I acquired Rose’s Christmas Cookies book shortly after Christmas when I couldn’t face another cookie (or sugar, in general), so a little time passed before I tried out some of the recipes.  I’m not much of a cookie baker but I followed Rose’s instructions and was really happy with all of the results.

The first was Mom’s Coconut Kisses, made as a special treat for myself since my family claims to dislike coconut. Of course, they liked these, so my plan of having a secret stash of my own fell through . They’re made with fresh coconut – that was a first for me – and really delicious.

Peanut Butter and Jelly Jewels were a huge hit. The cookie is very peanutty and I filled most with the not-too-sweet chocolate ganache recipe Rose provides – an upscale version of a peanut butter cup. My cookies spread a little bit …maybe because of the brand (Kraft not Skippy) of peanut butter I used?

For Valentine’s Day, I baked the bone a fidos for my dog and his friends. I’m going to assume from their reactions that they were delicious - kelp powder is really not my thing .

The most recent cookie was baked to celebrate mapling season, Maple Walnut Sable Sandwiches, filled with maple neo-classic buttercream. Best tasting maple cookie I’ve ever had.

All look yummy!  I’ve made the coconut and pb cookies before and they are great!  I love how the chocolate pipes and have thought to use it instead of regular ganache for cake decorating.  Haven’t tried the dog cookies, but can barely keep up with feeding the homo sapiens in my house!!  The Maple Sables have always intrigued me and I’d love to give them a go sometime.  Glad you are getting into cookies!

Those are very beautiful.  I love your flavor choices ... except maybe the fidos ...  : )

I think those PBs are much cooler than the one with hershey’s kisses!!!!

Those are wonderful!  I actually like the shape of your PB cookies, even if not an exact match to the photo.  Thank you for bringing my attention to the coconut cookies, I might have overlooked them and they sound great.  I’ve made the maple sables, too, and I remember them being sublime.  Whenever I think of pate sucree crusts, I find myself wondering if that sable recipe would work…  haven’t tried it yet

I should add, the bars in there with caramel and 3 kinds of chocolate are incredible BUT add the chocolate after the caramel so it doesn’t melt.

Thank you, everyone!

Sherrie, you really should try the maple sandwiches, they’re not just the best maple cookie I’ve had, but the best sandwich cookie! Though I may change my mind about this if I keep baking from Rose’s book.
The dog is sadly neglected in my home when it comes to homemade treats so I try to make an effort on special occasions.

Anne, I considered using the Hersey’s kisses but making and piping the ganache took less time than unwrapping all of the chocolate’s would have and it tasted better too! I’d like to try this cookie again with Rose’s cherry preserve filling; the store-bought sour cherry jam I used in some of the cookies was somewhat underwhelming.

Julie, the coconut cookies were fabulous and, as with all of Rose’s recipes, not too sweet. Apart from dealing with the fresh coconut, the method is super easy.
Flavour-wise, I think the walnut sable would make an excellent crust, but if I were making it, I would probably just press it into a tart pan as I found the dough to be quite fragile.

They are delicious-looking Sophia.

I have the book but all I have made from it, so far, are the Savory Cheese Dollars served around a cheese ball. They were a hit and my guests asked to take the last of the remaining Dollars home with them. 

You have inspired me to bake something else from that book.

Sherrie - 22 March 2012 10:17 AM

I should add, the bars in there with caramel and 3 kinds of chocolate are incredible BUT add the chocolate after the caramel so it doesn’t melt.

Are these the Chocolate caramel chews? Thank you for the tip on the caramel….they sound delicious! I’d already flagged David’s dream bars as one recipe to make based on rave reviews, now I’ve added this to the list!

Flour Girl - 22 March 2012 11:00 AM

They are delicious-looking Sophia.

I have the book but all I have made from it, so far, are the Savory Cheese Dollars served around a cheese ball. They were a hit and my guests asked to take the last of the remaining Dollars home with them. 

You have inspired me to bake something else from that book.

Thank you Flour Girl. They all tasted delicious also - or at least the 3 that I ate did

I remember your post about the cheese dollars and I’ve been waiting for an occasion to make them. I have so many recipes flagged, I can’t decide what’s next!

Sophia - 23 March 2012 09:03 AM

Sherrie - 22 March 2012 10:17 AM

I should add, the bars in there with caramel and 3 kinds of chocolate are incredible BUT add the chocolate after the caramel so it doesn’t melt.

Are these the Chocolate caramel chews? Thank you for the tip on the caramel….they sound delicious! I’d already flagged David’s dream bars as one recipe to make based on rave reviews, now I’ve added this to the list!

Yes.  The Chocolate Caramel Chews.  I’ve made them as gifts and always get rave reviews—one person went out and bought the cookie book because of them