RASPBERRY MACAROONS

Raspberry Coconut Macaroons
from Smitten Kitchen
I like traditional coconut macaroons, but I find it difficult to keep their sweetness in check (as there is no butter or flour to absorb the sugar). Tart, fresh raspberries unevenly blended with the batter make for a dreamy pairing; pureeing the coconut (a technique I learned from Cooks Illustrated) makes these macaroons feel light and scratch-free and you won’t even believe how good they are drizzled with melted bittersweet chocolate. (I did a couple, but stashed the rest in the freezer until Passover. I’ll do the rest once they’re defrosted.) The result is my favorite coconut macaroon, ever, one that will hopefully put to rest my Macaroon Marathons, at least for another year.
If you’d like to use unsweetened coconut instead — Keep in mind that it’s very hard to guess how much sugar is in sweetened coconut but I might start by doubling the sugar, or possibly going up to 1 1/2 cups (which I’ve seen recommended on almond macaroon recipes that start with freshly ground, and thus, unsweetened, almonds). Theoretically, the 14-ounce bag of sweetened coconut holds 5 1/3 cups of coconut (or so the Baker’s brand bag advertises) but mine clocked in at less than 4 cups and I suspect that fluffing/compressing of the ingredient makes the cup volume vary greatly.

Makes 50ish 1 1/4-inch cookies

14 ounces (400 grams) sweetened, flaked coconut
2/3 cup (130 grams) granulated sugar
3 large egg whites
Heaped 1/4 teaspoon flaked sea salt or level 1/4 teaspoon table salt
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1/2 pint (6 ounces, 170 grams or 1 1/4 cups) fresh raspberries (if washed, patted very dry)
Preheat oven to 325°F. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper.
In a food processor, blend the coconut for a minute. Add sugar, blend another minute. Add egg whites, salt and almond extract and blend for another minute. Add raspberries and pulse machine on and off in short bursts until they are largely, but not fully, broken down. (I counted 13 pulses. I might have been a little obsessive, what with the counting.) Some visible flecks of raspberry here and there are great. When you open the machine, you’ll see some parts of the batter that are still fully white while others are fully pink. Resist stirring them together.
With a tablespoon measure or cookie scoop (I used a #70), scoop batter into 1-inch mounds. You can arrange the cookies fairly close together as they don’t spread, just puff a bit. Scooping a little of the pink batter and a little of the white batter together makes them look extra marble-y and pretty.
Bake cookies for 25 to 30 minutes, until they look a little toasted on top. Let them rest on the tray for 10 minutes after baking (or you can let them fully cool in place, if you’re not in a rush to use the tray again), as they’ll be hard to move right out of the oven. They’ll firm up as they cool, but still remain softer and less dry inside than traditional macaroons. Thank goodness.

Cinnamon Hazelnut Biscotti with Dark Chocolate Chips

Makes 30 cookies - doubles well

 

-3/4 cup butter

-1 cup white sugar

-2 eggs

-1 and 1/2 tsp. vanilla

-2 and 1/2 cups flour

-1 tsp. cinnamon

-3/4 tsp. baking powder

-1/2 tsp. salt

-1 cup chopped hazelnuts

-1/2 - 1 cup dark chocolate chips

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a cookie sheet or line with parchment paper.
2. In a medium bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Sift together the flour, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt; mix into the egg mixture. Stir in the hazelnuts and chocolate ships. Shape dough into two equal logs approximately 12 inches long. Place logs on baking sheet, and flatten out to about 1/2 inch thickness.
3. Bake for about 30 minutes in preheated oven, or until edges are golden and the center is firm. Remove from oven to cool on the pans. When loaves are cool enough to handle, use a serrated knife to slice the loaves diagonally into 1/2 inch thick slices. Return the slices to the baking sheet.
4. Bake for an additional 10 minutes, turning over once. Cool completely, and store in an airtight container at room temperature.

Chocolate Espresso Biscotti

Chocolate Espresso Biscotti
Makes 30-35 cookies
Ingredients:
2 cups flour
1 cup (about 5 oz) chopped semi-sweet chocolate
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
3 tablespoons instant coffee or espresso powder
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons butter, melted (I used salted)
3 eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°
2. Combine the flour, chocolate chunks, cocoa, espresso, salt and baking soda in a bowl. Mix and set aside.
3. With an electric mixer, or by hand, combine the butter, sugar, eggs and vanilla. Next, slowly add in the flour mixture and mix until fully combined. The dough will be very sticky.
4. With well floured hands, form two logs of dough on a parchment covered cookie sheet (I really recommend using parchment here as the dough is very sticky and it also seems to help the bottoms from burning). The logs should be about 12 inches long and 2 inches wide.
5. Bake until firm (about 35 minutes). Take the biscotti out of the oven and let cool on the sheet for 30 minutes.
6. Using a serrated knife, slice each log into 1/2-1inch pieces. Lay each cookie on its side and bake for an additional 10-15 minutes until centers are dry. Remove from the oven and let the biscotti rest, allowing it to cool and harden completely. Quick lesson: “Biscotti” means “twice-baked.”

Vegan Oat Bars with Chocolate Nibs

Ingredients:

• 1 banana (mashed)
• 1/3 cup canola oil
• 1/3 cup honey
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
• 2/3 cup cocoa nibs
• 2/3 cup nuts or coconut or vegan chocolate chips
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 cups rolled oats

-Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and grease an 8 inch pan. Begin by mashing your banana in a small bowl. Add in the canola oil, vanilla and honey and mix all of these ingredients well. -In a larger bowl, mix the dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, salt, nutmeg, cinnamon and oats). -Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix (do not over mix). Add the cocoa nibs and nuts, chips or whatever, and stir a few times -Bake in oven for about 20-25 minutes. Cool before cutting

LEMON GINGER DROP COOKIES

From Martha Stewart Living Cookbook - First made for Half Moon Yoga's Opening Party...
Makes about two dozen cookies
8 Tbs. unsalted butter
3/4 cup plus 2 Tbs. sugar
1 large egg
1 Tbs. grated lemon zest
1-1/3 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 cup finely chopped crystallized ginger

Preheat oven to 350. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper. In bowl of electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes, scraping down sides of bowl.
Add the egg and mix on high until combined. Add the lemon zest; mix to combine.

