Coconut Domes July 17, 2008

I believe these are similar to coconut macaroons, but I’m not positive since I have never made either one.  I found this recipe here when I was looking for something to make with my bag of unsweetened coconut a co-worker gave me after he purchased it by bulk.  They turned out good.  Not my favorite type of cookie, but you may love them!

    Coconut Domes

(Recipe adopted from:  Desserts by Pierre Herme)

- makes about 24 cookies -

Ingredients

1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons whole milk
1 1/2 cups plus 1 tablespoon (5 1/4 ounces) unsweetened finely grated dried coconut (available in specialty and healthfood stores)
1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature and lightly beaten

    Procedure

The day before: Warm the milk in a microwave oven or over direct heat until it is 85 degrees F as measured on an instant-read thermometer. (This isn’t very hot at all, so you may overshoot the mark and have to let the milk cool.)

Toss the coconut and sugar together in a mixing bowl. Stir in the warm milk and then the lightly beaten room-temperature eggs; continue to stir until all the ingredients are blended. Press a piece of plastic wrap against the dough to seal it airtight, and refrigerate overnight.

To bake: Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.

Using a level tablespoon of dough for each cookie, shape the dough into balls between your palms, and place the cookies, 1 inch apart, on the lined sheet. When all the dough is shaped, place the baking sheet in the freezer while you preheat the oven. (The cookies can be made ahead to this point; when they are frozen, remove them from the sheet and pack airtight for long-term storage. Properly packed, the cookies can be frozen for up to 2 months; they should not be defrosted before baking.)

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 475 degrees F.

Remove the baking sheet from the freezer, slide another baking sheet under it (or transfer the cookies and parchment to an insulated baking sheet), and bake the cookies for 7 to 11 minutes. The outside of the cookies should be just set and the tops should take on some color. The centers of the domes should remain soft, moist and chewy. Transfer the cookies to a rack and let them cool before serving.

Depending on the absorbency of your coconut, you may find that during baking the domes seep a little liquid. Once the cookies have cooled, you can cut this extra little skirt of dough away with a pair of scissors. However, if you always buy the same coconut and always have the same problem, use a little less milk in the dough.

Storing: The cooled cookies can be kept for 2 to 3 days wrapped in plastic, but they’re at their best freshly made, a condition easily achieved since the dough can be molded and stored in the freezer for up to 2 months.I have never made coconut macroons before.

TOFU Chocolate Chip Cookies??? April 3, 2008

Did I get your attention?  That’s right, chocolate chip cookies that have tofu in them.  I actually made two different kinds of CCC.  (I was in the mood to bake and why only make only 1 batch of cookies?)  The first recipe is nothing too different than a normal chocolate chip cookie recipe, we call them ‘babies’.  Very tasty, chewy and mouth watering.  The second, is a healthier twist to the chocolate chip cookie that call for tofu.  Those who know me may think I’m quire for trying this recipe…but if you try them, you would be surprised!  They turned out tastier than I thought considering there was no butter/margarine in them.  I hope I haven’t scared anyone off yet, hear me out, please keep reading!   (especially you women out there:)  I’ve researched tofu a bit and found this list of benefits you can get from eating the stuff:

• Tofu can lower the risk of heart diseases by lowering the level of bad cholesterol
• Tofu can lower the risk of osteoporosis
• Can lower the risks of prostate cancer and breast cancer
• Decreased menopausal symptoms which include mood swings and hot flashes (http://www.oohoi.com/natural%20remedy/everyday_food/benefits-of-tofu.htm)

See, I told you it would be worth it.  The tofu cookie is cakeier than the other chocolate chip cookie and if you don’t know anything about tofu, you can’t taste it at all in the cookie (it really doesn’t even taste like much by itself either, I made myself eat a little bit straight before adding it to the cookie batter.  It’s not something I could eat by the spoonful, but mixing it in with other foods/dishes I could handle…my husband is probably freaking out right now…)  He actually had one of the tofu cookies not knowing that they had tofu in them and he said they were different (probably b/c they have the texture of a cake rather than a cookie), but good and I kept finding him going back to the cookie jar for another one, although once he reads this post, he may not too much anymore. 

Now that this recipe was a success, the next recipe I’d like to try is the Amazing Black Bean Brownies.  Amazing????  We’ll see about that.

Tofu Chocolate Chip Cookie

(Recipe from:  Sunday Nite Dinner)

My changes are in parenthesis & italics.

Ingredients:
7 ounces soft tofu (1/2 a square), roughly chopped
1/3 cup (3 ounces) cream cheese
1/3 cup (3 ounces) natural or organic salted, creamy peanut butter (natural chunky but would like to try Better’n Peanut Butter next time)
3/4 cup white sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
4 large egg whites
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
A touch of almond extract (optional)
2 1/2 cups oat flour or white whole wheat flour (whole wheat flour)
1/4 cup semolina flour or cornmeal (cornmeal)
1 teaspoon baking soda
8-10 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate chips/chunks

Directions:
1) Adjust the oven racks to the upper- and lower-middle positions and heat the oven to 375°F. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper or spray them with nonstick cooking spray.

