Lemon White Chocolate S’mores

I notoriously do not get sick. I’m not superhuman or even super healthy or anything, it’s just that, well…. ain’t nobody got time for that! It’s not that I NEVER get sick, I had the flu five years ago. I had a stomach bug (or bad fro-yo) two years ago. I just seem to bypass the really bad colds and stuff that most people get regularly. When I feel something coming on, I literally tell myself, “nope, I don’t have time for this” and I’m not joking- it goes away.

Or so I thought.

I had a little teeny tiny abnormality in some recent bloodwork and  I went for a follow up visit yesterday. In completely unrelated news, it turns out I was walking around with 101* fever and an ear infection in both ears and DID NOT KNOW it!. Seriously, I am a stay at home mom. We don’t get sick days! So now I’m all Motrined and Augmentined up and I’m thinking it’s a good thing I have a bunch of stuff I’ve made recently and I have the weekend with no baking to do and I can take a little break.

So, I didn’t mean to bore you with the details of my inner ears. I just think it’s funny that the day before my appointment, I had rushed Ben to the pediatrician because he had a little pink tinge to his eye. It turned out to be minor trauma or a scratch, not pink eye (yay! Don’t have time for pink eye!). Do you find yourself so in tune with your kids’ or pets’ every minor medical symptom but  you can’t even catch your own?

Anyway.

I made some homemade marshmallows for the first time the other day! I slightly modified a recipe I found on line and I added a little lemon extract. They were really yummy on their own, especially after being left uncovered for two or three days (we are huge fans of stale marshmallows around here). But what made them even more delicious, was popping them under the broiler for about five minutes then sandwiching them between cinnamon graham crackers and some quality white chocolate. Yum-meee.

There is something really satisfying about bringing sugar to a boil then whipping it into a beautiful fluffy cloud….

….pouring it into a pan, then turning it into little perfect squares of creamy sugar.

Recipe (slightly adapted from here)

Ingredients

• 2 envelopes unflavored gelatin
• 8 tablespoons cold water
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup cold water
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 tsp lemon extract
• Powdered sugar as needed
• Several bars of good quality white chocolate (one- two pieces per sandwich)
• Graham crackers (one board per sandwich)

1. In a small bowl, combine gelatin and 8 tablespoons cold water.
2. Line an 8×8 inch pan with parchment and sprinkle it generously with powdered sugar
3. In a large saucepan, combine the sugar and cold water, on medium heat, stir until the sugar is dissolved.
4. When the sugar is dissolved, add the gelatin mixture and bring to a boil.
5. Cool slightly then pour into the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the whisk attachment.
6. Add salt, vanilla, and lemon extract and beat for about 10-15 minutes until it becomes soft and fluffy and doubles in volume. (It will start out brownish but will become white as it gets fluffy.)
7. Pour into the prepared pan and let set until it can be touched without sticking.
8. Slice into cubes and coat the cubes with powdered sugar on all sides.
9. Let sit until completely set.
10. Set broiler to high heat and line a baking sheet with foil.
11. For as many sandwiches as you want, break a graham cracker board in half. Place a half of a board onto the baking sheet and place a marshmallow on top.
12. Broil for about 5 minutes or until browned. Keep an eye on it.
13. When done, remove from the oven, and immediately place a piece of chocolate and the other half of the graham cracker on top.

Enjoy!

I’ll be linking up to Simply Sweet Saturdays at Simply Sweets by Honeybee

Lemon Blueberry Cookies

Three years, one month, four days. Three years, one month, four days plus the 39 weeks he lived in my belly. That’s how long it has been since my baby boy and I have slept under a different roof.

Three years, one month, four days and 39 weeks. Until tonight. That is because my inlaws just swooped in, scooped him up, packed him into their car, and whisked him away. The plan being to have him tonight for a sleep over. I really wish I had made something chocolate this week.

Oh well, lemon blueberry cookies will have to suffice. I mean, they’re not chocolate, but they do still take the edge off of a broken heart.

Ingredients

• 1 stick unsalted butter, softened
• 6 tbsp confectioners sugar
• 6 tbsp lemon sugar (see below)
• 1 tbsp sugared lemon zest (see lemon sugar below)
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 tsp lemon emulsion
• 1 1/2 c flour
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• pinch salt
• 1/2 c  fresh blueberries
• glaze (see below)

Lemon sugar- in a small bowl, stir together 6 tbsp sugar and the zest from one lemon. Really mush it around. Let the mixture sit for as long as you can. When you are ready to use it, sift the sugar through a fine mesh strainer. Reserve the now candied zest for use here.

