It's no trick. According to my What's Your Favorite Halloween Candy? poll, Reese's cups are readers' favorite treat. I can't argue with that!
But poor Necco wafers. At 0% They get no respect. Or maybe it's just because people outside of New England don't know about this candy. They're thin and round--about the size of a quarter--and taste just like those conversation hearts you get around Valentine's Day.
Thanks to all who voted. Voting still remains open, so feel free to weigh in.
According to my Raising the Bar? poll, readers didn't care if their cookies were round or rectangular. The just wanted those baked bits in their mouths!
The bar thing is something I'll definitely explore some more.
Thanks to all who voted and commented. Voting still remains open, so feel free to weigh in.
According to my Springtime Flavors poll, berry was readers' top choice for a seasonal flavor. In fact, berry beat out citrus, the next highest rated pick, by a 2-1 margin.
I voted for rhubarb--just to be different. But I think a strawberry-rhubarb cookie might be fun to try. Here's a list of just a few flavor combos this poll has inspired:
Strawberry-Rhubarb
Meyer Lemon & Thyme
XXX Strawberry (a take on my XXX Cranberry Cookies)
Lemon in the Coconut
Strawberry Shortcake
Peaches & Cream
Thanks to all who voted and commented. You've given me some great ideas! Voting still remains open, so feel free to weigh in.
According to my Easter Treats poll, chocolate (surprise, surprise) was readers' top choice for Easter candy. In fact, chocolate took out Peeps, the next highest rated pick, by a margin of well over 2-1.
I voted for jelly beans, but they might be a little hard to incorporate into a cookie. They'd probably just melt into lumps of goo. But that might be a good thing, especially if I use them to make stained glass cookies. Hmm...I'll have to think about that.
Thanks to all who voted and commented. You've given me some great ideas! Voting still remains open, so feel free to weigh in.
According to my Erin Go Bragh(kovich) poll, readers' top three St. Patrick's Day cookie ingredients were Bailey's Irish Cream, McCann's Irish oatmeal, and Guinness, followed closely by green food coloring and Jameson whiskey. I guess the results aren't too surprising, but I don't know if I can do a cookie with three kinds of alcohol in it. Then again...maybe I can.
Poor little currants didn't get a single vote. Whenever I think of scones or Irish soda bread, currants are one of the default mix-ins. I'll bring them in somehow, even though they scored a big 0.0%. Maybe I'll enplumpen 'em with some booze.
I'm going to come up with St. Patrick's Day cookies for the drinkers and nondrinkers alike. Here's a hint: I'll be putting the tea back in teetotaler
Thanks to all who voted and commented. Voting still remains open, so feel free to weigh in.
According to my What's Your Favorite Valentine's Day Candy? poll, chocolate--in the aggregate--rated highest. Of course, there's no surprise there. The seasonal shapes, colors, and candies rated highly as well. (Full disclosure time: I heart cinnamon hearts.)
I'm going to come up with a Valentine's Day cookie that incorporates all the best-loved flavors, shapes, and colors of the season. So stay tuned!
Thanks to all who voted and commented. (Alicia: Next time I'll include a button for "all of the above." I promise!) Voting still remains open, so feel free to weigh in.
According to my Large, Flat, and Crunchy or Small, Plump, and Chewy? poll, texture--not size--is what matters most. The supermajority of you like your chocolate chip cookies chewy, regardless of whether they're large or small.
Fans of the chewy should check out my Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies. But fret not fans of the crispy: I'll have a chocolate chip cookie recipe for you soon. Stay tuned!
Voting still remains open, so feel free to weigh in.
According to my "He Sees You When You're Sleeping..." poll, two-thirds of you agree with me that Mumma's 5'-foot tall Santa is creepy, not cute.
Sorry, Mumma! But that thing's eyes totally follow you around the room.
Voting still remains open, so feel free to weigh in.
According to my Christmas Cravings poll, the flavor people are looking forward to the most this season is gingerbread. Mmmm...gingerbread men and gingerbread houses. Now you're talking Christmas!
It looks like I've already got this flavor covered. All you lovers of gingerbread should check out my Redheads Cookies.
Voting still remains open, so feel free to weigh in.
Thanks to all who already voted, especially those of you who left comments for choosing "other." I'm going to try to come up with some recipes that capture your favorite Christmastime flavors in cookie form. Stay tuned!
According to my Save Room for Dessert! poll, more than two-thirds of you declared pie your favorite Thanksgiving dessert.
