COOKIES!

This is the one that you get with every meal you buy. I believe it’s the Swiss Pecan cookie. It’s very light, not too sweet, crunchy but melts in your mouth. Quite yummy!

This is a HUGE chocolate chip cookie (I broke it in half before I remembered to take a pic)!! Check out ALL THOSE chocolate chips!!! If you think they just put all the chocolate chips on top, think again..

I can honestly say that this was the most intensely loaded chocolate chip cookie I have ever seen in my life. IN. MY. LIFE! WAY too many cookies have not enough chocolate chips. You can even see in the pic above that the choc chips were overflowing inside the wrapper and spilled out. DELICIOUS. Great texture, good crunch (not soft on the inside but all those choc chips can’t be too soft can they), great taste.

And my favorite..

This photo was taken the day after, so please forgive the broken sprinkles and chipped cookie. Heart cookie with pink, red, clear and white sprinkles for Valentine’s Day!! This was just a sugar cookie with sprinkles on it but I will say that this cookie was smoother and not as crumbly as the average sugar cookie. AND it’s in the shape of a HEART!!!!

They got us cookies from Schmerty’s, which is actually right down the street from our office on Ocean Park in Santa Monica. I always loved Schmerty’s, but to be honest their prices are a bit steep for me to go down there. But I’ll take them if they’re free!! There were a dozen or so cookies in the box and I got to get first dibs due to my generous coworkers / managers (<3 Total Beauty!). I chose the one that stood out the most: the Halloween cookie, or, the Spooky Cookie as they call it:

I’ve been on the lookout for a while for a Halloween cookie and I can’t believe it took me almost halfway through October to find one. If you know of some Halloween cookies, please let me know! So you can see the purple and black sprinkles, the orange pumpkins and the white ghosts.. I love colorful things!

This is a butter cookie with sprinkles. I’ve never had their butter cookies before but this cookie, despite it being a holiday cookie, is still in line with the rest of their cookies: soft, moist, sweet, delicious. It’s much less “harsh” tasting than a sugar cookie; it’s a lot more subtle and the flavors get to roam in your mouth more. And this cookie is COMPLETELY covered in sprinkles; MAJOR cookie points for not going sheisty on the sprinkles!!

• Taste: 10
• Crust and center moistness: soft inside and out
• Value: They sell a Schmerty’s dozen — that’s 14 cookies — for $25. One goes for about $1.60. Ugh, I hate paying more than a buck for a cookie, and these cookies aren’t any larger than your average sized cookie. Awful, awful deal here. However I heard that if you’re a student you can get a discount
• Overall: I love Schmerty’s; the people are really nice and their cookies are delicious. Their cupcakes are great too; I haven’t tried anything else. It’s really hard for me to go here due to the price point (and Subway is closer). If they were cheaper, I’d buy them ALL the time. If they’re free, I’ll take 2. like I did earlier this week. 7

Either way, we in the US celebrate July 4th with red, white and blue-themed parties, barbecues, LOTS of food and drink and of COURSE — COOKIES! This is one of my favorite holidays because I love stars (Valentine’s Day is another favorite. I love hearts too!) I got a recipe from the web from a very trusted resource:

I love, love, love Martha Stewart. Did you know she modeled before she became the ultimate resource for problems around the house and crafts?!? She makes some REALLY cute Red, White and Blue Stars 4th of July sugar sandwich cookies in the shape of stars with jam in the middle. The interesting thing about her sandwich cookies (besides the jam) is the fact that before she bakes these cookies, she brushes the cookies with heavy cream and dusts with sanding sugar. Check them out and let me know what you think!