Cory's Coconut Macaroons

When I got home from work yesterday, I noticed that the power was out. Balls. So I started unloading the groceries and putting them away when, all of a sudden, BEEP BEEP BEEP!!! Electronics galore began turning back on. It was then that I realized that there might be a problem… a big problem. You see, our desktop computer, though hooked up to a surge protector, should still be unplugged before the power comes on to not fry the power supply. Sure enough, upon further inspection and multiple tests, the power supply is toast. Double balls. My plans of eating lunch and spending the remainder of the evening writing were, well, out. Sure, I could write on the laptop (as I’m doing for this blog post) but the thing about the laptop is that it, well, has sensitivity issues. By that, I mean it will randomly decide to place the cursor wherever it feels like on the page in the middle of writing, causing sentence structure problems (i.e. You see, our deskcture problems top computer…) It sucks big time, but alas, when the finances are too tight to replace or fix the problem, you live with them.

Anyway, writing was out. That meant I had two options: Quilting and Baking. I stared at the horrifying mess my quilting area and sewing machine is and said, “Eff this!” and decided to bake. I decided it would be best to make something I’ve never done before, and lately I’ve been craving coconut macaroons. Now, there are a plethora of recipes for coconut macaroons in various cookbooks and internet search results, but I couldn’t find one that had the flavor combination I was looking for. Since I had made Crème Brûlée for Valentine’s Day, I had four egg whites begging to be made into something delicious, so I opted for creating a meringue, adding a couple tablespoons of butter, some almond and vanilla extract, and folded the coconut in gently.

Figuring out the baking part was a bit tricky. I had originally thought that fifteen minutes would do the trick, but the insides were too gooey and the outside became sticky to the touch and they fell apart when you picked them up. That just isn’t any good. So I decided to treat them like I would a meringue since, well, that is what I used as a base. I baked them for five more minutes then turned the oven off, leaving the macaroons in the oven for about half an hour. When I checked on them, they looked much more like the macaroons I was trying to create. After allowing them to cool completely for about an hour, they were perfect; crispy on the outside, chewy on the inside, and delectable in my mouth. I seriously think I’m developing a coconut addiction!

Cory’s Coconut Macaroons

14 oz flaked sweetened coconut

4 egg whites

1/2 cup sugar

2 tablespoons butter, softened

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon almond extract

¼ teaspoon sea salt

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Combine the egg whites, sugar and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer. With the whisk attachment, slowly whip the egg white mixture, gradually increasing speed to high, and whisk until stiff peaks form. Turn down to medium and add the softened butter a tablespoon at a time until combined. Add the vanilla and almond extracts until combined. Fold in the coconut, careful not to deflate the meringue. On a parchment lined baking sheet, use a 2 tablespoon scoop and place macaroons 1 inch apart (they will not spread). Bake for about 20 minutes, or until golden brown. Turn the oven off, leaving the macaroons inside for 30 minutes, or until crispy on the outside, they feel light and airy, and are no longer sticky. Allow to cool completely on a cooling rack. Keeps at room temperature three days, 2 weeks in the fridge, 6 months in the freezer.

White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies

After years of threatening to make these cookies, I finally decided to try them. Oh boy, I’m glad I did.

I’m not ashamed to admit it, but I am horrible at following recipes. There are a few exceptions to this but for the most part I will look at a recipe and decide on the fly whether to use the ingredients and their measurements or fudge with it or use a different spice. Sure, part of that is years of experience and knowing what the hell I’m doing, but the other part is experimenting. Let’s just say I’ve only had a few duds, so my instincts are usually right on. So when I flipped through my cookbooks to look for a recipe for White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies, I was surprised that only one book had it. Well, not too surprised that this particular book, The Joy of Cooking, had a recipe, but that the ratios seemed a little, well, off to me. Me being me, I fiddled. And me being me, I nailed it.

Cory’s White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies

1 1/3 cup flour

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon sea salt

1 stick (8 tablespoons) butter, softened

2/3 cup sugar

1/3 cup dark brown sugar

1 egg

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

2/3 cup roasted macadamia nuts

2/3 cup white chocolate chips (I prefer Guittard)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt with the paddle attachment (scraping blade works great too) by mixing on low speed for about ten seconds. Pour into a medium bowl and set aside. Beat the softened butter until slightly pale, about 30 seconds. Add sugar and brown sugar and beat on medium to medium-high until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in the egg and vanilla on low just until mixed in. Add the flour mixture on low a little at a time until no white streaks appear. Stir in the macadamia nuts and white chocolate chips. Using a 2 tablespoon spring loaded scoop, place dough on a parchment lined baking sheet two inches apart and bake for 12 minutes. Makes 16 cookies.

Cookies!

Bake-a-thon may have been an exaggeration. Decorate-a-thon however… nope, still an exaggeration.

