Coconut Cookies

This is an amazingly versatile sugar cookie recipe that has evolved into a number of flavor variations. This flavor is one of my favorites. Nothing smells better than toasting coconut! Sweet and crunchy, it adds the perfect punch to this simple cookie.

INGREDIENTS:
8 oz. Butter, 2 sticks
1 3/4 C Sugar
1/4 C Brown Sugar
2 Large eggs
1 T Coconut syrup
1 tsp. Vanilla
3 C Flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 C toasted coconut, chopped or crumbled

Get all your ingredients ready, mix, scoop and freeze. Pull out cookie flavors as you bake and you can always have a variety of flavors to bake and serve. I mix several flavors in one day and store in the freezer to bake fresh another day.
PREPARATION:

Toast slow and mix often to attain the dark caramel color. Heat oven to 350 degrees and place sweetened coconut on a parchment lined pan. Bake approximately 10 minutes, stirring often to prevent over cooking, until golden brown. Remove from pan to cool, as the coconut will continue to cook and brown outside of the oven. Cool coconut and crunch with your hands or chop with a knife prior to mixing into the cookies.
PREPARATION:
Beat together, sugars and butter until yellow and fluffy. Beat in eggs, vanilla and coconut syrup. In a large bowl, mix dry ingredients with coconut. Mix dry ingredients into wet ingredients, just until combined.
Scoop with a 40 scoop onto a parchment lined baking dish. Flatten cookies with two fingers and freeze. To bake right away, flatten and place two inches apart on a baking sheet. Coat with sugar and bake at 350 degrees, approximately 12-15 minutes, rotating pan once during baking. To bake later, place scooped cookies on the sheet, flatten and freeze. Once frozen, bag and date. To bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees, dip the cookies in granulated sugar and place 2 inches apart on the baking sheet and bake as directed above.

Ginger Crinkle Cookies

Unlike the ginger stars that are also included in this blog, these ginger cookies are of the CHEWY variety. This dough comes together so easily, I absolutely love mixing it and it is also easily doubled. Like almost all my cookies this dough can be scooped, frozen then bagged and stored in the freezer for easy baking at any time. Just remove the desired amount from your freezer, preheat the oven and roll them in sugar prior to baking.

INGREDIENTS:
2 1/4 C Flour
1/4 tsp. Salt
2 tsp. Baking soda
2 tsp. Cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp. Ground ginger
1 1/2 tsp. Ground cloves
1 Large egg
1/2 C Canola oil
3 T. Butter, melted
1/4 C plus 1 1/2 T. Molasses
1 C Light brown sugar
1/2 C Granulated sugar, to coat the unbaked cookie

PREPARATION:
In a large bowl, stir together all dry ingredients, first six on the list. In mixing bowl, mix on low speed, remaining ingredients,EXCEPT GRANULATED SUGAR, scrape the sides if needed and begin incorporating the flour mixture. Once all the flour has been absorbed, stop mixing. Scoop dough with the desired size cookie scoop (a 40 scoop will make a normal size cookie) or form into 1 1/2 inch balls. Prior to baking roll each cookie in the reserved granulated sugar to coat all sides. Place two inches apart on a parchment lined baking sheet, bake at 375 for 8-10 minutes rotating the pans once during baking. Slide parchment with cookies onto a wire rack to cool.

Palmiers

One of our families favorite sweet treats, so I had to try this recipe when I came across it in an old Gourmet magazine. Because this recipe uses a puff pastry, be patient, the roll and chill time seems like a lot of work, but you can break up the preparation time over a couple of days. Make the pastry dough a day ahead and roll and bake the cookies the following day. I find that when baking any pastry, chill the ready to bake product on the actual lined cookie sheet prior to baking (place the cookies and the sheet in the refrigerator or freezer for just a few minutes) and your final product will come out much better.
Reminder: as with all recipes containing few ingredients . . . use THE BEST QUALITY ingredients. I especially like using a great quality European butter with this recipe. I always use unbleached flour too.

