Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

I think "If You Give A Mouse A Cookie" is much funnier than the Moos e book. But I would highly suggest the entire collection. Each book is absolute delight!

Did anybody else read Thunder Cake? My mom used to make the cake (the recipe was at the back of the book) all the time.

DO NOT WANT:

Anise
Margarine
Cashews
M&Ms (NH loves them though, ew)
Raisins
Marshmallows
Bananas
Colored sugars

most of the flavor of wine comes from smelling it. so doesn't the baby bottle prevent that? i guess it makes it a good vessel for really cheap wine where your goal is to get drunk, not so much enjoy the wine.

White chocolate.
Milk chocolate, except in rare cases.
The ever-divisive coconut.
Walnuts or pecans. (Almonds and cashews are fine, though!)
Pretzels or potato chips.
Too much... stuff. Someone once gave me a cookie that had, like, peanut butter cups AND toffee bars AND M&Ms AND chocolate chips... it was a trainwreck of sugar and goo. Yuck.

@producestories, I will cook for you anytime. Allergies are one thing. I am allergic to wheat but I would never refuse the cookie platter nor would I tell her I can't eat it from the lady down the street as I have family members who do eat it. I have one son, who is now divorced who comes for dinner frequently. When i ask him what he wants to eat, he says that whatever I want to cook he is grateful for. He doesn't eat shellfish although he continues to try it once in a while to see if his tastes have changed, but I don't serve it when he is coming. I love cooking for him. I am also lucky enough to have a husband whose only dislike is liver. Any cookie gets treated as the best food on earth.

coconut
butterscotch chips

ewwwwwwwwwwwww

This reminds me of a college classmate of mine who was initiated into the basketball team by having to drink beer in a baby bottle - just plain dumb.

But this really brings a new meaning to the term "nursing the bottle".

@ocarol, if I give someone food, I'd be happy if they informed me of allergies or strong preferences for the next time I might offer them something, but I also would hope that they wouldn't be rude about it.

And except for serious allergies (like people who can't have ANY peanut products in their homes) I would think that a plate of cookies is something that they would be able to share with guests, so it's not like I'd be forcing them to eat what I gave them.

On the other hand, there are some people in situations like my in-laws. Between them, there are a dozen adult children, all of whom want to send Christmas presents. The in-laws have told everyone that they don't need more knick-knacks or household items, and they'd prefer consumable gifts. Well, that also sort of backfired, because now they are inundated with fruit baskets and hams and cheese selections. There are only two of them, and in some cases, they just can't eat all of what arrives before it goes bad, and they don't have freezer space to store the stuff that's potentially freezable. And they don't like a lot of the items that arrive, which means that they need to find ways to serve those things to guests.

And my in-laws are not the type to throw food away. Besides the fact that they are frugal, it's probably also a sin. So instead of being a thoughtful gift, the food becomes an obligation. They don't like it, but they eat it or serve it, and they're happy when it's all gone and they can eat what they like to eat. Maybe your neighbors are in that same sort of situation.

@Perky--if you're using a nebulizer, those medications mess with your taste buds in a major way.

Toffee bits IMO are too hard & crunchy in cookies, and butterscotch morsels toooooo sweet.

I forgot to mention persimmons. I loathe persimmon cookies, pumpkin cookies, banana cookies--any kind of cookie that's cakey rather than cookie-y.

@Ocarol: An awkward situation there. Personally, I would hate to deprive someone else of those yummy goodies you make and waste it on, say, me if I can't stand or are allergic to certain ingredients. So I do decline when I don't want that onion-garlic-cilantro pudding that took 4 hours to make.

Of course, there's an appropriate way for someone to say that they don't want something, so they don't keep getting stuff pushed on them that isn't appreciated. Hopefully, they were kind...?

An example that happened when I first physically met my husband. I tested out a casserole recipe. I knew he didn't care for crab and scallops, so I made mine out of crab, shrimp, and scallops, and made his with tuna since he loves tuna. (OK, I am sure many ppl are thinking "Eww, tuna casserole.")

When I would prep for him to go to work each night, since he worked the graveyard shift, I would send him off with a full meal packed. Well, I gave him that same container of tuna casserole to take to work for 3 days straight. He would return home each morning and say he didn't have time to take any breaks -- no time to eat, line to microwave oven is too long, etc.

Finally, on the 4th day of me giving the container to him, he confessed that he hated tuna casserole. He has always hated it, so it wasn't my preparation of it. I asked him why he didn't say so from the beginning, so I wouldn't have pushed it on him for so many days and have him go hungry. He said he didn't want me to feel bad. I dumped the dish of tuna casserole because I had my fill of casseroles having gobbled mine up. :P

@ocarol ~ People have really strong feelings about their food - especially those of us who live to eat and are passionate about cooking and/or eating. Making food for others is how many of us convey our love, and to insult our food hurts us deeply. I had to deal with that in my own family when they no longer ate meat, or cooked foods. The elderly often skip pretense and say exactly what's on their mind, regardless of how it's received. I've learned to suck it up and not take it personally. People like what they like, and dislike what they dislike - it has nothing to do with me. Sometimes it has more to do with health, or allergies. It doesn't stop me from trying to please them if I love them. After a recent bout with pneumonia, I realized that many foods I like no longer taste good to me. I most definitely agree with you that Thank You is the correct response, but I prefer to not have my food thrown away, so I would appreciate knowing preferences.

Well, this thread has just solidified my recently acquired knowledge that baking for anyone but one's self is generally thankless and you do it at your peril. I have a neighborhood of retired folks around me, and since I cook a lot I tend to take plates of stuff to them as they no longer cook. All but one of them has insulted the food in some subtle way or other, so of course they are no longer in the giving loop. When someone brings me homemade ANYTHING I would never ever ever say, "I don't eat apples, or it looks funny, or I only like pie with a top crust" etc. What on earth is wrong with people? Thank you so much is the correct response, and then if you don't care for it, throw it away.