"I'm only giving this a 4-out-of 5 because my problem was the ginger root I purchased. I never bought this fresh product before, and what I got at the supermarket must have been old or something. It was tough and stringy. I had to cook it longer than AB's recipe to get it to soften. However, his technique was flawless. The crystallization worked ("

"Delicious! I used tart apples (granny smith and macintosh) so that the end result was not too sweet with the specified amount of sugar. Also, I did add an extra 1/2 stick of butter to the crumb topping. One more thing... I added a handful of dried cranberries to the apple mixture which also added to the tartness. It was not watery and the crumb topping was crispy but not too dry or too moist. It was really a great dessert, and my kitchen smelled divine while my guests were arriving. Thanks Emeril.

"Easy and delicious. I actually needed to bake a few more than the recipe, so I started with a full pound of softened butter and increased the other ingredients by 1/3. You gotta make sure you've beaten the dough long enough to form the dough (be patient), and be sure to let it in the frig long enough. I went with 45 minutes, since my dough disk was a little larger. The rolling and cutting went smoothly. (I used a diamond-shaped cutter.) Be sure to allow enough space between the cookies on the cookie sheet (1" works great.) and bake JUST UNTIL the edges pickup a slight brown. I drizzled on some melted chocolate randomly with a spoon. You really don't need the chocolate, but it does a a little sweetness.