Ingredients:
1 1/4C Flour(unbleached)
1 tsp. Salt
1 1/2 Sticks unsalted butter, frozen
5-6 T Ice water
1 C Sugar
2 tsp. Cinnamon

Yield: 6 dozen cookies


Preparation:
In a chilled metal bowl, stir together flour and salt. Coarsely grate frozen butter into bowl, toss with flour to coat butter. Drizzle 5 T of water over mixture and gently stir with a fork until incorporated. Test mixture by squeezing in your hand, it should hold together without crumbling apart. If necessary,add an additional T of water, stir just until mixed, do not over mix the dough, and test again to see if it holds together.
Form dough into a 5-inch square, wrap in plastic and chill at least 30 minutes. On a floured surface, roll dough to a 15x8 inch rectangle, with short side near you. Brush off excess flour, fold into thirds, like a letter re-wrap and chill at least 30 minutes. Beginning with the short side near you, roll, fold and chill 2 more times. Following your last fold, cut dough in half, crosswise with a sharp knife,wrap halves separately and chill 1 hour.
Stir together sugar and cinnamon, then generously sprinkle a clean work surface with some of cinnamon sugar and place 1 piece of chilled dough on top. Quickly roll out into a 16- by 12-inch rectangle (1/8 to 1/16 inch thick; if dough becomes too soft, chill on a baking sheet until firm). Trim edges with a sharp knife. Sprinkle top of dough evenly with some cinnamon sugar to cover completely, brushing off any excess. Roll 2 opposite long sides of pastry so they meet in center. Roll both sides of pastry in same manner, then fold one half over the other (like a book) and press gently with a rolling pin to flatten slightly, forming a long rectangular log. Sprinkle with additional cinnamon sugar if dough is sticky.
Chill on a baking sheet, uncovered, until firm, at least 30 minutes and up to 2 hours. Meanwhile, repeat with remaining piece of dough and cinnamon sugar.
Preheat oven to 425°F with rack in middle. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
Cut 1 log of dough crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick slices with a sharp knife and arrange slices, cut sides down, 1 1/2 inches apart on baking sheet. Bake until puffed and golden around edges, 7 to 9 minutes. Remove from oven and turn palmiers over with a spatula. (If palmiers begin to unroll, gently press to reshape when cooled slightly.) Continue baking until golden all over and sugar is caramelized, 3 to 5 minutes more. Transfer as done (palmiers may not bake evenly) to a rack and cool. Make more cookies on cooled baking sheet lined with fresh parchment.
Store in an airtight container, HUMIDITY will have a very negative effect on these cookies. Check out one of my favorite gadgets listed to help with this problem.

Greek Cookies "Karithata" or Sands

This recipe comes from my first generation Greek neighbor. It started with Bo's 3rd grade country project . . . extra credit if you make a food native to your country. Bo had chosen Greece, and as luck would have it, I had one living across the street!



I had no idea what I was making, but was pleased to find that these buttery confections were incredibly similar to the Mexican Wedding Cake cookies I adored as a child, but had never quite found a recipe for them that was satisfactory. Cut with a knife for a more rustic cookie or with a shaped cookie cutter, you will love them either way!

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 lb. butter, softened
9 t. or 3 T confectioners sugar, additional 1/4 cup for dusting
2 T ice water
2 t. vanilla
1 C chopped pecans
2 C flour

Preparation:
I am typing this exactly how it was printed in the book, just because I know some cute little old Greek grandmother wrote it, in parentheses are my corrections.
Beat butter with sugar for 15 minutes. Add water, vanilla, pecan and sifted flour. Knead slightly. Shape with a cooky cutter. ( I roll to about 1/4 inch thickness, then cut). Bake on ungreased cooky sheet in oven at 350 degrees for about 25 minutes. Cookies will be firm and slightly browned.
Remove from pan, and place on clean surface, which has been sprinkled with confectioners' sugar. (While cookies are baking, dust a parchment lined shallow baking dish with a thin layer of powdered sugar. Remove hot cookies from sheet and place on prepared baking dish and dust with additional powdered sugar.) Sprinkle confectioners' sugar over cookies. Allow to cool. Makes 30.

