a plate of cookies when we show up :)

Here's our progress so far:

My favorites so far are a repeat from last year: Swedish Dream Cookies from Saveur. These are a light crispy cookie flavored with vanilla bean. They really do melt in your mouth! And they're the easiest cookies I've ever made. We didn't have vanilla sugar, so we substituted a vanilla bean and a tablespoon of sugar and they turned out great!

We also tried a new snickerdoodle recipe from Saveur. They were had a great intense cinnamon flavor since the batter was flavored as well, but I like Kyle's family's recipe better. I should probably post that someday.

Our third cookie so far was David Lebovitz's chocolate chip cookie recipe. I was a fan of the addition of chopped toasted nuts, but I wish we'd have used better chocolate since that's a main component of the recipe. I think I'll give it a go with some Valrhona or Scharffen-Berger next time! We did sprinkle some sea salt on them (a la another David's recipe) which was a good addition.

I'll keep you updated on our cookie adventures! Maybe they'll last this time :)