And on the fourth day of the 12 Days of Cookbooks I give you Martha Stewart’s Cookies.

I’ve had both success and failure with Martha Stewart recipes in the past, but this book, published in 2008, is a big success in my opinion. It made my list of top 12 cookbooks that I discovered in 2009 for the simple reason that Christmas is cookie season and this book is filled with fabulous cookie recipes.

Produced by the editors at Martha Stewart Living, the book has a cookie for everyone from basic cookies to more complex creations.

If you want to surprise people with cookies this Christmas, this is a great book to buy for yourself or to give as a gift.

I tried two recipes: Coconut-Cream Cheese Pinwheels and Peanut Butter and Jelly Bars.

The Coconut-Cream Cheese Pinwheels were a bit time consuming because of the pinwheel effect but they were well worth it. Not only are they pretty to look at, but the cream cheese pastry was so tender. I used some lovely blueberry jam for the filling.

The Peanut Butter and Jelly Bars were such a treat as well, and so easy. Basically you top a peanut butter base with the jam of your choice (I chose strawberry), and then top with the remaining peanut butter base and salted peanuts. Such an easy yet pleasing treat.

There’s a picture of every cookie, the recipes are clear and easy to follow and most importantly, they work.

This one has my seal of approval.

Ciao!