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies

This should tell you something . . . the page in my cookbook, The Good Cookie that holds this recipe is smudged with chocolate. The original recipe has walnuts. I usually omit the nuts, primarily because my kids won't eat anything with nuts. I was the same way as a kid. These cookies are almost like a brownie in cookie form, chewy and moist, baking them can be somewhat difficult. It is a very thin line between under or over baking them. This recipe is great to make ahead, because the dough needs to chill prior to scooping. You can also scoop a few at time, bake and scoop the rest the next day. As with all my cookies, I scoop the entire batch, use what I need, individually freeze the rest of the cookies and then once frozen . . . bag the cookies, label and save for a rainy day. This way I always have a variety of cookies in the freezer ready to bake at a moments notice.

Ingredients:
1/4 C flour
1/4 tsp. baking powder
14 oz. bittersweet chocolate (I sometimes use 8 oz. bittersweet and 6 oz semisweet)
2 T unsalted butter
2 large eggs
1 C brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
3/4 C chopped walnuts


Preparation:
In a small bowl, whisk flour and baking powder, set aside. Divide the chocolate into 8 ounces coarsely chopped bittersweet and 6 ounces bittersweet finely chopped or semisweet chips. I like using the semisweet chips. In a glass bowl over simmering water melt the 8 ounces of chocolate and butter. Set aside and cool once melted. Meanwhile, in a mixing bowl, beat eggs, brown sugar and vanilla on high about 3 minutes, the mixture should double in volume.
On low speed, blend in melted chocolate and then the dry ingredients. Stir in the remaining 6 ounces of chocolate and nuts (if desired) by hand. Cover and chill dough for at least an hour and up to 24 hours.
Once chilled, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or spray with cooking spray. Scoop cookies by the teaspoon full or like I do with a #40 cookie scoop. (You can also scoop, flatten and freeze in individual layers to bag once frozen and bake a later time.)
Place cookies 2 inches apart on baking sheets and bake 9-11 minutes, until cookies appear set. Rotate pans half way though cooking. If you over bake cookies will be dry. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheets for 10 minutes then remove to wire racks. Remove cookies with a spatula. They like to stick!
Store airtight for up to one week.

Snicker Doodles

Another cookie that has crisp exterior with a chewy texture that my kids love, as this cookie bakes your home will fill with the warming scent of cinnamon. This particular snicker doodle recipe can be found in one of my favorite cookbooks that I received from my mom. The Hoosier Cookbook, has all of those great recipes that I remember growing up, should you ever have a chance to pick one up, I highly recommend adding it to your collection. The book contains recipes from people all over the state of Indiana. The snicker doodle recipe was contributed by Kathleen Ingle of Crawford County. Be careful not to over bake, the cookies will loose their softness if they bake too long.
Like most of the other cookies I make, these freeze great once they have been scooped.

Ingredients:
1 C shortening
1 1/2 C sugar
2 eggs
2 3/4 C flour
1 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. cream of tartar
1/2 tsp. salt
4 T sugar
2 tsp. cinnnamon
Yield: 33 cookies with a 40 scoop

Prepartation:
Combine shortening and 1 1/2 C sugar, beat in eggs one at a time. Mix flour, soda, cream of tartar and salt in a separate bowl. Gradually beat flour mixture into the wet ingredients until combined. Scoop with desired size cookie scoop or roll into approximately one teaspoon sized balls. At this point you can freeze in an individual layer and bag once frozen or combine remaining sugar and cinnamon and roll cookies in this mixture to coat. Place 2 inches apart on a baking sheet lined with parchment and bake 8-10 minutes at 375 degrees.