1. Preheat oven to 325F and line two or three baking sheets with parchment.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter, both sugars, and zest until fluffy.
3. Add egg, vanilla and lemon emulsion. Beat again until combined.
4. Mix in flour, baking soda, and salt until combined.
5. Fold in blueberries by hand, OR beat them with the mixer. They’ll burst a little in the oven anyway, and I think the swirls of purple in the lemon cookie are pretty. Just barely mix them, or you’ll wind up with purple cookies.
6. Drop by rounded tablespoons onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake for 12-15 minutes until lightly browned.
7. When cookies are done, let cool for a few minutes on the baking sheet then move to a cooling rack to cool completely.
8. Drizzle with lemon glaze.

Glaze- Whisk together 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice and 6 tbsp confectioners sugar. I use the whisk to scoop up a little of the glaze and fling it over the cookies. If the glaze is too thick, you can thin it with a few drops of water. If it’s too thin, add a little more sugar.

I hope you like!

I’m linking these up to Simply Sweets Saturday at Simply Sweets by Honeybee.

Chocolate Orange Coconut Cookie Bites

Spring has finally arrived. I think.

I think we had a really nice day. Then a really hot one. Then a really cold one.

Anyway. I know Spring has arrived, not only because it is after March 20th, but because I have the desire to organize my entire life and bake with citrus. Actually, the baking with citrus desire is kind of a much stronger desire. But I spend a lot of time THINKING about organizing everything in my life.

I made these (because of the desire to bake with citrus, not because of the desire to organize my life, but I DID clean up afterwards so that was a start, right?)

Chocolate Orange Coconut Cookie Bites

• 1 stick unsalted butter (softened)
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1 egg (room temp)
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 tsp orange extract
• 1/4 c unsweetened dutch process cocoa powder (I use Hershey’s Special Dark)
• 1 1/4 cup flour
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1 cup bittersweet chocolate chips (I use Ghirardelli)
• buttercream (your favorite recipe- I’ll link to the one I use after the instructions)
• 1/4 cup unsweetened coconut (sweetened is OK if that is all you can find, but the cookies will be really sweet)
• 1 tbsp orange sparkling sugar
• 1 tbsp orange zest

1. Preheat oven to 325F, place liners in two dozen mini cupcake cavities.
2. In a stand mixer, beat butter and both sugars until fluffy. Add egg and mix well. Mix in vanilla and orange extract.
3. Sift together cocoa powder, flour, baking soda, and salt directly into mixing bowl and beat slowly until just combined then increase speed until dough is smooth.
4. Using a 1 tbsp cookie scoop, scoop dough into the mini cupcake cavities and bake for 10 minutes.
5. Remove pan from oven, and working quickly and carefully, place a chocolate chip on top of each cookie. Bake for two more minutes. Remove from oven and let cool for five minutes in the pan, then completely on a cooling rack.
6. While cookies are cooling, toast your coconut. (Spread onto a baking sheet and bake at 350F for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Check often and remove before the coconut browns too much.)
7. Mix the coconut with the orange zest and sugar. If you use unsweetened coconut, you might want to add more sugar to taste.
8. When cookie bites are completely cool, top with a swirl of frosting and roll in the coconut mixture.

I like the buttercream recipe from Simply Sweets by Honeybee only in this case I omitted the almond extract.

I’m linking this recipe up to Simply Sweet Saturdays. Now I’m going to go organize something. Or bake something.

Mad Men Inspired Chocolate Bourbon Cherry Cookies

Warning- This post may contain spoilers… but only if you never saw the very first episode of the very first season of Mad Men. If you’ve seen that you’re probably good.

In a way, I’ve always associated Mad Men with baking cookies.

When the first season started, in 2007, I was preparing for Ellie’s first birthday party. It was, more or less, the first time I had made decorated cookies. Then every year after, the first episode of the season fell around the time of her birthday (for the first three seasons, at least). So I spent many late nights watching Don pathologically cheat on Betty while decorating birthday cookies and packing up party favors.

