Coconut Macaroons

When we were in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, I had a delicious coconut macaroon from a little cafe. It got me in the mood for coconut and I wondered if I could make a similar cookie at home. I found a recipe at foodnetwork.com by Ina Garden (Barefoot Contessa). I was happily surprised that they were so easy to make and SO delicious. I probably ended up eating half of them. No joke. If you like coconut, give these a try! 

Ingredients:

14 ounces sweetened shredded coconut 
14 ounces sweetened condensed milk 
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 
2 extra-large egg whites, at room temperature 
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

Combine the coconut, condensed milk, and vanilla in a large bowl. Whip the egg whites and salt on high speed in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment until they make medium-firm peaks. Carefully fold the egg whites into the coconut mixture.
Drop the batter onto sheet pans lined with parchment paper using either a 1 3/4-inch diameter ice cream scoop, or 2 teaspoons. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until golden brown. Cool and serve. 

I ran out of parchment paper, so I baked the cookies directly on the tray - I would NOT recommend doing this. These cookies are quite sticky and I had to scrape them off the baking sheet. Next time, I'll definitely use parchment paper.

 

I took them out of the oven when they looked like this - golden edges and a little firm. The insides are soft chewy coconut. Such a sweet treat!

Peanut Butter Cup Chocolate Cake Mix Cookies

I was recently introduced to these amazingly decadent chocolate peanut butter cup cookies, by a new friend and blogger, Beka. I asked her for the recipe, which she found here. Not only are these cookies delicious, they are SO easy to make. I think it took me longer to edit photos and write this, than it did to whip up a batch of these sweet treats.

Ingredients:

1 box chocolate cake mix

2 eggs

1/3 cup canola or vegetable oil

1 8oz bag Reese's Peanut Butter Cup mini's OR 12 pack of regular size, chopped up

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees

2. Mix together cake mix, oil and eggs until combined. Gently stir in peanut butter cup pieces.

3. Roll dough into tablespoon sized balls and bake for 8-9 minutes.

Your kitchen will look like you went on a candy binge. 

 I scooped them onto cookie sheets with a measuring tablespoon.

Recipe makes 24 rich and indulgent can't-have-just-one cookies. Enjoy!

Gluten Free Sugar Cookies

I know it's bad timing to be posting a cookie recipe after the holidays. If you're anything like me, you ate waaaaay too many Christmas cookies. I love cookies. Especially cut-out sugar cookies. The ones shaped like stars and snowmen with icing and sprinkles get me every time. This year, I wanted to make a batch that were gluten free, so everyone in our family could enjoy them. But I wanted to make really good gluten free cookies. Not ones that tasted like cardboard or something you found in the backyard.

After doing an online search - who am I kidding, it was Pinterest, yet again - I found this recipe with good recommendations, at LivingWithout.com. It was a little complex, due to various special ingredients, but overall, easy to make and just as fun to roll out and use cookie cutters. AND I made royal icing for the first time and LOVED it. The lemon extract is what made these cookies so delicious. Maybe you have a birthday party coming up or you could make some Valentines cookies next month. I'm certainly not making another batch right now because I'd eat them all! 


Ingredients

1¼ cups Mary’s All-Purpose Flour Blend (See below for recipe)
½ cup tapioca flour/starch
1-⅓ cup potato starch (not potato flour) *I substituted Tapioca Flour*
2 teaspoons xanthan gum
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup unsalted butter or dairy-free substitute, softened
1 cup sugar
1 egg or egg-free substitute
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon gluten-free lemon extract

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.

2. In a large bowl, combine first five ingredients. Set aside.

3. In the large bowl of a mixer, combine butter and sugar and beat for 3 minutes until mixture is a pale yellow.

4. Add in egg, vanilla extract and lemon extract.

5. Add dry ingredients, slowly mixing until dough forms. Place bowl in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

6. Remove half the dough and roll out onto a lightly floured surface to ¼-inch thickness. Use star shapes or other cookie cutters to cut out cookies and place them on prepared cookie sheets. Reroll scraps of dough. If dough becomes too sticky, chill again. Repeat with second half of dough.

7. Bake in preheated oven 12 to 15 minutes until light brown. Remove and let cool thoroughly before handling and decorating.

Mary’s Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour Blend

MAKES 6 CUPS

2 cups brown rice flour

2 cups white rice flour
½ cups potato starch (not potato flour) *I substituted Tapioca Flour*
⅔ cup tapioca starch/flour

Mix ingredients together. Store in a tightly covered container in the refrigerator until used.

