Hula Cookies

My first cookie stop in Maui was at Hula Cookies in Lahaina. With so many flavors to choose from (pineapple ginger, double chocolate, coconut chocolate, honey papaya, and more) plus shaved ice (so much better than a snow cone!), I didn't know what to do! Then I spied with my little eye one of my favorite things to see at a bakery- the day old basket! For just $2 I could try three day-old cookies. The day-old cookies are pre-packaged, so I selected a bag with two Kona coffee chocolate chip cookies and one chocolate chip macadamia nut cookie.

The Kona coffee cookie had a strong coffee flavor, and I could actually see coffee granules in the cookie. The chocolate chips were ample and a great addition.  I was excited that I could actually taste the macadamia nuts in the buttery chocolate chip macadamia nut cookie. The flavors are definitely as advertised and cookies slightly chewy. Overall I would go back and stock up on cookies next time I am there, but I will not be ordering a shipment of cookies to the Mainland.

Fresh cookies are $1.65 each. For cookie flavors plus more products (cookie mixes!) and shipping information, visit www.hulacookies.com.

Peanut Butter Cup Cookies

I saw this recipe not too long ago on From Donuts to Delirium and knew I had to make it. Instead of 1/2 cup of butter, I used 1/4 cup of peanut butter and 1/4 cup of butter. This was a great cookie because the peanut butter flavor was not too strong, and the chocolate in the peanut butter cups added a little extra sweetness. 

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 

1 teaspoon baking soda 

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt 

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 12-ounce package small peanut butter cups coarsely chopped

Instructions

Heat oven to 375° F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt.
Using an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugars until creamy. Add the egg and vanilla and beat to combine. Gradually add the flour mixture, mixing until just incorporated. Fold in the peanut butter cups.
Drop tablespoon-size mounds of dough 2 inches apart onto the prepared baking sheets. Bake until light brown around the edges, 12 to 15 minutes. Transfer to a baking rack to cool.

Yields 36 cookies.

Kauai Kookie Kompany

Next on our stop was the Kauai Kookie Kompany factory store. Claire from Kauai Kookie Kompany must have been separated at birth! "I can't help myself. I have an uncontrollable urge to give people cookies!" she told me. She let us sample nearly every kind of shortbread cookie they make: original macadamia nut, Kona coffee, chocolate chip, guava, pineapple, mango, passion fruit, peanut butter, and chocolate espresso. They also make non-shortbread cookies: white chocolate macadamia nut, coconut krispies, chocolate chip, and rocky road. 

The shortbread cookies were excellent- crispy with a great buttery flavor. The fruit flavors are very strong, and the passion fruit tasted artificial. My favorite of all were the coconut krispies. They had the great shortbread flavor and crispiness plus crisp rice mixed in- almost like Heaven's Cookies. Their regular chocolate chip cookies were very good, too, with plenty of chocolate and also very crispy.

Boxes are sold at Walmart and Costco. Cookies in bags are only at the factory store: $1.99- 5 ounce box; $2.49- 6 ounces bag; $3.29- 5 cookies. For more information and how to order, visit their website www.kauaikookie.com.

Lappert's Hawaii

Cookie Sleuth goes to Hawaii! The first stop on our five year anniversary trip was the island of Kauai. We stumbled upon Lappert's Hawaii after dinner one evening just when we were craving a sweet treat. This ice cream and coffee shop also has some delicious cookies! 

I sampled the chocolate chip and macadamia chocolate chip cookies. These are the kind of cookies you crave! Soft, thick and full of chocolate chips and nuts, they melt in your mouth. What do we need to do get these on the Mainland?

Cookies are $1.65 each. For more information visit their website http://www.lappertshawaii.com. Have you had Lappert's Hawaii cookies before?

Hard Boiled Egg Chocolate Chip Cookies

With summer here, I've been on a tuna salad kick. I like lots of hard boilded eggs in my tuna salad, so why not in cookies! This recipe is courtesy of Cookie Madness. The original recipe is below. I made a few changes- just eyeballed the extra 2 tablespoons of flour and sugar. I also used two hard boiled egg whites instead of one whole egg. The cookies turned out great! I will be making these again for sure after Easter when I have lots of leftover eggs.