To celebrate the premier of the sixth season on April 7th, naturally I wanted to make cookies. Just not the decorated kind. The cookies I wanted to make reflect Don’s recurring downward spirals  a drink that was popular during the era. An Old Fashioned. Only, instead of bitters, I used chocolate- for obvious reasons.

Ingredients

• 1/8 cup plus 2 TBSP bourbon
• 1/8 cup maraschino cherry juice (or grenadine)
• 1 stick of unsalted butter (room temp)
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1 egg (room temp)
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder (I use Hershey’s Special Dark)
• 1/4 tsp baking power
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 30 maraschino cherries (roughly one per cookie- I can usually get about 2 1/2 dozen out of a batch)

1. In a small sauce pan, bring 1/4 cup of the bourbon and the grenadine to a boil. Reduce to about a Tablespoon. (About 5 minutes or so- keep an eye on it) Let cool.
2. Preheat oven to 325F and line two- three baking sheets with parchment.
3. In the bowl of an electric mixer with a paddle attachment, blend the butter and both sugars.
4. Add the egg and mix well.
5. Mix in the vanilla and the other 2 TBSP of the bourbon.
6. Sift in the cocoa powder, baking powder, salt, and flour. Mix until combined.
7. Mix in the cooled cherry/ bourbon mixture
8. 
9. (Apparently the picture is the 8th step so don’t worry that there is something missing…..) Using a tablespoon sized cookie scoop, scoop the dough onto the prepared cookie sheets.
10. Use the back of a spoon to make a little indentation in the ball of dough, place a cherry in the indentation.
11. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Cool for five minutes or so then remove from pan to cooling rack. These are really good warm from the oven. There isn’t too strong of a bourbon taste. If you let them cool completely, you’ll taste the bourbon a bit more.

You can definitely soak cherries IN bourbon, but I have small children with sneaky cookie stealing hands so, for the time being, I tend to avoid recipes where the alcohol doesn’t bake out.

So, make these and pour yourself a Canadian Club and tune into AMC Sunday night to watch with me. (I’ll be putting my obsessive Netflix Dean Winchester Supernatural viewing on hold for the night.)

I’m linking these up to Simply Sweets Saturday at Simply Sweets by Honeybee.

 

Also, don’t forget to check in at The Cookie Puzzle for a month of posts in honor of Autism Awareness Month. Please take the time to tell Kim what an incredible thing she’s doing!

Passover Matzo Bark (Special Guest Post)

HI,I’m back!It’s Ellie!Here is my next YUMMY recipe!

Ingredients

4 sheets of matzo.

1 stick of salted butter.

1/2 cup sugar.

1 bag of chocolate chips. (kosher for passover.)

1/2 cup chopped almonds.

Directions(**means that a grownup should do this part)

1- Line a baking sheet with foil or parchment paper.

2- Preheat the oven to 350 (**)

3- Line the baking sheet with matzo, do not overlap, break them into pieces if you need to.

4- In a small saucepan, combine the butter and sugar and bring to a boil, pour mixture over the matzo. Place in the oven and bake for 10-15 minutes until the matzo is lightly browned. (**)

5- Remove pan from the oven (**)

6- Being careful not to touch the baking sheet or the hot butter, sprinkle the matzo with the chocolate Let it melt slightly then use an offset spatula to spread the chocolate over the matzo.

7- Sprinkle with the chopped almonds.

8- Let it cool completely in the refrigerator for a few hours.

9- Break into pieces before serving.

So that is my yummy recipe!

ANNNNNNDDDDD- we lost Ellie to Hannah Montana. Lol.

Anyway, make this because the only acceptable way to eat matzo is covered in chocolate.

So if you want to leave a comment, be nice Six and a half year olds are still easily distracted, lol.

(Quick note- I’m not sure exactly where this recipe came from, I copied it onto an index card several years ago. I did modify it a bit from the original.)

Fruit Salad (To Go)

Remember, in science class, learning about saturation? I remember hanging a piece of string in a glass of sugar water, adding more sugar, and watching as, over the course of a few days, the sugar left the sugar/water mixture and clung to the string. What I’m trying to say is that I feel like that sugar/water mixture, and if you hang a string near me, in a few days you’ll have rock candy.

