The Best Cookies Cook Book

Believe it or not, I have had and used this Cooky Book for 40 years. I'm sure the ones you get today are newer editions with even more recipes than I have. This is a cherished and much-used book. There is a whole story behind it. The photo of my poor, well-loved book is at the end of this lens. Missing the cover and loose pages, I still use and love it.

When I was a senior in high school, I decided to take Home Economics/Cooking only because they wouldn't let me out early and I had completed all my other requirements. The cooking class seemed easy enough because my Mom had taught me how to cook from an early age. Sure enough, the class was filled with girls whose mothers had not been as diligent as mine had been in passing on necessary kitchen skills. Many of them were looking at getting married at the end of the school year, so this class was the last ditch effort to learn to cook for a family. For the first time ever I felt like I knew things no one else knew. The teacher saw right away that I didn't need anyone on one effort from her and she made me a teaching assistant. All the girls called me a "teacher's pet". I had been called many things in school but that is a term that had never been used to describe me before. After a couple of months, my teacher found that my talent was drawing and she immediately put me to work on a pet project of hers. She wanted a unique Christmas tree skirt. She already had the fabric and was adept at embroidery and beading but wanted a design that wasn't an "iron-on transfer". So she had me draw Christmas designs on her Christmas tree skirt during the weeks that everyone else was working on Christmas cookies. The smell of burning cookies and scorched sugar filled the room as I worked on drawing designs each day. Finally, just before the Christmas break, I finished the skirt. It was a very ornate design and would take her months to finish beading it but it made her very happy. In gratitude (and partly to make up for having me miss the baking of the Christmas cookies) she made a present of a brand new Betty Crocker Cooky Book. I had never received a gift from a teacher before, so I felt very honored.

It became a prized possession. It has seen two marriages, four children, and 8 grandchildren filled with cookies. Over the years I tried most of the recipes. Cookies for Christmas, cookies for birthdays, cookies for fun, cookies for fundraising projects, cookies for my kids, cookies for my husband, cookies for gifts, cookies for me. My poor book is beginning to fall apart and it looks like it is time to buy a new one. But this is the best book of cookies you will ever own. It has recipes for using Cheerios and corn flakes. It has recipes for frostings and fillings. My favorites are the Chocolate Chip and Oatmeal Raisin recipes (and there are several of each). I also love the gingerbread cookie recipe. You will love it too.

This would make a great gift for a new bride or a girl going away to college. Get two; one for yourself and one to gift.

As a grandma, I feel it is very important for me to have cookies waiting for my grandkids visits. And now I have a little more time to make them then I used to have. What a joy cookies are! They make the whole house smell great!

Great video for the perfect chocolate chip cookie. She shows how you are doing it wrong and then shows how to do it right. Cute and funny. Also very helpful for the newbie who hasn't baked too many good cookies.