Bon Appétit fast easy fresh cookbook favorite cookie recipe intentional mama

Do you have a cookie recipe that you use over and over? In 2008, I discovered No-Fail Chocolate Chippers in the Bon Appétit Fast Easy Fresh Cookbook, and I've made them about once every month or two ever since. What makes this recipe amazing? It uses oat flour as well as all-purpose flour, which makes the cookies chewy and substantial. (No need to buy special flour--just put some oats in a blender.) It also uses more brown sugar than white, giving them softness and depth of flavor.

*My dairy-free version of No Fail Chocolate Chippers made with coconut oil*

To avoid copyright issues, I'm linking to the No Fail Chocolate Chippers recipe on Epicurious rather than reprinting it here. As a side note, you can leave out the walnuts with no consequences. And being lactose intolerant, I make a non-dairy version of the recipe by using dark chocolate chips, and in place of butter I use Earth Balance vegan buttery sticks or coconut oil. The coconut oil makes a more dense, slightly harder cookie, so take them out of the oven sooner.

Paris Sweets Dorie Greenspan French cookie recipes Intentional Mama

While chocolate chip cookies are a year-round American staple, I'm looking forward to making some French treats for the holidays too. At my bridal shower seven years ago, someone gave me Dorie Greenspan's Paris Sweets cookbook (merci, Joanne!), and it's full of excellent French cookie and cake recipes. While it has no pictures, it's a Francophile baker's dream--authentic, detailed, and rich. Each recipe names the Parisian boulangerie or pâtisserie from which it is adapted, so you could use it as your gastronomic guide to Paris someday.

The more I look through Paris Sweets, the more I'm tempted to spend next year baking my way through it! But for a more realistic goal, I'll start with the almond cookies and sandwich them with Bonne Maman jam. What do you love to bake at Christmastime?

Disclaimer: I have no connection to either the publishers or the authors of these cookbooks--I'm just happy to share these delightful baking references with you.