These cookies were so easy to make and it helps that I already have each ingredient right in my pantry! I question the need to melt the shortening too but did it anyway (as it may probably help in incorporating the other ingredients). I found an easy way to melt the shortening -- if you're using a Kitchenaid mixer, just put the shortening inside the KA bowl and put it over a pot of simmering water and after it melts, remove from pot and let it sit for a few minutes as indicated in the recipe. Then I just dunk the ingredients straight into the bowl and attach it to my KA and start mixing! It's so incredibly easy doing it this way and lessens the washing afterwards. I placed the dough in the fridge double wrapped the bowl in plastic and let it sit there overnight (purely coincidental as I did this at night) then in the morning pre-heated the oven and started rolling. I flattened the balls a little bit and dipped it in my homemade colored sugars. A trick I found useful was to place around a teaspoonful of sugar on top of the cookie after placing it in the cookie sheet than press it gently with the palm of your hand. The sugar really adhered to the cookie and even had a nice crackled look to it. Pressing will help give the cookie a nice round shape too. Will definitely be making these again but will probably not refrigerate it anymore.

Reviewed On: Dec. 20, 2011

These were good and they were exactly what I wanted to make as one of the cookie giveaways for my son's classmates this Christmas. I followed the recipe except for using margarine instead of shortening just because I know that it would have more flavor as well as guaranteeing a somewhat longer shelf life. These spread a lot and made really big cookies (using 1 heaping teaspoon) so I pressed AT LEAST 8 m&ms on top to get the look that I wanted. The batter held well at room temperature and didn't get greasy or anything like that even after more than 30 minutes. Next time I will shape them into balls with floured hands to get that perfect circle of a cookie. Dropping it unevenly does result in an uneven cookie. It also helps to let the cookie rest on the cookie sheet for a few minutes so they can harden a little bit for easier removal and handling. An offset spatula was quite useful in removing the cookies.

Reviewed On: Dec. 17, 2011

This is a superb corn dog recipe! I initially made this using the exact ingredients listed and it was delicious but ended up changing some because they were unavailable in our house. I discovered that substituting the exact amount of buttermilk with plain yogurt produced such a wonderful flavor which is even, to me, tastier than buttermilk. I honestly won't be using butter milk again. Also, I prefer a thicker and cakey dough for my corn dogs and lessening baking powder to 1 teaspoon and baking soda to 1/2 tsp made it perfect to me. Also, I tried making this without sugar and it was still very delicious and cooking it at a lower temp (160 c) made it crispy on the outside while still very moist on the inside.

Reviewed On: Jun. 10, 2011