I guess that’s what happens when you have Halloween, followed by Thanksgiving, followed by Christmas/Hanukkah, followed by New Years, followed by Valentines Day, followed by your son’s third birthday! That’s why when Ellie was “star student” the week following her brother’s birthday, I decided to NOT make cookies or cupcakes to send in. (Sorry first graders!)

These treats were a big hit with the class, despite the lack of added sugar. Just a warning, though. You’ll want to prepare them as close to snack time as possible. The shelf life for these is pretty much non existent.

Ingredients:

(Makes about 12 bags)

• 12 strawberries
• 6 easy peel clementines
• 3-4 bananas (depending on size)
• 1 1/2 pears
• about 96 blueberries
• about 72 grapes
• 12 cellophane dipped pretzel bags
• ribbon

1. Cut your fruit- you should get about 4 chunks of banana per fruit (depending on size) and about 9 slices per pear (note- if your child’s class is allergy  sensitive, lay wax or parchment paper on your counter and use a plastic knife. The pears can be difficult to cut, so I cut a few slices with plastic, and packaged them with a different color ribbon so I knew which bags they were in. Then I switched to a regular knife. If you need to make sure all fruit is safely cut, you could always substitute green grapes for the pear.)
2. Place fruit in bag according to the rules of ROY-G-BV: about 6 grapes, 8 blueberries, 1 pear slice, 1 banana chunk, 1/2 clementine, 1 strawberry (halved when needed- there were some mutant huge strawberries in that container!)
3. Tie with a ribbon.
4. Serve immediately.

Just a little note. I tend to try to buy organic where I can. In this case, the grapes and bananas are non organic. I know it tends to be more expensive, and in some cases harder to find. Just do what you can, where you can.

And I am definitely not off sugar for good! I just needed to take a little break from it, you know?

I’m linking this up to Simply Sweet Saturdays at Simply Sweets by Honeybee.

Irish Coffee Caramel Cookie Cups

I’m going to go ahead and bet that the first person to put alcohol in coffee had to be the mother of an almost three year old. It just seems like the perfect example of invention being born of necessity. Of course the idea of taking this alcohol spiked coffee and baking it into something probably came from a mom with a food blog, right?

My friend Melissa, at Simply Sweets by Honeybee, has been hosting these weekly link parties. There are no rules, she just wants anyone to link up anything they have been working on. Actually there is one rule- it must be your own work. Everyone likes to show off a bit and have their work appreciated.

I haven’t exactly been using these weekly link parties to get attention- although it would be nice. I mean I’m home all day trying to keep two kids alive and happy, doing laundry, and cooking nice healthy meals. It’s always nice to hear someone say “great job, Steph!” when I know I’m not going to get it from said kids or the husband who benefits from the clean clothes and healthy meals. Lol. And every week, I get a “Great job, Steph” from Melissa. It’s awesome!!!

Anyway- that’s not why I’ve been doing it. I’ve been trying to stretch my imagination and comfort zone- encouraging myself to try making something other than a decorated cookie or a recipe that came from someone else’s work. I’m making it a goal to take a recipe and make it my own, then to play around with the styling and photographing of whatever baked good comes out of my oven.

This week, I had the idea of Irish Whisky Caramel in my head (probably from Pinterest) and with St. Patricks Day coming up, it was a good time to try this. I can honestly say, I was determined to make this work. It took me two batches of caramel and three rounds of cookie trials to get what I wanted, but I’m glad I persisted because these are GOOD.

Before making these, you’ll need to prepare a batch of Irish Whisky Caramels. I used this recipe only I used 1 tsp vanilla rather than the whole vanilla bean and I skipped the step of sprinkling extra salt on top.  Next brew yourself a cup of strong coffee. I boiled it a bit to reduce it and make it a little stronger. You can definitely use it strait from the cup. Add a splash of Bailey’s Irish Creme to the coffee and stir well. If you have a responsible adult with you who can watch your kids, reserve a tablespoon of the spiked coffee, let that cool completely, and drink the rest. If it’s not a good time for you to drink it, just set the whole thing aside to cool off. You’ll only be using a tablespoon full.