Ingredients
1 1/3 cups plus 2 tablespoon (180 grams) all purpose flour
4 ounces (114 grams) cold unsalted butter – unsalted European style works well
1/2 (.5 ml) teaspoon salt
1/4 (1 ml) teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons (70 gram) granulated sugar
1/4 cup (56 grams) brown sugar
1 hard boiled egg, shell removed
1/4 teaspoon (1 ml) vanilla extract
Handful of chocolate chips

Instructions
Combine flour and butter in food processor. Pulse until mixture is mealy and coarse. Add the salt and baking soda and pulse to mix. Add both sugars and hard boiled egg. Pulse again until mixture is mealy looking. Add in the vanilla and pulse until mixture just begins to come together.
Dump mixture into a bowl, add chocolate chips and shape into two balls. You will see egg whites in dough – they’ll disappear as the cookies bake.
Bake on a parchment lined cookie sheet at 350 degrees F. for 20 minutes or until cookies appear lightly browned around edges. Let cool on cookie sheet for 5 minutes then transfer to rack to finish cooling.
Yields 10 cookies.

Cake Mamas

Attracted by the unbelievably beautiful cakes, I headed into Cake Mamas in Glendora to look around. 

While custom cakes, cupcakes, and decorated iced sugar cookies are their specialty, they do also make two kinds of cookies to sell in their bakery- chocolate chip and oatmeal raisin. Each cookie was just one dollar, so I would have been silly not to try both (in addition to a tasty chocolate banana cupcake!).

Both cookies were tasty, but I would not make a special trip for the cookies only. I will definitely add some to my order next time I'm at Cake Mamas, though. The chocolate chip cookie was buttery and soft with plenty of chocolate chips. The oatmeal raisin cookie was chewy with plenty of cinnamon. Just the right amount of raisins were mixed in.


To see some beautiful pictures of cakes and find out how to get your hands on these treats, visit their website at www.thecakemamas.com. 

Hershey's Drops Cookies

When I saw a coupon in the Sunday newspaper for Hershey's Drops, I knew I had to incorporate the cookies 'n' cream variety into a cookie. Then I saw mini Oreos on sale. It was a sign! These had a great cookies and cream flavor. I agree with Mr. Sleuth, though, that I chopped up the Hersheys drops a little bit too much. Next time I will just chop them in half so their flavor doesn't get lost.

Ingredients

1 1/4 cups of flour
3/8 teaspoon baking soda
1/2  teaspoon salt
3/8 cup Brown sugar
3/8 cup Granulated sugar
3/4 sticks butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg
1/3 cup chopped Oreos

1/4 cup chopped Hershey Drops- cookies and cream flavor

Instructions

In a small bowl whisk cups of flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
Beat butter and sugars until fluffy. Add in vanilla and eggs.
Gradually add in the flour mixture. Stir in Oreos and Hershey Drops. Refrigerate dough for 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 350 and prepare baking sheets.
Roll dough into balls and place onto cookie sheets. Bake 12 minutes until light golden brown.

Yields 18 cookies.

Pacific Whey Cafe

Over Memorial Day weekend, I finally had a chance to try these delicious cookies! Every other time I have gone to Pacific Whey Cafe, it was later in the day, and very few (if any) cookies were left. That must mean they're good, right?!?! I decided to take advantage of the full case and tried six varieties.

Chocolate Chip Walnut- Classic and buttery, this cookie was filled with mini chocolate chips and similarly sized walnut pieces. Sometimes bakeries get too fancy, so I really appreciate them keeping it simple with this cookie.

Oatmeal Walnut Chocolate Chip- This was my favorite of all! What could be better than a thick, dense cookie filled with crunchy walnuts, chewy oats, and gooey chocolate chips!

Oatmeal Cherry Toffee- I really enjoy toffee in cookies. Unfortunately this one didn't have much toffee flavor besides what was in the big toffee blob on one edge of the cookie. The rest of the cookie had a very nice flavor and chewy texture with raisin-sized cherry pieces that weren't too tart.

Snickerdoodle- The snickerdoodle was another classic interpretation- very soft with lots of cinnamon sugar.

Peanut Butter- Pacific Whey really knows how to do a peanut butter cookie well- no peanuts or peanut butter chips mixed in, just a soft (not gritty) texture and a peanut butter flavor that's not too overwhelming. When I have a peanut butter cookie, I want it to taste like a cookie, not a spoonful of peanut butter, and that's just what this cookie is.

Chocolate Brownie Walnut- This rich dark chocolate, brownie-like cookie was a close second to the oatmeal walnut chocolate cookie.

Cookies are $1.95 each and drop to half price after 6:00 p.m. Pacific Whey Cafe has two locations in Newport Beach and a cafe in South Coast Plaza. For more information, visit www.pacificwheycafe.com.