Though I am the Oatmeal Cookie Guy, I am going to have pie in addition to cookies when I host Thanksgiving this Thursday. Stay tuned for an apple pie recipe...with from-scratch crust!
Voting still remains open, so feel free to weigh in.
Thanks to all who already voted, especially my readers north of the border, who celebrated Canadian Thanksgiving on Monday, October 13.
According to my Talkin' Turkey poll, more than half of you are planning to have traditional Thanksgiving meals.
I'm hosting Thanksgiving this year and had originally planned to do something entirely nontraditional: eggplant parmesan. But I'm also going to do a small turkey breast, gravy, and stuffing. You know...all the stuff to make leftover turkey sandwiches (but I guess they'll be more first run than leftover). So count me among those who chose "eclectic."
Voting still remains open, so feel free to weigh in. Thanks to all who already voted, especially those ex-pats out there. (I'm talking to you Belgium and London!)
I know it's a little early to start thinking about turkey and all that, but Jon and I will be playing host to Mumma, my brother, and sister-in-law this Thanksgiving. Regular readers know I'm from cranberry country, which also happens to be next door to pilgrim country. Our family Thanksgivings have been pretty traditional, with the turkey, gravy, stuffing/dressing, potatoes, cranberry sauce, pearled onions, and on and on...and on. Oh! And don't forget the pies. And cheesecakes.
We'll be in New York City this year, not Plymouth County, Massachusetts, so some twists on the traditional are a must. And I'll be doing the cooking, so unless everyone wants to eat cookies for dinner, the star of this year's Thanksgiving is going to be eggplant parmesan.
All this menu planning got me thinking about what others do for Thanksgiving. Do you keep it traditional, go off on an Asian-fusion tangent, or do a bit of the old mixed with the new?
PS: For those who are interested, here are some photos I took of Plymouth Rock and its portico when I was home for the Cranberry Harvest Festival. (I tried to take a few snaps of Mayflower II, but there was a line of tour buses blocking it from view.)
The portico and a view of Plymouth Harbor.
The rock itself. Sorry about the shadows!
According to my Autumn Spice and Everything Nice poll, cinnamon--by practically a 6-1 margin--is the most popular fall flavor.
Voting still remains open, so feel free to weigh in.
Thanks to all who already voted and to those who commented. Jem got me thinking about cardamom (and the cardamom and rosewater cookie I was thinking about doing last spring), and Alicia reminded me how well black pepper works in spice cookies and cakes.
I don't know about you, but I think an "Autumn Spice and Everything Nice" cookie is in order.
According to my Chiming In on Chocolate poll, dark chocolate was --by far--respondents' favorite variety of chocolate.
I figured that milk chocolate would have won, but my audience has tres sophisticated tastes!
Voting still remains open, so feel free to weigh in.
And thanks to all who already voted, especially those of you from as far away as Brussels, Belgium; Tallinn, Estonia; Santiago, Chile; and Anchorage, Alaska.
According to my Cookies at What Cost? poll, it looks like there are some big cookie-spenders out there. A full quarter of respondents said there was no limit to what they would pay for a bakery-made cookies. No limit? Oh my! I should totally charge for my cookies.
I guess I'm cheap. I said $1 was my limit! (Maybe I should have voted for "Pay for cookies? Are you kidding!?")
Voting still remains open, so feel free to weigh in.
Oh, yeah! Cookies are in the lead...by a lot...in my Cookies vs. Cupcakes poll. Take that, cupcakes!
I guess I tipped my hand. In case you couldn't tell, I'm a cookie man, not a cupcake man.
Voting still remains open, so feel free to weigh in.
By a 2-1 margin, care-uh-mel beats out car-mel in my caramel pronunciation poll. (I'm with the care-uh-mel camp.)
So far, it looks like folks around the edges of the U.S map say care-uh-mel, and folks in the middle of the map say car-mel.
Voting still remains open, so feel free to weigh in. Thanks!
So far, hot and gooey is ahead by a nose in my Hot or Not? cookie temperature poll.
I prefer my cookies cooled and chewy because I think that hot and gooey cookies taste too sweet. I know...call me crazy.
Voting still remains open, so feel free to weigh in. Thanks!
How better to mark America's birthday than with a poll roundup? (You know...voting, democracy, etc.) Here are the results (so far) for my poll on favorite cookie-eating times.
I'm with the majority on this one. I can eat cookies whenever, though I do prefer my cookies cool and not hot. (Hmmm...another poll?)
Voting still remains open, so feel free to weigh in. Thanks for all your feedback, everybody. Happy 4th!