Ingredients

• 1 stick of unsalted butter softened
• 1/3c sugar
• 1/3c brown sugar
• 1 large egg at room temperature
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1tbsp cooled coffee mixture (with or without Baileys)
• 1/4c unsweetened cocoa powder
• pinch of salt
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 1/4c flour
• Irish Whisky Caramels cut into 1/4inch squares

1. Preheat oven to 325* and line 24 mini cupcake cavities with mini cupcake liners.
2. In a stand mixer with a paddle attachment cream butter and both sugars until fluffy.
3. Add egg, vanilla, and coffee mixture. Mix until combined.
4. Mix in cocoa powder until combined, then add the salt, baking powder, and flour. Mix everything until combined.
5. Use a 1tbsp cookie scoop to scoop dough into the cupcake liners. The dough will be sticky.
6. Bake for 10 minutes.
7. Take the pan out of the oven and, working quickly, gently press a caramel square into the top.
8. Bake an additional 2 minutes.
9. Remove from oven and let cool in pan until the cookies are set up (about 10 minutes) then cool completely on a cooling rack.

The longer you let these set up, the more the taste of Baileys and coffee will come out. If you want you can sprinkle a little salt on top or pipe a little whipped cream, or just serve with some Irish Coffee.

Caramel Maple Bacon Cookies

This week, I made about a hundred trillion baby shower cookies. It is definitely the season for babies!

Instead of sharing those today, though, I played around and made something that has been on my mind.

A few months ago I ran to Whole Foods to pick up a few things and they were having a sale on their flavorings and extracts. I bought a few, including maple extract, with no idea what I would use them for. I can’t believe it took me this long to figure out how to use it!

So, these cookies take a little prep work. A few hours before you plan to bake them, you’ll need to make some bacon, using the bacon making method of your choice. Just make it crispy. I bake mine at 400F for 12 minutes or so. Then you’ll need to brown 1.5 sticks of butter. Do this by melting the butter in a sauce pan. Once it’s melted keep stirring it until it turns brown and smells delicious. Then pour it into a bowl and put it back into the refrigerator until it becomes solid again. Third, make some caramel sauce. I used this recipe by Pioneer Woman, you can use any recipe you like or you can use a store-bought jar. Finally, while your bacon is cooling, your butter is hardening, and your caramel is chilling, make yourself a spinach and egg white omelet and squeeze in an hour on the elliptical. Or referee 10 rounds of “I don’t WANT to watch Willy Wonka again, MOM why do we always watch what HE wants to watch???!!!!”

Once your butter is hardened (but still soft, do you know what I mean?) gather the rest of your ingredients.

• 1.5 sticks unsalted butter (browned)
• 6 Tbsp sugar
• 6 Tbsp brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla bean paste
• 1 tsp maple extract
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• a pinch of salt (optional- the bacon will make the cookie salty)
• 1.5 cups flour
• 8 slices of crispy bacon chopped into small pieces
• caramel sauce for drizzling

1. Preheat oven to 325F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper
2. In a stand mixer with paddle attachment, beat together the butter and the two sugars until fluffy
3. add  egg, vanilla, and maple extract. Mix well.
4. Add baking soda, salt, and flour and mix until incorporated.
5. Fold in the bacon
6. Bake for about 18 minutes or until lightly browned
7. Cool for a few minutes on the baking sheet then move to a cooling rack to cool completely.
8. Heat caramel sauce in a small bowl in 15 second increments until it is pourable. Drizzle the sauce over the cookies.

Making the caramel was tricky for me. I’m not sure what happened to the first batch but it was grainy and all wrong. I threw that batch out and made another one. This one worked perfectly, only I think I let it go for too long, as it was a little harder than a sauce. It was a little tough to drizzle, but it was perfect for sandwiching between two cookies.

Either way you make them, you could probably serve them with a cup of coffee and a spinach and egg white omelet and call them breakfast!

I’ll be linking these to Simply Sweet Saturdays at Simply Sweets by Honeybee.

Lemon Sandies

I’m turning into that lady who complains all the time. I don’t mean to do it, and actually, I wouldn’t even be bringing it up if this wasn’t a cry for help!

SO- I need a little sleep  advice. Advice on how to get more sleep. My son has stopped sleeping. I know you’re saying “again?”. We went through a rough patch almost a year ago when he learned how to climb out of his crib. We got him a toddler bed and put a gate on his bedroom door and soon he was sleeping like a baby again. We got the most complicated gate on the market figuring it would take him a few years to figure it out. Wrong- it took him two months short of one year. Now, with his new found freedom, he’s discovered he has the capability to explore the house at all hours of the night.

