Old Fashioned Oatmeal Cookies

I’m glad these Old Fashioned Oatmeal Cookies were easy to make because I had a lot going on in my personal life when I made them on April 29th this year, which was a Sunday. It was important that I made these cookies that particular weekend because April 30th is National Oatmeal Cookie Day! I…

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Mom’s Old Fashioned Sugar Cookies

July 9th is National Sugar Cookie Day! So of course, I had to make sugar cookies to celebrate. Cookies by Bess has a lot of sugar type cookies recipes, but only one actual sugar cookie recipe…Mom’s Old Fashioned Sugar Cookies. There are a few “Mom’s” recipes in Cookies by Bess…I assume these recipes are from…

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Lemon Almond Raisin Drops

What a treat to make cookies with my Mom! My parents were visiting me in Denver, so of course my Mom and I had to make cookies together…I love you Mom!  We decided on Lemon Almond Raisin Drops because we thought they sounded good!  Lemon, almond, and raisins…seemed like a good combination to us! We hadn’t…

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6 Basic Cookie Types

The Cookies by Bess cook book is filled with over 200 cookie recipes and my Grandma Bess categorized each recipe into one of 6 Basic Cookie Types.  I know this because my Aunt Suzie sent me the book Bess used to identify each cookie type.  How fun to see my Grandma’s writing next to each…

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Peanut Butter Cookies

Did you know, June 12th is National Peanut Butter Cookie Day?  It is and so of course, I had to make Peanut Butter Cookies! Cookies by Bess has a few recipes that call for peanut butter, but only one Peanut Butter Cookies recipe…and this is it! I haven’t made Peanut Butter Cookies since I was…

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Peanut Squares

All I have to say about making this Peanut Squares recipe is WOW WOW WOW! This recipe is something else! It’s definitely a bar cookie recipe, but you could also describe it as a layered cookie! It has a great cookie crust on the bottom, then chocolate chips, then brown sugar whipped with egg whites,…

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Orange Pecan Cookies

I was talking with my Mom recently and she mentioned that she has list of favorite Cookies by Bess cookies in the back of her cookie book. One of the cookies on the list is Orange Pecan Cookies. As we were talking she mentioned that she doesn’t really remember these making cookies, but figured they…

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Hints and Short-Cuts for Baking Cookies

It hit me as I was reading through the old scrap books my father sent me last summer. My Dad got the “pack rat” gene from his father, my Grandpa Abe! I was looking for the notes Grandma Bess put together for the classes she taught at the Wausau (WI) Technical Institute. I found the…

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Walnut Surprises

Walnut Surprises are such a fun cookie to make! And even though they have a lot of steps, the process goes pretty fast! I was able to get these cookies mixed and baked in just over 2 hours! Not bad for a shaped, stuffed, brushed, and topped cookie! I wasn’t even tired after all those…

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Apricot Bars

I’m not one for apricot jam on toast, I prefer strawberry or raspberry, but I have to say that apricot jam sure makes great cookies and bars! Apricot Bars is the second apricot cookie recipe I’ve made from Cookies by Bess (the other is Rolled Apricot Tea Cookies) and I just love the apricot flavor…

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