Cook Daily

Toasted Coconut Washboards

I am a sucker for any baked good with coconut. These come from the  Big Fat Cookie book, and were delicious--from their crisp cookie bottoms to their white chocolate and toasted coconut hats. Their creation meant I never did get around to making the dinner I had planned for that night. But a washboard cookie dinner wasn't bad, after all.

Toasted Coconut Washboards

2 cups sweetened, shredded coconut
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter at room temp.
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract
2 ounces white chocolate, chopped

1. Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat oven to 300 F.

2. Spread the coconut on a baking sheet. Bake for about 10 minutes, stirring once, until the coconut becomes evenly golden. Set aside to cool. Increase the oven temp. to 350 F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper

3. Sift the flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon into a medium bowl and set aside

4. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the butter and brown sugar until smooth and fluffy, about 1 minute. Stop the mixer and scrape the sides of the bowl as needed during mixing. Add the egg, vanilla, and almond extract and mix until just blended, about 1 minute. On low speed, add the flour mixture, mixing until just incorporated. Use a large spoon to stir in 1 1/2 cups of the toasted coconut.

5. Divide the dough into 2 portions and pat each into a flat rectangle. Cut 2 large sheets of wax paper, and roll one portion of the dough between the wax paper into a 7 1/2- by -12 inch rectangle that is about 1/4 inch thick. Remove top piece of wax paper and discard it. Trim the edges of the dough slightly to even them. Cut the dough into 9 rectangles that measure about 4 x 2 1/2 inches. Lift the cookies, on the wax paper, and place cookie side down on a prepared baking sheet. Lift off the wax paper and use a metal spatula to separate and spread out the cookies so that they are about 2 inches apart. Holding a fork so the underside is facing down, draw the tines of the fork down the length of each cookie to cover it with parallel lines. Repeat with the second rectangle of dough.

6. Bake one sheet at a time until the edges and bottoms of the cookies are lightly browned, about 15 minutes. The centers should remain light in color. Cook the cookies for 5 minutes on the baking sheets, then transfer to a wire rack to cook completely.

7. Put the white chocolate in a heatproof container or top of a double boiler, and place it over, but not touching, a saucepan of barely simmering water (or the bottom of the double boiler). Stir until melted and smooth. Remove from the water and let the white chocolate cool and thicken slightly, about 10 minutes.

8. Use a pastry brush to paint a 1-inch border of melted chocolate across one narrow end of each cookie. Sprinkle the remaining toasted coconut on the white chocolate. Let sit at room temperature until the white chocolate is firm, about 1 hour.  Or to speed it up, refrigerate the cookies uncovered for about 15 minutes, then remove them from the refrigerator.

The cookies can be individually wrapped in plastic wrap and stored at room temperature for up to 3 days.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Sandwiches

Baked goods are starting to feature more prominently on this blog. Blame the KitchenAid. I have no idea how long it will last. I'm just glad I've had some willing recipients at my workplace and David's. This recipe was the choice of my 12 year old niece who came for a visit last weekend. The girl is a fiend for chocolate. Always has been. Oddly it was a word she took some time to master. I recall trips to Ben & Jerry's on Haight St. when she was just a little thing.

"What flavor would you like?"

"Brown" (said with utmost solemnity)

"Chocolate?"

"No. Brown"

Fast forward to now and she will still pick the chocolate something above anything else. This recipe is from another library loaner. I had put it on the shelf with my other cookbooks and wondered if she'd notice it while she and her mom pottered about in our apartment while I was at work. Sure enough, when I got home later that day her first words to me were "I saw the BOOK!" "The big fat cookie book?" I said. "Yes, and we are SO making those chocolate chip cookie sandwiches on the cover!"

So we did.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Sandwiches

Cookies:
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 cups packed light brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 stick cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup sour cream
2 tablespoons whole milk
1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Filling:
1/2 cup heavy (whipping) cream
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 1/3 cups semisweet chocolate chips

1. Position a rack in the middle of the oven. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and butter the paper.

2.  In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on low speed, mix the flour, brown sugar and baking soda to blend. Add the butter and continue mixing until the butter pieces are the size of peas, about 2 minutes; you will still see some loose flour. Stop the mixer and scrape the sides of the bowl as needed during mixing. Mix in the egg and vanilla. The batter will still look dry. Mix in the sour cream and milk until the batter looks evenly moistened. You may still see lumps of butter. Mix in the chocolate chips.

3. Drop heaping tablespoons of dough at least 2 1/2 inches apart onto the prepared baking sheets. Bake one sheet at a time, until the tops feel soft but firm, the edges are lightly browned and crisp, and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 17 minutes.

4. Cook the cookies on the baking sheets for 10 minutes, then use a wide metal spatula to transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.

5. In a medium saucepan, beat the cream and butter over low heat until the cream is hot and the butter melts. The hot cream mixture should form tiny bubbles and measure about 175 degrees F. on a thermometer. Do not let the mixture boil. Remove the pan from the heat, add the chocolate chips, and let them site in the mixture for about 30 seconds to soften. Whisk the filling until it is smooth and all of the chocolate is melted.

6. Pour the filling into a medium bowl and let it sit at room temperature until thick enough to cling to the cookies, about 45 minutes. Or refrigerate it until it thickens slightly, about 20 minutes.

