Chocolate Coconut Lace Cookies

These cookies looked very tempting when I saw them being made Giada De Laurentiss on her Food Network show. Not only did they appear delicious, but they were easy to prepare, and I had just the right amount of coconut in my pantry!

Be sure to add the butter slowly. I ended up with too much liquid at first. The chocolate really takes these chewy cookies to another level. The ones I made without chocolate were missing something.

The picture does make the cookies look goopy, but they set nicely in the freezer.

Ingredients

3/4 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup sweetened flaked coconut
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1/4 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 (4-ounce) bar bittersweet (62 percent cacao) chocolate, chopped into 1/2-inch pieces

Instructions

Place an oven rack in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line 3 baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone liners. Set aside.
In a large bowl, mix together the sugar, coconut, melted butter, flour, vanilla, and salt.
Using a 1/2-ounce cookie scoop or a tablespoon, scoop 6 balls of dough, 3 to 4 inches apart, on each baking sheet. Lightly flatten the tops of the dough. Cook until golden, 8 to 10 minutes. Allow the cookies to cool on the parchment paper, about 15 minutes.
Place the chocolate in a bowl and place over a pan of barely simmering water. Stir until the chocolate has melted. Using a fork, drizzle the tops of the cookies with the melted chocolate. Freeze the cookies until the chocolate has set, about 5 minutes. Remove the cookies from the freezer and store in an airtight container at room temperature.

Yields 12 cookies.

Robeks

Robeks has great smoothies, but this was the first time I tried their cookies. At $1.95 each, Robeks has four organic, vegan cookie flavors to choose from: chocoalte chip, lemon poppyseed, oatmeal raisin, and peanut butter. The peanut butter's golden brown color was too tempting to pass up. (I had a fruit smoothie, so it evens out, right?!?) I'm going to have a hard time passing up cookies the next time I go to Robeks. The peanut butter cookie was very flavorful, chewy, and filling. I planned to save half of it for an afternoon snack, but all of it ended up as part of my breakfast!

For your closest Robeks, visit www.robeks.com.

Chocolate Nutella Cookies

I have been holding on to a container of Nutella for about six months, telling myself that I will create a recipe using the delicious spread. When Mr. Sleuth sent me this link to Two Peas and Their Pod, I had no more excuses!

This recipe produced a dense, rich, chocolatey cookie with a brownie-like texture. These small cookies packed a punch and were just the right size for nibbling. I will definitely be making these again!

Ingredients

1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup dutch-process cocoa
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 teaspoon hazelnut extract
1/3 cup Nutella
1/3 cup milk

Instructions

Whisk together flour, salt, baking powder, and cocoa, set aside. In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the butter and sugars. Beat on medium speed until smooth and creamy, about two minutes. Add the vanilla and hazelnut extract and beat until extracts disappear. Add the Nutella and mix until batter is smooth.

Add the flour mixture in 2 batches, alternately with the milk in one batch, mixing well. Chill dough for at least 15 minutes before baking. You can make the dough a few days in advance, just wrap it in plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator.

When you are ready to bake the cookies, preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper. Take a tablespoon of cookie dough and roll it into a ball. Place on lined baking sheets and gently press down on the dough ball. Continue making dough balls until the cookie sheets are filled-leave two inches in between cookies.

Bake cookies for 10-11 minutes or until soft, but starting to set. Remove cookies from the oven and let cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack and let cool completely.

Yields 3 dozen cookies.

The Cookie Mill

The moment I saw a picture of The Cookie Mill's ice cream cookie sandwich, I kept thinking about it randomly. At work... during my workout... when going to sleep... Now that I have finally had one (I selected vanilla ice cream between two decadent dark chocolate white chocolate chip cookies), I still keep thinking about it! It was so delicious! It was also only $3.00.

Large cookies are 75 cents each or $5.00 for one dozen. I tried the seven varieties they had available: dark chocolate with white chocolate chips, oatmeal raisin, oatmeal chocolate chip, chocolate chip, sugar, snickerdoodle, and peanut butter. All cookies were chewy, thin, soft, and buttery. The dark chocolate cookie (strong chocolate flavor- yum!) was definitely the best with the oatmeal chocolate chip (chewy with crispy edges) and regular chocolate chip (very buttery with lots of chocolate chips) a close second and third. The snickerdoodle and peanut butter cookies were average, but would satisfy a craving for that particular kind of cookie. The sugar cookie was rather dull and didn't have a lot of flavor in comparison with the others. The oatmeal raisin had too many raisins for me. 