Mountain Bar Cookies

I haven't proclaimed this in my blog yet, but my mom is my HERO! She has done many amazing things, but this was one of those things that she remained persistent about and it was something only a mother would do out of love for a child.
My high school made these wonderful fudge like cookies that I absolutely loved. It was one of those things that when you saw it in the lunch line, it was like Christmas morning! It would make my day. Years later, in my adulthood, my mom surprised me with the recipe! She tracked down some lunch lady and pestered her until she got the recipe. They are not complicated, they are not even baked, but I love them today as much as I did at 15.
Ingredients:
2 C sugar
1/2 C whole milk
3 T cocoa powder
1 stick butter
1/2 C peanut butter
1/2 C coconut
dash of salt
1 tsp. vanilla
2 1/2 C quick cooking oatmeal

Preparation:
In a medium stock pot, mix the first 4 ingredients and bring to a boil, boil one minute. Remove from heat and add peanut butter, coconut, salt and vanilla. Next, mix in oatmeal. Stir one or two minutes to cool, so mixture is slightly firm. Drop by the teaspoonful or #70 scoop on to wax or parchment paper in small mounds. Cool completely until set and store in an airtight container.

Cam's Butterfinger Cookie

Ingredients:
1 3/4 C sugar
1/4 C brown sugar
1 C butter
1 tsp. vanilla
2 large eggs
3 C flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
4-5 regular sized Butterfinger candy bars, crushed ( I use a fork and stab at the candy. )
Yield: 34 cookies with a #40 scoop. I also use a 70 scoop which makes a great size and yields twice the amount.

Preparation:
Cream butter and sugars in mixing bowl. Beat in eggs one at a time along with vanilla. Stir soda and salt into flour and gradually beat four mixture into butter mixture. Mix in crushed candy bars. Scoop cookies and place on a parchment lined sheet. ( Place larger cookies 2 inches apart,THESE COOKIES SPREAD.) I stagger the cookies so they have plenty of room, 2 at the top of the baking sheet, then one cookie slightly below, then 2 and so on. Bake cookies at 350 degrees for approximately 15 minutes, rotating half way through cooking. Cool on wire racks and store airtight up to 3 days.

Cam came up with the idea to make Butterfinger cookies. He loves the candy bar and we figured if you can add chocolate chips to a cookie, why not a candy bar. His idea was genius! I first tried adding the crushed candy to the original nestle recipe and they were good. Then I realized that I had a great sugar cookie recipe that might be just a little bit better. I WAS RIGHT.
The original recipe for this cookie is a lemon flavored sugar cookie that was one of Martha's Cookie of the Month recipes. ( Old Fashioned Sugar Cookie to be exact, They are wonderful.) Carole (my cooking partner) and I created an unlimited amount of flavors from this basic recipe, it IS the perfect sugar cookie. The cookie is chewy on the inside and Martha's version is coated with sugar prior to baking so it remains crisp and crackly on the outside.
You can find hers on line under the name listed above, but here is a short version along with some the other varieties we have concocted. Follow the recipe above mixing 1 T of grated lemon zest and 1 T lemon juice (omit the vanilla and butterfingers) in with the sugar for 30 seconds, mixing the remaining ingredients as described above. Scoop and flatten cookies, Martha sprinkles them with sanding sugar, brushes them with water then sprinkles with sugar again prior to baking. Carole and I discovered you can scoop, flatten and freeze. Bag cookies once frozen then dip the tops of the cookies in sugar prior to baking.
Key Lime: same measurements, just use key limes
Coconut: add toasted coconut and coconut flavored rum instead of vanilla
Espresso: add espresso and Kahlua
Vanilla Bean: add granulated vanilla bean
Almond, Orange with cranberry and white chocolate chips. You get the idea, use your imagination and create your family favorite.
Martha's picture, of course, is better than mine, so I am using it for now. I will add the butterfinger picture soon.

Brown Sugar-Pecan Shortbread (Beep's Favorite Cookie)

This recipe has very few ingredients and whenever you are faced with this, may I make one small request/recommendation . . . USE THE BEST PRODUCTS. Spending a little more for quality ingredients will make all the difference. Butter and vanilla are key ingredients here. I received this recipe from my friend Carole (from whom I receive so many amazing recipes and ideas) and it quickly became ONE of Beep's faves. I wish I could give credit to the cookbook, but I only have a faxed copy, so if I find out I will include that information at a later date. This is another cookie that freezes well. I love having an assortment of ready-to-bake cookies bagged and in the freezer. Quick to stir together by hand or in a mixer and easy to slice and bake these cookies are perfect for the novice baker!