Yesterday we made cookies. Lots of cookies. Or so it seemed. After all was said and done it seemed like we’d hardly made even twelve dozen cookies. With only three varieties on the docket for the day, two of which needed to be decorated, it was bound to be an exciting adventure. Assuming, of course, exciting adventures include frosting on every surface the children came in contact with, flour “snow flurries” and Star Wars.

 I will have to say, we adults were all in agreement that next year we were definitely going to be doing our portion of the decorating using pastry bags because once we transferred the remaining frosting from the bowls after the kiddos were finished (and by finished, I mean showed no interest in decorating cookies anymore until we started doing it) the process seemed much more streamlined and much less messy. Honestly my favorite part was decorating the gingerbread people, some of which I cut out using my Star Wars Cookie Cutters from Williams Sonoma to make Yoda and Darth Vader gingerbread men. Something about the simplicity of just decorating using royal icing and a few embellishments was much more satisfying than trying to get the buttercream frosting on the sugar cookies to behave exactly like I wanted. Personally, I wish I’d made Storm Troopers and Boba Fetts as well instead of so many regular gingerbread people.

It seems like each year we make less and less in the way of cookie varieties, but it still takes us the same amount of time. Perhaps it is the whole trial-and-error approach that we go into these annual all day baking sessions with the kids and deciding to make each year better focused than the previous. Or perhaps it is because we love the company we’re with.

Baking

Do you ever have days you just want to crawl back into bed and stay there? Today is one of those days.

Today is the annual Bake-a-thon with our friends and their four girls. This year we’ve decided to tone it down a little by making the dough ahead of time and only doing the actual baking and decorating there. Of course, that would assume that we made the dough ahead of time, which we didn’t because I was busy making a NASCAR Number 48 Jimmy Johnson Birthday Cake for a coworker and we had friends over to watch It’s a Wonderful Life. I suppose that means we should get cracking on those doughs before heading over, huh?

Charlotte's Zucchini Cookies

Few memories are as ingrained in my childhood as strongly as my neighbor, Charlotte. Or perhaps more appropriately her famous zucchini cookies.

Right after my parents split up we moved in with the man who would eventually become my stepdad. It wasn’t long before we got to know all of the neighbors in the cul-de-sac. Well, all but one, but that’s because they were, well, crotchety stuck up snobs who thought they were better than everyone else. They also lived right next door to Charlotte, who was anything but and also our first sitter from the neighborhood.

Charlotte was one of those people who always had an ear to lend, a hug to give, and a knack for teaching people how to play Parcheesi. And it seemed like summer and fall would bring what I thought was an endless supply of her zucchini cookies. I distinctly remember initially being put off by the thought of zucchini in cookies, but the word cookie took greater priority as a kid and so I tried them anyway. Soft, chewy and muffin-like, they were delicious.

While I’m sure Charlotte is no longer with us, and I’m sure her recipe for zucchini cookies may be as well, I still think you should try to make a batch yourself. Especially with all that zucchini growing in the garden this time of year!

Cory’s Zucchini Cookies (Inspired by Charlotte)

Ingredients

½ cup butter, softened

1 cup sugar

1 egg

2 small or 1 medium zucchini, grated

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

½ teaspoon cloves

½ teaspoon nutmeg, freshly grated

Beat the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy, mix in the egg followed by the zucchini (about 1 to 1 1/2 cups.) In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg. If using salted butter, you can either omit or leave the salt in. Personally, I leave it in. Stir in the flour mixture once the zucchini is incorporated into the butter mixture. Cover bowl and refrigerate for about an hour.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Using a two tablespoon ice cream scoop or two spoons, drop cookies onto a parchment lined cookie sheet and bake for about 10 minutes. It may be a minute or two longer or shorter on either side depending on your oven. Basically bake until you see the edges of the cookies start to brown. The tops may not look done, but they will continue to cook. Let rest on cookie sheet for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool, which fortunately only takes about ten minutes.

You can add all sorts of things to these cookies, from raisins and walnuts to chocolate chips, but personally I like them without. However, like all recipes, experiment, have fun, and make it your own!

Cookie Baking Day!

Today we are going over to our good friends’s house for our annual cookie baking day. I can’t hardly wait.

However, first things first, I have to go sign papers at my new employer this morning and pick up a few snacks to bring with us after that. We’ve got quite a few things ready to go, so it shouldn’t be the Bake-A-Thons we’ve had Christmases past, and we’ve narrowed down our selections. Still, that means we’ll have more time for decorating sugar cookies and eating Beer Cheese Soup and chatting.

I knew I should’ve packed everything we need to bring with us last night, but alas, I did not. Instead I’m sure we’ll be furiously putting everything into bags when I get home and probably forget something. It’s life. I just need to remember to bring my Peppermint Bark pieces that I crumbled instead of tried to melt back together for some delicious sounding Peppermint Bark Brownies.