Great recipe. The half-and-half combination of butter and shortening makes for a perfect cookie that tastes very buttery but does not spread too thin or burn. I recommend lining the baking sheet with non-stick parchment paper so you don't have to wash the sheet in between batches. I alternated two cookie sheets covered with parchment paper, so the entire baking process only took about 40 minutes. I didn't bother to change the parchment paper; I just brushed off the crumbs before putting on the next batch of dough.

Reviewed On: Dec. 8, 2009

As written this is a four star recipe, but with some simple changes/additions this can be a five star recipe. Instead of spaghetti I used soba (buckwheat) noodles from the Asian section of my grocery store. I served this with baked tofu (you can buy packages of seasoned baked tofu at the health food store), sauteed shitake mushrooms, and steamed broccoli on top. That made it a complete Japanese style vegetarian meal. I also served a cucumber salad on the side made with seasoned rice wine vinegar.

Reviewed On: Dec. 5, 2009

This was a really wonderful, easy recipe. I did not have dried Italian seasoning or parsley on hand so I substituted Herbs de Provence (which is mostly a lot of thyme). It was an interesting flavor, but I think I'll just add dried basil and oregano next time. My boyfriend who is a big meat eater LOVED this soup and I will certainly make it again.

Reviewed On: Nov. 17, 2009