31 Days of Cookies . Day 31. Coconut Rectangles

There are so many ways to make cookies, and one of the less common (unless you're a buy-the-cookie-dough-tube-from-the-dairy-case baker) is a sliced cookie.

This recipe is maybe my favorite sliced cookie. (I think I got this one from Martha Stewart, too. The original recipe is for Ice Cream Sandwiches, but I like the cookies just as they are.)

Ingredients:
1 stick (1/2C) butter, room temperature
1/2 C sugar
1/4 t salt
3/4 C all-purpose flour
7 oz (about 2 2/3 C) loosely packed shredded coconut

Beat the butter, sugar and salt with an electric mixer. Mix in the flour, and then the coconut, beating until a dough forms.

Transfer to a piece of waxed paper.

Pat into a rectangular log, about 3 inches wide by 6 inches long.



















































Wrap in the waxed paper and freeze about 30 minutes until firm.

Preheat the oven to 350°.

Slice the log crosswise about 1/4" thick. I have found that using a French Chef knife works great for this task.

Arrange on baking sheets and bake till golden, rotating pan halfway through, for about 20-25 minutes.
Cool completely on the cookie sheet.

Addicting! Enjoy...


 

31 Days of Cookies . Day 24. Peanut Butter Thumbprints

I used to subscribe to Martha Stewart Living Magazine, and one of my favorite things was the very last page where I could find  "Cookie of the Month." Not all of them became favorites, but today's recipe is certainly one that is a hit. I know there are some who don't love peanut butter and jelly, but for the rest of us All-Americans, it's a winning combination. Here's the recipe:

Peanut Butter & Jelly Thumbprints

1 ¼ C flour
½ t baking powder
½ t baking soda
½ t salt
¾ C smooth peanut butter
1 stick butter, softened
1/3 C packed brown sugar
1/3 C granulated sugar, plus more for rolling
1 lg egg
1 t vanilla
½ C raspberry jam

- Preheat oven to 350°.
- Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
- Beat peanut butter and butter with a mixer on medium until smooth.
- Add sugars and beat until pale and fluffy.
- Add egg and vanilla and beat until incorporated.
- Reduce speed to low and add dry ingredients. Mix until combined.
- Scoop level tablespoons of dough and form into balls.

Roll each ball in granulated sugar and put on parchment-lined baking sheet about 2 inches apart.
Bake until cookies are puffy, about 8 minutes.
Remove from oven and make indentations in centers by pressing with the handle of a wooden spoon.

Spoon about ½ teaspoon teaspoon of the jam into each indentation.
Return to oven and bake until edges are golden, 3–5 minutes more.

Cookies can be stored in a single layer for up to 1 week... or eaten immediately!

31 days of cookies . day 26. cookie platters

Cookies are so standard—a couple bites, no fork necessary— yet so versatile... toss a few in a baggie or lay them out on a gorgeous platter.

Delicious cookies really don't need a fabulous presentation to taste good. But really, don't you prefer to arrange them on a fun or festive or unique platter to serve them?

I have a couple go-to platters and trays that I use for cookies. And they are not round. Somehow, cookies sliding around on a round plate doesn't do anything for me.

My favorites are rectangles.

Here are some favorites i picked on etsy. (I'd love any one of these as a gift... not that I need one more.)

1. Leaf Impression Such beautiful ceramic work
2. Square Celedon Square platters are great for cookies. Loving the colors and texture on this one.
3. Rae Dunn Beauty Truth Peace Rae Dunn does gorgeous work. I've seen it in person... beauty!
4. Amber Fused Glass Platter I've only recently heard of fused glass and I'm a huge fan. Want some.
5. Teal and Copper Here's a darling small platter when you only need to serve a few.

Do a little cookie platter shopping this weekend! See you Monday with another recipe.

31 Days of Cookies . Day 5. Cookie Balls

These little nuggets have so many names, and I think every culture has their own version of them. So I'm just calling them cookie balls. I grew up calling them Russian Tea Cakes, I've eaten them as Mexican Wedding Cakes, and the Greeks have their own version (that I can't spell or pronounce... kourambiethes? You try saying that!) that are crescent-shaped.

No matter what you call them, you must include "delicious" in the title. Here's how to make them.