2) Whisk the flour, semolina and baking soda in a medium bowl; set aside.

3) With an electric mixer, mix the tofu until smooth, about 1-2 minutes. Add cream cheese and peanut butter and beat until thoroughly blended. Add the sugars; mix until combined, about 2-3 minutes. Beat in the egg whites and vanilla until combined. Add the dry ingredients and beat at a low speed just until combined. Stir in chocolate chips to taste. Chill the dough in the refrigerator for 15 minutes.  (It was pretty gooey!  I had to flour my hands each time making the balls.)

4) Roll a scant 1/4 cup of the dough into a ball. Hold the dough ball with the fingertips of both hands and pull into 2 equal halves. Rotate the halves 90 degrees and, with jagged surfaces facing up, join the halves together at the base, again forming a single ball, being careful not to smooth the dough’s uneven surface. (Instead of putting the halves together, I placed the two separate halves on the baking sheet and the cookies were still pretty big!) Place the formed dough balls on the prepared baking sheets, jagged surface up, spacing them 1 1/2 inches apart.

5) Bake the cookies until light golden brown 13 to 16 minutes, rotating the baking sheets from to back and top to bottom halfway through the baking time. Cool the cookies on the sheets. Remove the cooled cookies from the baking sheets with a wide metal spatula.

Makes 28-30 cookies

Babies

(Recipe from:  PR Christian School Ladies Auxiliary)

1 cup white sugar

1 cup margarine

1 cup brown sugar

3/4 cup oil

Cream above ingredients together until very light and smooth.

Add:

1 egg

1Tbsp milk

2 tsp baking powder (or 1 tsp cream of tartar)*

1 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp baking soda

3 3/4 cup flour

12 oz pkg chocolate chips

Mix thoroughly and bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes until they just start to have a touch of brown.  Don’t overbake if you want soft chewy cookies! 

Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies March 20, 2008

All the credit for this recipe, and the actually cookies, go to my mom.  She made these cookies I believe twice now…this is the first time I gave them a try and I think the recipe (with the substitution of chips) is a keeper!  The recipe she used is from www.verybestbaking.com.  They are actually called White Chip Chocolate Cookies.  As you can see in the picture, instead of using the white chocolate chips she used mint chips.  This cookie reminds me a lot of my mom’s famous Thanksgiving Day Mint Brownies but in cookie form. 

If this isn’t the first time you’ve checked out my blog, you will know that this isn’t the first recipe I’ve posted that is my mom’s (although the first that she made and I haven’t tried yet).  She deserves most of the credit to my baking skills since she basically taught me how and let my sis and I make disasters in her kitchen when we were young and wanted to bake.  Thanks mom, you’re the best, along with your cookies!

Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies

(Recipe from www.verybestbaking.com) 

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

2/3 cup baking cocoa

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup (2 sticks) butter or margarine, softened

3/4 cup granulated sugar

2/3 cup packed brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 large eggs

2 cups (12-oz. pkg.) mint chocolate chips (or other chips)

 

Preheat oven to 350° F.  

Combine flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in chips. Drop by well-rounded teaspoon onto ungreased baking sheets.

Bake for 9 to 11 minutes or until centers are set. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

Almond Bar Cookies February 12, 2008

I had some almond paste leftover from making Banket around Christmas time so I went on a recipe search to find another recipe that asks for almond paste.  I found this recipe on Epicurious.com.  The reviews turned me down a little bit saying how greasy and rich these bars were.  One of the reviews changed the recipe to make them healthier by using milk instead of butter, whole-wheat flour and a little less sugar.  I’m always up for making my recipes healthier so that’s exactly what I did. 

I really liked how these turned out.  They have a nice almond flavor and are very light.  I realized after making them that the original recipe below is probably what my mom uses to make her Almond Bars that everyone raves over, which I agree, they are delicious.  I think it all depends on what you are making them for.  If you are bringing them somewhere to share with a group of people, the original recipe is great.  If they were just for the family and something to grab when you need something sweet, I’d choose the “lighter” recipe.   

Here is the original Almond Bar Cookie recipe, my changes are in paranthesis.

Almond Bar Cookies

(recipe by epicurious.com)

1/2 cup packed almond paste, coarsely crumbled
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup sugar (3-4 Tbsp less than this)
2 sticks unsalted butter, softened (8 oz skim milk)
1 large egg, separated
1 teaspoon almond extract
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (1 cup whole-wheat flour, 1/4 cup all-purpose)
1/2 cup sliced almonds

Pulse almond paste in a food processor until broken up into small bits, then add salt and 1/4 cup sugar and continue to pulse until finely ground, about 1 minute.

Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F. Butter a 9-inch square baking pan, then line with foil, leaving a 2-inch overhang on 2 opposite sides, and butter foil.

Beat together butter and remaining 1/2 cup sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes in a stand mixer (preferably fitted with a paddle attachment) or 6 minutes with a handheld. Add almond mixture, egg yolk, and almond extract and beat until combined well, about 2 minutes. Reduce speed to low, then add flour and mix until combined. Spread batter evenly in pan with an offset spatula. Lightly beat egg white in a small bowl, then brush some of it over batter and sprinkle evenly with almonds.

Bake until top is golden, 35 to 40 minutes. Cool completely in pan on a rack, about 1 hour. Transfer with foil to a cutting board, then discard foil. Cut into squares or rounds.

Neiman Marcus Chocolate Chip Cookies January 23, 2008

I found this recipe about a year ago from the Neiman Marcus Cookbook.  The ingredient that makes these cookies different from other recipes is the espresso powder.  This is probably one of my favorite chocolate chip cookie recipes! 

Neiman Marcus Chocolate Chip Cookies

(Recipe from:  Neiman Marcus Cookbook by Kevin Garvin with John Harrison) 

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 3 tablespoons white sugar
• 1 egg
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons instant espresso coffee powder
• 1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

   Directions:

• Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.  Grease a cookie sheet (I used my pizza stone).
• In a medium bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar and white sugar until smooth.  Beat in the egg and vanilla.  Sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and espresso powder; stir into the creamed mixture.  Finally, stir in the chocolate chips.
• Drop dough by heaping tablespoonfuls onto the prepared baking sheet.  Cookies should be 1 1/2 to 2 inches apart.
• Bake for 20 minutes in the preheated oven.  For crisper cookies, bake 2 minute longer and for softer, 2 minutes less.

                                                                        Enjoy! 

Paula Deen’s Savannah Bow Ties December 11, 2007

Paula was making these cookies the other night on her show and they looked so tasty and simple to make I thought I’d give it a try.  I was buying almond paste already for the second round of Ban Ket I am in the process of making so I figured why not buy a little more to try these cute things out.  I plan on making the Chocolate Dipping Sauce when I bring the cookies to a party, but they even taste great without it.

Savannah Bow Ties

1/2 a (17 1/4-ounce) pkg frozen puff pastry (1 sheet)

1/2 c almond paste

1 egg yolk, white reserved

1/4 cup packaged brown sugar

2 teaspoons milk

1 egg white

Sugar, for sprinkling

Chocolate Dipping Sauce, recipe follows

Let pastry stand at room temperature for 20 minutes or until easy to roll.  Unfold pastry on a lightly floured surface.  Roll into a 14-inch square.  Cut square in half with a fluted pastry wheel. 

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

For filling:  crumble almond paste in a small mixing bowl.  Add egg yolk, brown sugar, and milk.  Beat with an electric mixer on medium speed until well mixed.  Spread filling over 1 pastry half*.  Place remaining pastry half on top of filling.  Using the fluted pastry wheel, cut dough crosswise into fourteen 1-inch-wide strips.  Then cut each strip in half crosswise to make 28 pieces.  Twist each piece twice.  Place twists about 2 inches apart on cookie sheets (I used pizza stone) lined with foilr or parchment paper.  Brush twists with slightly beaten egg white.  Sprinkle with sugar (coarse sugar if available).

 

Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until golden.  Transfer to wire racks to cool.  Serve with Chocolate Dipping Sauce.

   

*Almond filling will be very stiff.  To make spreading easier, drop a dollop of filling uniformly over pastry.  Spray a piece of waxed paper with non-stick cooking spray.  Press almond paste evenly over entire dough (a rolling pin works well).  Spray waxed paper as often as necessary to prevent filling from sticking.

Chocolate Dipping Sauce

3/4 cup sugar

2 tablespoons cornstarch

1/4 teaspoon salt

6 (1.5-ounce) milk chocolate bars

2 cups whipping cream

1 egg yolk, beaten

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

In a saucepan stir together sugar, cornstarch and salt.  Crumble candy bars in 1 at a time.  Gradually stir in cream.  Cook and stir over medium heat until chocolate is melted.  Temper egg yolk with 1/2 cup of hot sauce.  Add back to pot and cook and stir until mixture comes to a boil.  Remove from heat.  Stir in vanilla and pour into a serving bowl.  Any remaining sauce can be poured into custard cups, refrigerated and served as pudding.

Recipe courtesy Paula Deen

Yield:  enough sauce for 28 cookies

Prep Time:  5 minutes

Cook Time:  10 minutes

Easy of Preperation:  Easy