So- what do I do now? Any advice? I will be forever grateful if you leave me the solution in the comments section! I would be so grateful that I would tell you where you can find the recipe to make these:

 

Who am I kidding? I’m too tired to be coy. Of course I am going to share. You can find the recipe here. It is by my friend Melissa at Simply Sweets by Honeybee.

I made a few substitutions. Out of necessity, mind you, not because I thought they would be better this way. I didn’t have salted butter, so I added 1/4 tsp salt to the cookie. And I didn’t have pistachios on hand, so I pulverized 1/2c almonds and 1/2c white chocolate chips in a food processor and used that mixture instead. These cookies taste like buttery air. They are so light and fresh. I wish I still had some in the house since I tend to crave carbs when I’m really tired.

OK- thanks in advance for your advice. I know since I told you where you could find this recipe, you’ll hold up your end of the bargain I’m really looking forward to getting a full night’s sleep tonight!

Anzac Biscuits

As of this month, the book club I am in has been meeting for six years. That is six…. years. Short of being married and, well, being Ellie’s mother I don’t think I have ever committed to ANYTHING for six whole years!

We meet once a month and rotate hosting. The hostess provides food and drinks and we usually discuss the book for at least 10 minutes or so. Unless no one liked the book. Then we just proceed directly to wine.

This past month we read Wildflower Hill by Kimberly Freeman which takes place in Australia, specifically the island of Tasmania.

Wildflower Hill is about Emma- a Prima Ballerina in London who is forced to retire when she is injured. Emma returns home to Sydney, Australia where she discovers that her grandmother, Beattie, has left her the remains of a sheep farm in Tasmania. The story flips back and forth between Emma (in present time) and Beattie (in the years leading up to WWII). As we read about Beattie’s challenges, we also read how Emma finds a new life for herself.

Anyway, we all really liked this book. One thing we got into the habit of doing over the past six years is serving food, or at least one dish, that represents the book in some way. Of course, I turned to a group of cookiers in a Facebook group I belong to. I knew a couple of members live in Australia and they did not disappoint! They unanimously suggested this cookie and it made my kitchen smell so good that I want to make them every time I have company. (Note- if you’ll be selling your home the smell of these cookies freshly baked may get you an offer….)

I used a recipe from Martha Stewart, but I made one change (out of necessity). This recipe called for desiccated coconut. Well, I couldn’t even find unsweetened coconut and unfortunately I didn’t leave myself the time to shred and dehydrate my own coconut. So I just used the sweetened coconut I had in my pantry and made a minor adjustment to accommodate the extra sweetness.

Anzac Biscuit (adapted slightly from Martha Stewart)

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 2 cups rolled oats (not the instant kind)
• 2 cups minus 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 cup sweetened coconut dehydrated (spread the coconut in a single layer on a baking sheet and bake for about 5-10 minutes at 250- watch carefully at about 5 minutes- don’t let it brown. Here are the instructions I followed)
• 2 sticks unsalted butter
• 2 tablespoons golden syrup (I used Lyle’s Golden Syrup which my husband found at Wegmans in the Great Britain section of their international foods department)
• 3/4 tsp baking soda dissolved in 1/4 cup boiling water

1. In a large bowl combine flour, oats, sugar, and coconut.
2. In a small sauce pan, combine the butter and the syrup and heat until melted.
3. Add the water with the fully dissolved baking soda to the butter mixture and stir until combined. Work carefully because the butter will foam up when the baking soda mixture is added.
4. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix thoroughly.
5. Scoop the mixture onto parchment lined baking sheets with a 1/4 cup cookie scoop about 2 inches apart. Make sure you pack the scoop so the dough sicks together. It will be very crumbly. Flatten the dough slightly.
6. Bake at 350 for about 15 minutes. The cookies will be golden and firm, but still soft and chewy inside. Your kitchen will smell like heaven.
7. Let cool completely.

If you can find unsweetened desiccated coconut, I recommend that you follow Martha’s recipe. From what I read, it’s more difficult to find than sweetened coconut, so I thought I would share the changes I made to work with what I had.

If you’re in a book club, I recommend both the book, and the cookie!

Do you have any book/food pairings you can recommend?

I’ll be linking this recipe to Simply Sweet Saturdays at Simply Sweets by Honeybee.