I made these without the extra sugar...For adult tastes-not too sweet. I also used butter. I made these cookies 2 ways, as the top of the recipe says it takes 24 hours. I made the dough and left it sit in the fridge overnight, about 16 hours. The dough was SO stiff, it was really hard on my wrist to scoop it out. The next day I made another batch using orange extract, but only left the dough in the fridge for 1 hr 15 minutes. Doing it that way was a breeze to scoop for balls. To make up for it not being as cold, once I had rolled it in balls I put the cookie sheets in the fridge to get nice and cold for about 15 minutes. No matter what I did, these were never cooked in 8-9 minutes, it took closer to 20 minutes...the bottom rack in a regular oven did not brown, so I would take the top rack cookies out first, then switch the cookies on bottom rack to the top rack for 2 minutes and they browned nicely. TIP: for cookie "marathons" (I always make several cookie batches the same day as I hate getting the mixer, pans etc dirty over and over) use parchment paper to make your cookies, and cut the parchment paper to fit exactly into the pan you are using. (I use heavy duty aluminum pans). You can use the parchment paper over and over (I have done this as many as 10 times with the same paper)...I used to hate making cookies until I discovered that you can use the parchment paper over and over and it makes cleanup a breeze. Great recipe! Cake like texture.

Reviewed On: Dec. 20, 2010

OK, after reading 10 top rated recipes for mac n cheese I have found the perfect one, and it is the adaption by Nicole. I am an expert cook, and identified some of the problems folks are having though, so I'd like to impart some tricks, as it seems many are having trouble with the roux and white sauce that is the base of any mac n cheese recipe. 1st the rule when making roux is use the same amount of butter and flour, but I have found that adding a bit extra butter comes out better. When cooking your roux, stir constantly, and cook it about 2 minutes. Then take the roux off the stove and add WARMED (not scalded) milk, a little bit at a time, CONSTANTLY stirring. After you add the milk, constantly stir through the 2 minute boil also. Use SHARP cheddar only for mac n cheese, other cheeses are just not flavorful enough. Although I hate to buy velveeta, for this recipe it is a must to keep the cheese from separating. I did not want the bread crumb topping, and the cooking time and temp on Nicoles recipe is too long...and too high temp. I used 350, in a COVERED corningware dish for 20 minutes. I must say I probably doubled the cheese in Nicoles recipe and it was a bit too much, but have some extra shredded cheddar on hand so you can adjust the cheese to your preference. If you like Kraft mac n cheese but don't want the chemicals, this is pretty close to the rich cheese flavor, but much better and creamier. I think the roux is where most folks go wrong.

Reviewed On: Dec. 16, 2010

I used 2 tsp orange extract instead of the lemon extract, and these were absolutely great!!!! And so easy to cook!!! They are soft and chewy, and have a nice orange flavor

Reviewed On: Dec. 25, 2008