Theresa's Favorite Spice Cookie

I made these cookies last year, and Theresa wanted me to make her 10 or 12 dozen.   When Theresa came back from China to visit I made some more for her.

Spice Cookies

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup shortening

3/4 cup molasses

1 large egg

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ginger ( I make this a heaping half teaspoon)

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon cloves

Sanding sugar. (I mix regular granulated sugar with larger crystal sugar. Very pretty)

Combine butter, brown sugar, shortening, molasses and egg in mixing bowl. Beat with an electric mixer on medium speed. Scrape the bowl often, beat until creamy.

Reduce speed to low

Mix remaining ingredients in bowl.  Add this to the creamed mixture.

Cover and refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour. I usually let it sit over night

Preheat oven to 375

Use a medium cookie scoop to make 1 1/2 inch balls of dough.  Roll into sanding sugar. Place 2 inches apart on parchment paper lined cookie sheet. Slightly flatten cookies with a glass dipped in sugar.

Bake for 10 to 12 minutes.

Cookies for Tigers

I found a recipe on line for those big bland sugar cookies from the grocery store. These are not bland, I added some flavoring to them. They are good. The recipe makes 3 1/2 dozen I had 1 dozen left after the first den meeting of Tiger Scouts. 

TIGER MEETING COOKIES

1 cup butter
2 cups sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon princess emulsion or almond extract
1 cup milk
6 cups flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon nutmeg

Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs and flavoring.  Mix flour, baking powder, salt and nutmeg in a separate bowl.  Add alternately with milk. Starting and ending with the flour.

Refrigerate at least one hour or over night

Preheat oven to 350

Roll out dough a little thicker than normal sugar cookies, a little over a quarter inch thick.

Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until bottoms are a little brown. The tops will stay really white. 

When cool ice with a butter cream frosting.  They are soft, but with a little flavor. !

Easy Butter Cream

 6 tablespoons butter, softened

4 1/2 cups powdered sugar, sifted

5 tablespoons milk

1/2 teaspoon salt

Cream butter, add powdered sugar, sifted with the salt.  Add enough milk to make of spreading consistency. Add any coloring you wish.  Beat until smooth.

You could use juice instead of the milk, and add some grated peel too. 

The Joy of Coconut

The joy of coconut, almonds and chocolate!

The Joy of Coconut

6 cups of coconut

4 1/2 cups sugar

3 cups flour

6 large eggs

1/4 cup melted butter

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon almond extract

1 1/2 cups sliced almonds

1 1/2 cups mini chocolate chips

Mix flour, sugar and coconut.  Add almonds and mini chips.

In a small bowl, mix the eggs, flavorings and butter

Add all at once to coconut mixture beat until just mixed

Cover and chill for an hour.

Preheat oven to 375

Line baking pans with parchment.



Bake cookies for 12 to 15 minutes.  Until the edges are just brown

Cafe Viennese Crinkles

How can you go wrong with chocolate, coffee and cinnamon?

Cafe Viennese Crinkles
1/3 cup softened butter
1 cup packed brown sugar
2/3 cup good quality cocoa powder
1 tablespoon instant espresso powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 large egg whites
1/3 cup vanilla yogurt
1 1/2 cups flour
cinnamon sugar for rolling

Preheat oven to 350.

Cream butter till soft in the mixer, about 3 minutes. Add brown sugar. In another bowl, mix cocoa powder, instant espresso powder, baking soda and cinnamon.  Add to butter/sugar mixture.  Mix egg whites and yogurt with a whisk in a small bowl. Add to mixture in mixer.  Add flour and blend in well.

Using the medium cookie scoop, scoop out dough and roll in the cinnamon sugar and place 2 inches apart on a parchment lined baking sheet.

Bake for 12 to 14 minutes.

Makes about 2 dozen.

These are soft, cake like cookie. They are not crunchy.

You Put the Lime in the Coconut

I had some purchased lime curd that needed to be used, soon.  Coconut and Lime!
YUM!

Lime Coconut Bars
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup butter
1 large egg
1 jar lime curd
TOPPING:
1 large egg, well beaten
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup coconut

Preheat oven to 350
Combine flour, and baking powder in a mixing bowl. Cut in butter with a pastry blender or your hands till it resembles crumbs.

 this is before mixing

Add egg and mix well. Press mixture into a greased (buttered) 9 inch  square pan.

Spread with curd.

Make topping:

In a mixer bowl, beat egg till foamy, gradually add sugar. Continue beating till light and fluffy and it holds soft peaks.  Fold in coconut

Spread over curd

Bake for 25-30 minutes

Just in the oven

Cut into bars when cool.

I baked this in a foil pan as I am giving them away. :)

Freckles

They looked sort of like freckles to me.  Lon has told me they are great!  I was wondering what to make today, and went to see what I had in the pantry. I had some bits of butter toffee, coconut and mini chips.  I think I can work with that!

Freckles

1 cup shortening
1/3 cup butter
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup bits of toffee
1 cup toasted coconut
1 cup mini chocolate chips

Heat oven to 350

As oven is heating up, spread coconut out on a baking sheet. One with rims helps alot.  I used frozen coconut and it took about 7 minutes as the oven heated up to get the coconut toasty. Stir it often. Do not just set the timer and walk away!

Set coconut aside to cool

Mix butter and shortening in a mixer till well blended. Add sugars, eggs, and vanilla. In this cookie I added 1 teaspoon of Princess for 1 teaspoon of the vanilla

In a separate bowl, mix flour, baking soda, and salt. Add to the butter mixture.

Stir in the toffee, coconut, and mini chips --the chips give them the freckles!

Put parchment down on your baking sheets, the toffee makes the cookies stick a bit.

Drop by medium scoop onto lined baking sheets  

Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown. They are slightly chewy with bits of crunch. The toasted coconut will add a nutty flavor without adding nuts

Sometimes you feel like a nut, sometimes you don't

These cookies taste like mounds bars! Yummy!  I adapted this cookie from the Southern Living book of Christmas Cookies (1986). The original recipe said it would make 6 dozen. I got exactly three dozen. These are so good, I when I make them again I will double it to get those 6 dozen!

Island Delights

3 (1 ounce) squares of unsweetened chocolate

1/4 cup strong coffee

1/2 cup shortening

1 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1 large egg

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

2/3 cup sour cream

1/2 to 3/4 cup coconut -- I used more, I like coconut!

Chocolate Frosting (recipe follows)

Preheat oven to 375. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.

Melt chocolate and coffee together in the top of a double boiler (or the microwave -watching closely!) until chocolate melts. Stir often for a smooth mixture. Set aside to cool.

Cream shortening, add brown sugar, beating well. 

Add egg and chocolate mixture; beat well.

In another bowl, combine flour, soda and salt.

Add to creamed mixture alternately with sour cream, beginning and ending with flour mixture.

Stir in coconut

 Use the medium cookie scoop to drop onto prepared cookie sheets
Bake 15-17 minutes.
Let cool slightly before frosting

Chocolate Frosting
1 1/2 squares unsweetened chocolate squares
1/4 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon butter
1 1/2 cups sifted powdered sugar
Toasted coconut

Melt chocolate and butter on top of the stove over a double boiler.  When chocolate is just about all melted add sour cream and stir till heated through.
Remove from heat and put into the bowl of a mixer, add powdered sugar and beat until smooth.
It says it will frost all the cookies, but I doubled it and only had a bit left
Spread the frosting on the cookies and sprinkle with toasted coconut