Whether you’re a regular baker or have never turned on an oven, we have cookbooks for you! This time of the year makes me think about cookies in particular, so I tested out five recipes from our collection and had my fellow library workers taste and rate them on a scale of 1-5…

Brown Sugar-Cinnamon Crisps

from Milk & Cookies: 89 Heirloom Recipes from New York’s Milk & Cookies Bakery by Tina Casaceli

I started with the cookie cutter method described, but needed so much flour to get the cookies not to stick to my rolling pin that the cinnamon sugar wouldn’t stick to them either! I switched to rolling balls of dough in the cinnamon sugar, flattening them a bit on both sides to get extra on, then flattening them into circles using the bottom of a bowl. I used dark brown sugar and whole milk. My testers rated these 4.25, making them the overall favorite! One commented, “Soft, good structure, and tasty. Exactly what one would expect,” and another said they would be good with hot chocolate.

Oatmeal Jammys

from The Treats Truck Baking Book: Cookies, Brownies, and Goodies Galore! by Kim Ima

I used marionberry jam. The first batch seemed to spread out a lot in the oven, so I put the second two batches in the freezer as I was waiting to bake them (though it didn’t seem to make too much of a difference). I also added more jam to the third batch, because the more jam the better, but the cookies took longer to bake and stayed softer. Tester rating: 3.75. A “good overall oatmeal cookie” said one.

Triple Chocolate Chip Cookies

from United States of Cakes: Tasty Traditional American Cakes, Cookies, Pies, and Baked Goods by Roy Fares

I dropped the batter onto the sheets instead of rolling and flattening, which worked just fine. I also used dark brown sugar and a little less cocoa powder than the recipe called for (they were still very chocolatey). I used half dark chocolate (60%) and half milk chocolate for the drizzle. My testers gave these an average rating of 4. They liked the chocolate flavor but some found them a little too crisp (so keep to the 10 minute baking time, I baked them longer than that).

Peanut Butter Cookies

from Cookies at Home with the Culinary Institute of America by Todd Knaster

I replaced 1/4 of the butter with salted butter and used lightly salted peanuts, so reduced the salt to 1 tsp; a little over 1/4 cup of the brown sugar was dark, and I used all purpose flour. I also put the dough in the freezer in between batches so it wasn’t so soft. For my final batch I sprinkled a little sugar on the cookies before baking, which balanced out the savory, peanutty taste (I couldn’t believe they needed more sugar, but there you have it, though one tester commented that they were slightly too sweet). Tester verdict: 3.75.

Sunflower Cookies

from The Sioux Chef’s Indigenous Kitchen by Sean Sherman

Having grown up in northern Minnesota near the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe reservation, I was excited to see this cookbook featuring indigenous foods I grew up eating without recognizing their native roots (like wild rice and walleye) and many others I haven’t eaten or cooked with before. I used sunflower seeds (which I forgot to toast) and honey to make the Sunny Butter. And then, not reading the recipe carefully, I mixed it with the cornmeal instead of rolling in cornmeal. I think the texture ended up right for baking, though. While the average rating was 2, one tester did comment: “Reminds me of fresh ground peanut butter and unroasted sunflower seeds, it gives me an organic and almost healthy feeling despite being a cookie. Overall, my favorite of the options.”