Ingredients:
1 C toasted pecans, coarsely chopped
1/2 pound unsalted butter, room temperature (use the best you can find)
2/3 C light brown sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla
2 C flour (I use King Arthur UN-bleached)
1/4 tsp. salt
Yield: about 4 dozen cookies
Mixing the Dough:

Beat together the butter and brown sugar, no lumps of sugar or streaks of butter should be visible. Stir in the vanilla.
Mix together the flour and salt in a separate bowl and then stir into butter mixture. Once the flour is completely incorporated, stir in the pecans.
Turn the dough out onto a piece of plastic wrap, and form it into a 4 1/2 by 6-inch rectangle about 1 inch thick. Wrap with plastic and refrigerate at least 1 hour. You will want the dough to be well chilled so the cookies cut easily. You can also cut and freeze cookies to bake in smaller batches.
Cut the dough lengthwise in half, you should now have two blocks approximately 2 inches by 6. Now cut 1/4 inch thick cookies from each of those blocks, you will have a rectangular cookie 2x1 inch shape.

Bake:
Place sliced cookies on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Rotate pans half way through cooking if you are baking more than one sheet. The cookies should be golden and crisp. Cool and store in an airtight container.

Pecan Toffees: Cookie Palooza part III

This is a recipe I received from a co-worker over 15 years ago. These bite size tarts are like a mini pecan pie. I have of course added my own touch, the original did not have pecans. The crust this recipe uses is great as well, but I have used the filling in pastry dough and it is wonderful.

Ingredients:
Crust:
8 ounces of butter softened
6 ounces of cream cheese softened
2 C flour

Filling:
2 eggs
1 1/2 C brown sugar
2 T melted butter
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 C finely chopped pecans
you can also add a splash of Kalua along with the vanilla flavoring
powdered sugar for dusting

Preparation:
Beat butter and cream cheese together, add flour and mix until it forms a soft dough. Break off small pieces, (about a tsp.) of dough and form into mini muffin tins, pressing dough up the sides of the tin.
In another bowl, beat eggs with melted butter, sugar, flavoring and pecans. Scoop filling into prepared muffin tins about 3/4 full. Bake at 350 degrees, approximately 17 minutes. Allow to cool, remove from pan and dust with powdered sugar.
For pecan pastry, cut pastry dough with 3 inch fluted square. Cut half of these squares again with a 2 inch fluted square, you will have a sort of picture frame piece of dough, this will top each solid square and hold the filling on the pastry. Place solid squares on a parchment lined baking sheet and moisten each edge with water. Place the pastry that has the center cut out on top of the solid square and press lightly to seal. Spoon a small amount of pecan filling onto the center of the pastry "frame". At this point the pastries may be frozen and baked at will.
Bake at the same temperature for approximately the same amount of time, (15-20 min.) the pastry will puff and become golden. These are also great dusted with powdered sugar. You can always do a free form tart, rolling the dough in a circle or rectangle, curl the edges to create a lip and fill with some of the pecan filling, bake, cool and then cut into pieces to serve. This is a great rustic/easy option, still equally as delicious!

Egg Nog Sandwich Cookies: Cookie Palooza II

Ingredients:
Cookie:
1 C unsalted butter softened
1/2 C sugar
1 large egg yolk
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 tsp.
2 C four
Coarse sugar for sprinkling

Filling:
3 T unsalted butter softened
1 C plus 2 T powdered sugar
1 T brandy
1tsp. vanilla

Mixing the Dough
Beat butter and sugar on medium speed about 1 minute until combined. Add egg yolk, vanilla, nutmeg, and salt mix until combined, scraping down the sides if necessary. Add the flour and mix just until combined. Turn dough out onto a piece of plastic wrap and form into a rectangle. Chill at least 1 hour or up to 3 days.

