Milk & Cookies {The Very Best}

Aside from the VERY best treat this past weekend of being softly awoken on Saturday morning to the sounds of clinking pans and the faint scent of freshly ground coffee brewing as Hub had awoken before me and surprised me with breakfast in bed (he’s the very best, I know), my second best treat was making some delicious cookies later on that day.
For our anniversary, Hub gave me Martha Stewart’s Cookies: The Very Best Treats to Bake and to Share recipe book. So this past weekend I decided it was high-time I dive into that book and finally make at least one of the recipes I’ve been salivating over. So I made the one recipe that has looked most tasty to me…the Raspberry Cream Sandwich Cookies. And it was quite possibly one of the best cookies I’ve ever eaten. That’s quite the claim, I know, but being a cookie-lover (and who isn’t, really?) I’ve tasted some very fabulous cookies. This recipe called for one vanilla bean, which I happened to have on hand, just waiting to be used up (do they go old?). I loved scraping the tiny seeds from the pod…and I also loved the aesthetic effect they add with their tiny dark flecks sprinkled throughout the entire cookie. Plus, the 2 teaspoons of pure vanilla extract this recipe calls for just adds to its vanilla-y goodness. Did I mention I’m also a vanilla-lover? Just for you, dear friends and family…I found this recipe online. Try it sometime; I think you’ll love it.
Next up for me to try baking from this book is the Caramel Cashew Cookie. It sounds like a very good, Fall-ish sort of cookie. And I already bought the caramel squares…which means I need to make them soon before I devour all the necessary caramel squares. Oops…

P.S. Another "very best treat" this weekend (which shall remain unranked as it was very high on my list) was Mum & Dad returning home, safe and sound, from their mission trip in Alaska …although stricken with bad colds. Get well soon folks & welcome back! :)

P.P.S. A little note on this cookie recipe...I had a slight frosting flop...I think I added too much raspberry puree to the melted white chocolate. The recipe doesn't specify how much it should be. The recipe does say to use 1 cup (or 1/2 pint) of raspberries, but once pureed and strained, the volume could differ, couldn't it? (And the raspberries I bought were definitely on steroids...I have never seen a raspberry that big in the natural world!) Although my frosting looks a little different than theirs, at least they still tasted super delicious. Next time, though, I think I would add the raspberry puree gradually until it looks like the right color and consistency.