7. Turn half of the cookies bottom side up. Leaving an 1/8 inch plain edge, spread the filling over the bottoms of the cookies. If the filling is not thick and firm, let the cookies sit until it firms up before adding the top cookie. Gently place the remaining cookies bottom side down on top of the chocolate filling.

Cookies can be stored individually wrapped in plastic wrap and stored in a tightly sealed tin at room temperature, or in the fridge for up to 3 days.

Cook's Notes

1. These were perfect. Ours didn't look quite as good as the ones in the picture, but they tasted wonderful. The sour cream gave the cookies a cake-like texture and thank god for the employees at a post-production facility in Hollywood, otherwise all that texture would be sitting on my ass.

2. Can I just say how much I love a recipe that offers the reassurance this one did? "You will still see loose flour" and "The dough will look dry" or "You may see lumps of butter". These are just the details I would fuss over, worrying that I had somehow screwed it up. I might have to buy this book. Thank you Elinor Klivins.

Snickerdoodles

These are one of my favorite cookies. I think the last time I made them was almost 10 years ago, in a pit of an apartment, and an oven so unpredictable that I barely used it to bake a potato, let alone cookies. With all that working against me, those Snickerdoodles were still excellent. So today, with a much better stove and my new best friend in chrome, the KitchenAid, I gave them another try. I think I like how they turned out.

I don't remember what recipe I used all those years ago. At the time, I worked for the company that published Better Homes & Gardens; it was most likely something from one of their holiday cookie editions. I think I had just one or two cookbooks back then.

Today I turned to the Joy of Cooking. Their recipe was least complicated.  But I've never liked the way they mix the ingredients and the method. I'm not going to try and recreate it differently here.

Snickerdoodles

1. Position a rack in the upper third of the oven. Preheat to 350F. Grease cookie sheets.

2. Sift together:
    2 cups all purpose flour
    2 teaspoons cream of tartar
    1 teaspoon baking soda
    1/4 teaspoon salt

3. Beat on medium speed until very fluffy and well blended:
    2 sticks unsalted butter, softened

4. Add and beat until well combined:
    2 large eggs

5. Stir the flour mixture into the butter mixture until blended and smooth. Pull off the pieces of dough and roll between your palms to form generous 1/4 inch balls.

6. Roll in a mixture of:
    1/4 cup sugar
    4 teaspoons ground cinnamon

7. Space about 2 inches apart on the sheets. Bake, 1 sheet at a time, until the cookies are light golden at the edges, 8-11 minutes; rotate the sheet halfway through baking for even browning. Remove the sheet to a rack and let stand until the cookies firm slightly. Transfer to racks to cool. Let the cookie sheets cool between batches or the cookies may spread too much.

Apricot Cherry Coconut Bars

I love apricots. I love cherries. And I love coconut. These were just the thing to grease up my new toy. They seemed a bit ambitious, given my 9pm start time, and the fact that I would be making my own jam to get to the end point that you see over there on the left.  But I just couldn't wait to hear the whir of that paddle. The recipe comes from a book I borrowed from the library, Baking from the Heart. I plan to make many of the things I found inside. The KitchenAid has transformed my formerly lackluster approach to the  "creaming" process.

Apricot Cherry Coconut Bars

(Makes one 9 x 13 inch pan or 15 large bars)

Filling
1/2 pound dried apricots
1/2 dried unsweetened dried cherries
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar

Crust
1 3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 cup chopped pecans
1 cup sweetened shredded coconut

Sweetened whipped cream, optional, for serving

1.  Combine apricots, cherries and 2 cups of water in a heavy 2- to 3-quart saucepan. Cook over medium-high heat until the mixture comes to a boil and then reduce the heat to low. Cover the pan and cook slowly, stirring occasionally, until the fruit is very tender, 40-45 minutes. Strain over a bowl and reserve 1/4 cup juice.

2. Return fruit to the pan. With a potato masher, smash it until it is almost smooth. Stir in the reserved juice and 1 cup plus the 2 tablespoons sugar. Bring the puree to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally. Then cook, stirring constantly, for 5 minutes. Transfer to a plate and cool to room temperature.

3. To make the crust, preheat the oven to 400F. Grease a 9 x 13 baking pan with butter or vegetable shortening.

4. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, salt and nutmeg and whisk to combine.

5. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (yes!), beat the butter on medium speed for 1 minute, or until smooth. Add the sugar and beat on medium speed for 3-4 minutes, or until smooth and fluffy. Reduce speed to low, add the dry ingredients, and mix  just to incorporate.

6. Remove the bowl from the mixer and stir in the pecans and coconut to make a crumbly mixture. Press half onto the bottom of the prepared pan. Bake for 10 minutes, or until the crust is lightly browned. Remove from the oven, and spread the cooled fruit filling over the hot crust. Sprinkle the remaining crumb mixture over the fruit and gently pat the crumbs in place. (Do not pack it down.)

7. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the top is golden brown. Transfer the pan to a rack and cool completely before cutting into bars.

Cook's Notes

I didn't bake these for quite as long as 20 minutes when I put them back in the oven. It was more like 15. My tops were browning, and I didn't want the underside to burn.