Place chilled dough on a lightly floured surface and roll to 1/8 inch thickness. Cut with a 1 1/2 inch fluted square or round cookie cutter. Cut half of the squares with a 1/2 inch round pastry tip or VERY small heart shaped cutter, these will be the tops. Sprinkle the tops with coarse sugar. ( You can freeze tops and bottoms at this point and bake later if desired. ) Continue to roll out dough, pressing scraps together and re-chill if necessary. Bake the cookies on a parchment lined baking sheet at 350 degrees for 9-11 minutes until slightly browned on the bottom. Cool on wire racks. While the cookies bake, mix the filling. In a small bowl mix butter, add the sugar, brandy and vanilla, stir until smooth. Once cookies have cooled
spread about 3/4 of a tsp. of filling onto cookie bottoms and lightly press on top so the filling oozes slightly out of the cut shape on the top cookie.

These shortbread sandwich cookies are terrific and extremely versatile. This recipe is from one of my favorite books, The Good Cookie. A friend and I have been making them for quite some time, but had never made them with the flavors listed above until now. I was pleasantly surprised at the outcome! Egg nog is a festive flavor for the holidays, but try our variation of a simple vanilla flavored cookie with strawberry butter cream, or any flavor butter cream for that matter. We started baking them for girl baby shower so we chose strawberry for the cute pink color and the taste wasn't so bad either. I will include a butter cream recipe at a later date. I would do it now, but I would never get this post up. ENJOY!

Gingerbread Stars: Let the Cookie Palooza Begin!

COOKIE
DISCLAIMER: In order to provide recipes prior to the Christmas season, I will publish photos at a later time. I can not be held responsible for the appearance of your cookies. I reserve the right to reject any comments that may be calumniatory or disparaging. I began mixing and freezing cookie doughs early to accommodate a busy holiday schedule, pictures will follow. I PROMISE.

This is a wonderful dough from Bo Friberg. Perfect for Christmas! Light and crispy this wafer thin cookie will melt on your tongue. The original recipe does not include icing, however a wonderful friend and fellow self made cook created an amazing way to top off the cookie. She created a lemon glaze to drizzle on top and if you really want to guild the lily . . . you can sprinkle them with edible glitter flakes. I have cut this recipe in half, it makes a gazillion cookies, feel free to double and the proportions will be correct, but there is really no need. This cookie comes together so easily you will love love love it, the dough does need to chill overnight, so plan ahead, but it can be kept refrigerated, covered for 2 months. The options for this cookie are endless, use it for a gingerbread house, men or as described here. Remember, the dough MUST be rolled paper thin for cookies so they do not turn out hard and inedible.
Recipe
7 1/2 ounces unsalted butter
7 1/2 ounces granulated sugar
10 ounces light corn syrup
3 ounces whole milk
1 pound 5 ounces bread flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
2 T cinnamon
1 T cloves
1 T ginger
Yeilds: approximately 120 cookies

Dough Preparation
In a sauce pot large enough to accommodate all of your ingredients, stir together, butter, sugar, corn syrup & milk over medium heat until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and sift together dry ingredients and stir into the pot. Line a rimmed baking dish with parchment paper and pour dough onto sheet, spreading it into an even thickness. Refrigerate, covered overnight. Roll out the dough in small batches on a floured surface, I roll about 1 sixth of the dough at a time to 1/16 inch thick. You will almost be able to see through the dough, but don't worry it rolls beautifully. Cut out cookies using a 3-inch star cutter and place on a parchment lined baking sheet. I like to chill the cookies again or freeze at this point to bake at a later time. Re-chilling will help your cookies keep their shape, this applies to any dough. Set dough scraps to the side and re-roll when you have finished with the first batch. Bake at 400 degrees for 7-10 minutes, the cookies will be crisp and a rich brown color.

Lemon Icing
Juice of 1 lemon
1 C approximately powdered sugar
Stir lemon juice into sugar a little at a time to reach desired consistency. The icing should flow easily, place icing in a small tipped squeeze bottle and drizzle over cooled cookies, sprinkle while wet with edible glitter flakes optional.