Road to the Today Show

I’ve recently decided to become more responsible and catch up on current events now and then, so I occasionally turn on the Today Show while getting ready in the morning.  Except I wake up too late to catch the real news stories, and end up watch the last segment of “Kathy Lee and Hoda,” which is mostly lifestyle and entertainment news.  I don’t know much about the upcoming elections or the economy, but I can tell you all about how to train your dog properly or how to order wine at a pricey restaurant.

In my defense, however, my attempt at being a grown up did result in the discovery of a potentially amazing opportunity.  Kathy Lee and Hoda informed me that The Today Show is hosting a contest for viewers to submit their best Thanksgiving side dishes or desserts.  Three lucky winners get the chance to prepare their winning recipe on the show!  Talk about great PR for the blog!  Being a cooking enthusiast with an enormous sweet tooth, I was instantly excited by the challenge.  Picturing myself on TV next to Kathy Lee Gifford talking about my own recipe was all the motivation I needed to get cooking.

I love all things sugary, so I decided to come up with a Thanksgiving dessert that was festive and creative.  I started by throwing out crazy ideas involving pumpkin, cranberry, and apple flavors, and narrowed it down from there.  Apple pie cookies with a sugar glaze and white chocolate cranberry sandwich cookies with a cranberry and macadamia nut frosting filling were the final two that made the cut.

Two straight nights of experimenting resulted in this:

First attempt at apple pie cookies.  Runny batter, ick



Mess



I added an extra cup of flour because the batter was so thin, and ended up with a cake texture insted of a sugar cookie.  Good, but not what I was going for.

I decided to change the recipe altogether and they came out MUCH better. 

Failed attempt at the white chocolate cranberry cookies.  They were hard as rocks and the chocolate burnt instead of melted.  Still working on that one...

I plan to continue perfecting my recipes tomorrow night, and then I’ll make the final decision on which cookie I will choose.  I’ll post both recipes as soon as I get them right!

In the mean time, which idea is your favorite so far?  I’d love any kind of feedback or criticism!