Royal Icing

1½ cups confections’ sugar
1 large pasturized egg white or powdered egg white mixed with water to equal 1 egg white
½ teaspoon lemon juice *you can substitute water until it's the consistency you want*
½ teaspoon gluten-free lemon extract
- Food coloring

1. Beat sugar and egg white with electric beater.

2. Add lemon juice and lemon extract and beat until ingredients are incorporated.

3. Separate icing into small bowls and stir in a drop or two of different food coloring, as desired.

4. Chill icing until you’re ready to decorate cooled cookies. Spread icing on cookies, as desired.

Mother's Day Sugar Cookies

Happy Mother's Day to all you wonderful Mom's! Especially my Mom, I love you Mom!

My friend Heather and I made some Mom's day sugar cookies, using Martha Stewart's Basic Sugar Cookie Recipe. We decorated them with simple icing, using zip-lock bags to pipe designs. Aren't they cute? 

Heather (wise baker that she is) recommended placing the cut-out cookies in the refrigerator for a few minutes prior to baking them, to keep them from spreading in the oven. What a great tip! She also suggested freezing extra cookies (without frosting) if you would like to have some on hand for future use. Just thaw and decorate as needed. Great idea!

Heather and I go waaaay back. As in third grade. Hard to believe we've known each other almost our whole lives! We went to elementary, junior high, high school, and then college together. Isn't that crazy? Now she's married to her high school sweetheart and is Mom to two adorable (and mischevious) boys, and has one on the way (I'm hoping it's a girl!). She also has a beautiful home and really knows how to decorate. Heather has been referred to as Martha Stewart many times. Maybe one day I'll feature her home so you can see her awesome style and creativity. I pretty much leaned all of my junior high fashion from her. Back when we both had braces and all we wanted was to be "cool." Thanks for teaching me your stylish ways Heather :) 

Happy Mother's Day!

Amy's Chocolate Cookies Made by Jon

Last Monday morning back to work, after gallivanting around NYC, I was very surprised and delighted to find this wonderful chocolate belated birthday surprise waiting on my desk!

Jon, my co-worker, friend, photographer and baker extraordinaire, was so thoughtful to bake me a batch of these amazing chocolate cookies. You have no idea how good these were. I did share. They were like a brownie cookie with M&M's. How's a girl supposed to maintain her weight with all these treats I can't turn down? 

It should be noted that Jon is far too humble about his baking skills. He will casually "whip something up" with ingredients he had "leftover" or "laying around" which turn into gourmet masterpieces, like banana muffins with a cinnamon crumble top, that you would pay $4.50 for if you were at a bakery. And his are better. He loves to bake and every now and then, those of us that work with him (or sit near his studio) are privileged to partake of his baked goods. Cranberry scones. Chocolate torte. Oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. It's one of the reasons I love my job. Everyone tells him he should open a shop. 

He probably won't be thrilled about this photo (on the phone), but I had to give the guy some credit and put a face to the name. I told him if he didn't supply a photo of his choice I was going to use whatever I had.


These cookies were too good not to share, so I asked for the recipe, which came from Amy, Jon's assistant. Thank you Amy! Here it is if you need some chocolatey goodness in your life. Did I mention there's espresso in them? I highly recommend it! 



Amy's Chocolate Cookies

1 1/4 cups flour
1/4 cup cocoa
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 cups Ghiradelli 60% chips
1/2 cup butter (1 stick) softened
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 egg
2 tbsp milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 tsp instant espresso

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Combine dry ingredients and set aside. Melt 1/2 cup chocolate chips on medium heat in microwave. Beat softened butter and brown sugar together. Beat eggs into sugar/butter mixture. Add milk, vanilla and coffee and mix to dissolve coffee. Mix melted chocolate and sugar/butter mix alternately into dry ingredients. Add remaining 1 1/2 cups of chocolate chips. Refrigerate dough for 1 hour.

Scoop dough with 1 oz scoop onto parchment paper covered baking sheets. Press M&M's into top of dough and flatten cookies slightly. Bake in 350 degree oven for 10 minutes. 

Makes about 2 dozen. 

And I got the keep this beautiful plate after they were all gone. Thank you Jon and Amy! You made my week!