Ingredients:
1 C butter (2 sticks)
2 1/4 C sifted flour
1/2 C powdered sugar (plus more for later)
1/4 t salt
1 t vanilla
3/4 C chopped nuts

Mix the butter, flour, powdered sugar and salt in a bowl.
Add the vanilla and chopped nuts.
The dough will seem very dry and crumbly, so get your hands in there and kind of knead it a little till it starts to come together.
Pinch or scoop off pieces and roll into balls a little smaller than an inch or so.
Place on a cookie sheet. These don't grow much (if at all) so you can fit a lot pretty close together.
Bake 14-17 minutes at 400°
Let cool a bit and roll in powdered sugar.

So easy to just pop in your mouth! But beware... you may have tell-tale powdered sugar down the front of you.

31 Days of Cookies . Day 4. Magic Cookie Bars

Bar cookies are fun to make because you just spread stuff in a pan and bake. No rolling, flattening, scooping. Just cut them in squares after they've cooled. Plus you can bake them all at once rather than in batches.

Today I made Magic Cookie Bars. Several years ago I made these All. The. Time. But it's been awhile and I didn't realize how sketchy my recipe was. (Like... a 3 oz can of coconut? I didn't know coconut ever came in a can.) So I did a little guessing with this one, but it came out fine, so I'll tell you just what I did.

Ingredients:
1 cube butter
1 1/2 C graham cracker crumbs
1 can Sweetened Condensed Milk (NOT evaporated milk. They come in the same size can and are right next to each other on the grocery store shelf)
1 C chopped nuts
1/2 C shredded coconut
1/2 of a 12 oz. bag of chocolate chips

Melt the butter in a 9x13" pan (or similar)

Roll the graham crackers between the folds of a sheet of waxed paper with a rolling pin. Recognize this cute rolling pin? I'm making these at Kate's while babysitting napping Maggie (and the Blue Angels are practicing for Fleet Week overhead. Thundering loudness! Can't believe she's still asleep!)

Put the crumbs in the butter, stir and press down to make a crust.

Then mix the nuts, chocolate chips, and coconut in a bowl and spread over the crust.
Bake at 350° for a half hour or so. (Again, the sketchy recipe. Gave no baking time, but a half hour seemed about right. I'm really so accurate when I bake... or not.)

We were kind of anxious, so we cut them while they were still a bit hot. Messy, but delicious!

31 days of cookies . day 3. Easy Peanut Butter

Another day, another cookie. Today we're making a recipe I got from an elderly couple who used to live around the corner from us. It is one of the easiest cookies ever, except slicing from a tube or breaking apart squares from the grocer's dairy case.

Isn't this recipe card so cute and vintage? ... but it was her actual card. Darling.

Four ingredients. That's it!

1 can Eagle Brand Milk (or any sweetened condensed milk will do)
3/4 C Peanut Butter
2 C Bisquick (or any Buttermilk Baking Mix. I used Trader Joe's brand)
1 t Vanilla (I used Mexican in honor of my dear husband. Plus, it's really good quality and less expensive at the Mexican Produce Store.)

Just mix the ingredients together and roll them into 1" balls. Then flatten with a fork to make a criss-cross pattern. Dip your fork in sugar to keep it from sticking to the dough.

I obviously had  little trouble holding the camera still with one hand while pressing with the other.

Bake for 6-8 minutes (I go the full 8) in a preheated 350° oven.

I just had to add this hydrangea to the photo. I love the way hydrangeas go from bright sunny blue to a deep purple as fall begins.

Quick, easy, delicious peanut butter cookies. Enjoy!


 

31 days of cookies . day 2. chocolate chip

Who doesn't like the good old stand-by deliciousness of a chocolate chip cookie? You can find a recipe on the back of any bag of chocolate chips. But around our house, we like them a little flat and chewy with just a hint of crispness around the edges. Our favorite recipe is one we adapted slightly from Martha Stewart's Soft and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookie.