The Cookie Mill is located at 1165 East Alosta Avenue in Azusa. Visit www.cookiemill.com for more information.

Oatmeal Scotchies

I recently saw an episode of Paula Deen's Best Dishes on the Food Network. This looked like a great recipe to use up my bag of butterscotch chips as well as satisfy my hunger for an oatmeal cookie. As you know, butterscotch is sometimes too sweet for me (hard to believe, I know!), but this cookie was just right. The 2 1/2 cups of oats and the pecans balanced the sweetness of the butterscotch. 

Ingredients

1 cup soft butter
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 medium eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 cups rolled oats
1 cup butterscotch chips
3/4 cup chopped pecans

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
Cream butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, eggs and vanilla together. Stir in flour, baking soda and salt. Add remaining ingredients and mix well. 
Scoop rounded tablespoonfuls of dough onto the cookie sheets. Bake for approximately 20 to 25 minutes. Cool on baking sheet completely.


Yields 3 dozen cookies.

Heaven's Cookie

During a recent trip to Whole Foods, they were giving out samples of these delightful treats from Heaven's Cookie. Being sold at Whole Foods, you know these cookies are made with all natural and organic ingredients (only seven). Before biting in, we were told these were made with brown rice puffed cereal (like brown rice Rice Krispies). It's always something, right?

Well, let me tell you, that cereal was magic! It added extra crispiness to an already slightly crispy cookie. Plus it made them seem lighter. On a separate note, the ratio of chocolate chips to cookie was just perfect. It is very easy to eat a whole container (about 16 bite-sized cookies for $6.79). 

As a bonus, Heaven's Cookie donates 10% of their net profits to help shut down puppy mills. To find where Heaven's Cookie products are sold or to buy your own, visit www.heavenscookie.com (or email heavenscookielv@embarqmail.com).

Have you ever made cookies with rice cereal?

Vosges Chocolate Chip Cookie Mix

$18 is a lot for a box of cookie mix that promises 12 large (4 inch diameter) cookies. Since I really enjoy the other Vosges products and wanted a special treat for myself, I kept my fingers crossed and purchased the mix anyway.

For a boxed mix, it was time consuming to prepare. I had to supply two sticks of melted butter, 1 egg, 1 egg yolk, vanilla, and two tablespoons of milk. The dough required 30 minutes to cool in the refrigerator and then another 10 after the cookie dough balls were formed. Because the cookies were so large, and it was recommended only one cookie sheet be in the oven at once, I could only make 4 cookies at a time (13-14 minutes in the oven per batch).

Despite the cost and the time, the result was so good that I would consider buying the mix again for a special occasion. As the box promised, the cookies were crispy on the outside and chewy and gooey in the middle. Day old cookies were still tasty, especially after a quick zap in the microwave.

The sugar included in the mix was demerara sugar, which I have never used in cookies. Additionally, I rarely use melted butter. These cookies were so successful that I will be sure to try this in future recipes. Have you tried either of these?

To purchase your own cookie mix, visit the Vosges website: http://www.vosgeschocolate.com/.

Chocolate White Chocolate Coconut

Chocolate and coconut are a great combination that I have been craving for quite some time. These are super chewy cookies, and the white chocolate chips add extra sweetness.

Ingredients

1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1/4 cup unsalted butter

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 large egg

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup flour

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup semi white chocolate chips

1/4 cup coconut

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 F. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a microwave safe bowl, combine the chocolate chips with the butter. Heat in microwave until almost melted.

In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.

In a large bowl, beat eggs, brown sugar, and vanilla together until the mixture is light and fluffy (about 3 minutes). Slowly add the melted chocolate, and mix until well-combined. Fold in dry ingredients until just combined. Fold in chocolate chips. Refrigerate the dough for 15 minutes.

Drop rounded tablespoons two inches apart on the lined baking sheets. Bake 12-15 minutes. 

Yields 1 dozen cookies.