Oatmeal Cranberry Chocolate Chip Cookies

I decided to make some cookies with ingredients I had on hand. I modified a recipe from Epicurious.com, which was for cherry chocolate chip oatmeal cookies with almonds. I didn't have cherries or almonds, but I did have dried cranberries. I like the tartness of the cranberries with the sweetness of the chocolate chips. A sweet treat!

Ingredients:
1 cup all purpose flour 
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
1/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup old-fashioned oats
1 cup chocolate chips
1 cup dried cranberries (or cherries)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees with racks positioned in center and top third of oven. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper (or if you're like me, and never have parchment paper, I used wax paper).

Sift flour, baking soda and salt into a medium bowl. Using electric mixer, beat butter, sugar and brown sugar in a large bowl until well blended. Mix in egg and vanilla extract. Beat in flour mixture. Mix in oats, then chocolate chips, then cranberries.

Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls onto baking sheets, spacing 2 inches apart (do not chill dough). Bake cookies for about 10-12 minutes, then switch and rotate baking sheets. Bake cookies until golden, about 5-6 minutes longer. Keep checking to make sure they are not getting too brown, just golden. Remove from oven and cool cookies on baking sheets (cookies will firm as they cool). Makes 2 dozen.

"C" is for Christmas Cookies

I decided it was time to make some classic cut-out Christmas cookies, with my Mom's sugar cookie recipe. I always like making cut-outs, even though it's a bit more work. Especially because I get to use the metal cookie cutters that our family has been using for years (with the addition of some new ones). My sister and I "share" the cookie cutters. By "share," I mean she currently has most of the originals in her possession. Mom was kind enough to find a similar set at a garage sale and mail them to me so I would have some too. Don't you just love how Mom's are always on the look out for you? Thanks Mom! However, I do miss the snowman and the angel. Hint. Hint. Lisa.

I recently purchased a spritz cookie and decorating press. Complete with different tips and shapes. Andrew thought it was a caulk gun. I guess it is...for frosting. I was excited to use it! It definitely made decorating cookies a much nicer experience than trying to slather on icing with a knife. Once I got the hang of it, I could make outlines and write letters. They didn't come out perfect, but I had fun trying it out. Until my hand started to hurt. And I had to disassemble and wash the entire thing each time I changed the color frosting I was using. And of course I needed four different colors. It's the artist in me. Can't do anything half way. But it was worth it. I had fun baking and decorating and listening to Christmas music.

If you're wondering why it looks like our kitchen table is smack dab in the middle of the kitchen, up against the cabinets, it's because it is. There wasn't a free inch of counter space while I was working. That's usually how it is when I'm cooking or baking. I make a mess and use every bowl and pan. Thankfully my husband was there to help me move the table into my workspace so I could ice cookies to my hearts desire.

See what I mean? "C" is for Christmas Cookies and Chaos in the kitchen. Tasting those delicious goodies was worth it though! They're not all for me, by the way. Although I'm certain I could consume all most of them, I will be sharing them. 

Chewy Chocolate Peanut Butter Chip Cookies

I just made a batch of these delicious cookies - yum! I found the recipe at allrecipes.com 
I dropped rounded tablespoons of the dough, and it yielded about 24 cookies. I also chilled the dough in the refrigerator for half an hour before putting them in the oven, for easier scooping and to keep them from spreading too thin while baking. 10 minutes seemed to be the perfect time. Enjoy!

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup butter, melted
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup and 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup peanut butter chips

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. In a large bowl, mix together butter and sugar. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Combine flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt; gradually stir into the butter mixture. Mix in peanut butter chips. Drop by rounded teaspoons onto ungreased cookie sheets.
3. Bake 8 to 10 minutes in preheated oven. Cool for 1 minute before placing on wire racks to cool completely.

Valentines Day Heart Cookies

 

These heart shaped sugar cookie sandwiches with strawberry frosting are a perfect treat for Valentines Day! They are easy and fun to make. 

You will need 2 packages of sugar cookie dough:

1 can of strawberry frosting:

 

 One large heart shaped cookie cutter and one small heart shaped cookie cutter:

 

Follow the directions on the sugar cookie dough for rolling out the dough and making cut-out cookies. 

Bake for 7-9 minutes, cool, then frost and make cookie sandwiches. 

For non-frosting lovers, make some plain heart-shaped cookies. You can use the small heart from the cut-out sandwich toppers, and place them on top of the plain hearts to make a double heart design.

Enjoy! (Try not to eat them all, like I did!)