2 1/4 C all-purpose flour
1/2 t baking soda
1 C butter (I use either salted or unsalted, depending on what I have on hand. It doesn't seem to make a difference.)
1/2 C granulated sugar
1 C packed light-brown sugar
1 t salt
2 t vanilla
2 eggs
2 C semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350° F. In a small bowl whisk the flour and baking soda; set aside
Cream the butter and sugars until light and fluffy
Add salt vanilla and eggs; beat until well mixed
Add flour mixture; mix until combined
Stir in the chocolate chips

Drop heaping Tablespoonfuls about 2 inches apart on cookie sheets. (I line them with parchment paper.)

Bake 8 - 10 minutes, until golden around the edges, but still soft in the center.
Remove from oven and allow to cool and the baking sheet for a couple minutes
Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.









































More cookies to come!

31 Days of Cookies . Day 1. Sesame Thins

For the month of October, I have accepted the 31-day challenge to write on a topic every day for 31 days. My topic? Cookies. You may not get a recipe every day (not that I'm lacking for cookie recipes...), but we'll definitely be talking cookies.

Cookies are the perfect afternoon snack with a cup of coffee (or your beverage of choice). Just hold them it in your hand. No plate, no fork, no spoon. Just a cookie.

One of my favorites growing up was my mom's Sesame Thins.  Perfect for Day 1.

Sesame Thins

1 C (2 sticks) butter

1 C sugar

1 egg

1 t vanilla

2 C sifted flour

1/2 t salt

1/2 t baking soda

1/2 C sesame seeds

Directions

Preheat oven to 350° F

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until fluffy. 

Beat in the egg and vanilla. 

Sift flour, salt and soda 

Stir flour mixture into the butter mixture, half at at time, blending well to make a soft dough

Wrap the dough in waxed paper; chill several hours or overnight.

Roll dough, a teaspoonful at at time, into small balls

Roll balls in sesame seeds to coat lightly

Place on a cookie sheet
Bake 10 minutes

Cool completely

Makes 5 dozen

Enjoy!

Be sure to check back each day for more cookie goodness.
 

31-Day Challenge

A couple blogs I read started the 31-day challenge several years ago... well, maybe they didn't start it, but it's where I first heard about it.

One of my favorites was the 31 Days to a No-Brainer Wardrobe last year on Tiny Twig. It was so fun to see what she came up with each day for keeping a wardrobe streamlined. She even turned it into an e-book.

So the challenge begins again this October, and I'M IN! (that's only 2 days away...)

My subject? Something I'm passionate about, and could eat ten one every day... cookies. So I'll be talking about cookies every day for a month. If you share my passion, be sure to check back each day in October. It'll be fun. (and fattening.)

See you in a day or two,

Homemade Granola

This summer I have been addicted to yogurt and granola for breakfast. It began when I visited my aunt and uncle and she prepared a lovely bowl of fruit for each of us, with homemade granola and yogurt to add as we wanted... which reminded me of a recipe I hadn't made for years.

I got home and dug it out. I have no idea where it came from, but it's ok. I've changed it to suit my taste, or whatever I have in the house on the day I'm making it. Which is the fun part: do whatever you want!

Here's what I've been doing lately, but honestly, add whatever YOU like!

First, preheat your oven to 325° F.  In a large-ish bowl, combine the dry ingredients:

4 C old fashioned oats
1/2 C coarsely chopped almonds
1/2 C coarsely chopped peanuts
1/2 C dried cranberries
1/2 C sweetened coconut flakes
1/2 t ground cinnamon
1 pinch of salt

Stir those together.

Then in a saucepan, stir together:

1/3 C vegetable oil
1/4 C honey
1/2 C brown sugar

Heat to boiling and remove from heat. Stir in vanilla.

Drizzle the syrup over the oat mixture and stir with a wooden spoon. Spread it evenly onto a sheet pan. You'll want to either line your pan with parchment (that's what I do) or spray it with cooking spray for easy cleanup.

Bake till golden, about 25 minutes, stirring a couple times in the middle. I "stir" it by piling the edges into the center with a pancake turner, and then pushing the mound back out to the edge of the pan in sort of a fold, just to be sure it all gets a little crunchy. Here's the mound...

After it's finished baking, let it cool and then break it into chunks, or crumble it. Store it in an airtight container.

In the comments, tell me your favorite granola ingredients. I'm always up for trying new ideas!

Enjoy...