In another bowl, whisk together the flour, ground ginger, baking soda, salt and crystallized ginger. Add dry ingredients to the butter/sugar mix and combine for about 20 seconds. Using two spoons, drop a Tbs. of batter on prepared baking sheet, about 3" apart. Bake for 7 minutes, then rotate the sheets between the racks and bake until just golden, about 7 more minutes. Slide parchment paper with cookies on it onto a rack to cool for 15 minutes. Store in an airtight container for up to a week.

Becky Teagarden's Salted Chocolate Cookies

Makes 5 dozen cookies

Ingredients
4 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
1/4 cup unsalted butter
12 ounces (2 cups) semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tablespoon instant espresso powder
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
2 1/2 teaspoons flaked salt (such as Maldon or Fleur de Sel)
1 1/2 cups light brown sugar
2 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract Directions: 1. Melt unsweetened chocolate, butter and 1 cup of chocolate chips in a small saucepan over low heat, stirring frequently. Cool.

2. Whisk together flour, cocoa powder, espresso powder, baking powder and salt in a large bowl.

3. In another large bowl, beat sugar, eggs and vanilla with an electric mixer on medium speed until pale and frothy, about two minutes. Whisk in chocolate mixture until blended. Stir in flour mixture at low speed until blended. Stir in remaining chocolate chips. Refrigerate batter, covered, until dough is firm, about two hours.

4. Place a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

5. Roll dough into 1-inch balls and arrange 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake in batches until puffed and set, about 10 minutes per batch. Cool on baking sheet 10 minutes, then transfer to racks to cool completely.

cinnamon almond stars

These star-shaped cinnamon almond cookies from Churer, Switzerland, are crisp, chewy and utterly sublime. A sweet meringue serves as both an element of the cookie dough and a baked-on frosting for the finished cookies. The name means cinnamon stars, and the cookies are traditionally no more than a couple of inches across.

Makes 3 dozen

1 ½ cups whole, natural almonds

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon freshly grated lemon zest

1/4 cup egg white

1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 pinch salt

1 ½ cups powdered sugar, plus powdered sugar for rolling

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees and line two baking sheets with parchment.

2. In a food processor, combine almonds, cinnamon and lemon zest. Pulse the motor on and off until the almonds are roughly ground, then leave the motor on and grind the almonds finely, about 30 seconds.

3. In a medium mixing bowl, whip the egg whites with the lemon juice and salt until they are very foamy. Continue whipping vigorously until the egg whites hold stiff peaks. Gradually whisk in the powdered sugar to make a stiff meringue. Set aside 1/3 cup of the meringue, covered in plastic wrap.

4. Stir the ground almond mixture into the remaining meringue mixture until the mixture comes together to form a stiff dough.

5. On a surface coated in powdered sugar, roll out the dough to 1/4-inch thick. (This is thicker than most cookies, so be careful not to roll it out too thinly.) With a 2-inch, star-shaped cookie cutter dipped in water between each cut, cut the rolled dough into cookies and transfer the cookies to lined baking sheets. Reroll any scraps of dough and cut it in the same manner.

6. Add a few drops of water to the reserved meringue to make it spreadable, and brush it onto the tops of the cut-out cookies.

7. Bake the cookies just until they are firm to the touch but still moist inside, 12 to 14 minutes. (Do not overbake, or the cookies will harden as they cool; they should be tender and chewy.) Cool the cookies completely and keep in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.

LIme and Pecan Shortbread Snowballs

Recipe: Lime and Pecan Shortbread Snowballs
Makes 4 dozen 1 cup butter, at room temperature 1/2 cup powdered sugar 1 tablespoon freshly grated lime zest 1 ¾ cups unbleached white...

We've always been fond of the powdered-sugar-covered shortbread balls known as Mexican Wedding Cakes or Russian Teacakes. And this cookie belongs to that same family of buttery goodness. Here, pungent lime zest and toasted pecans lend the cookies extra character; cornstarch replaces some of the flour to make the cookies extra-tender.

Makes 4 dozen

1 cup butter, at room temperature

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1 tablespoon freshly grated lime zest

1 ¾ cups unbleached white flour

1/4 cup cornstarch

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup lightly toasted pecans, cooled and chopped

1 cup powdered sugar for rolling

1. Preheat oven to 350 and line two baking sheets with baker's parchment.

2. In a medium mixing bowl, stir together butter, powdered sugar and lime zest. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, cornstarch and salt. Add flour mixture and pecans all at once to butter mixture and stir just until mixture comes together to form dough.

3. Divide dough into four parts and shape each into a 3x4-inch rectangle. Cut each rectangle into 12 1-inch cubes. Arrange cubes of dough 1 inch apart on cookie sheets and bake 10 minutes.

4. As soon as cookies come out of the oven, sprinkle with powdered sugar. Allow the cookies to cool completely, then roll in powdered sugar again.

Bainbridge Island Molasses Cookies

Soft and chewy on the inside and slightly crisp on the surface, these dark and spicy cookies evoke the era of cookie jars and grandmothers in the kitchen. We think the smell conjures the spirit of those wonderful gingerbread men we used to make. But we like these better. The large crystals of turbinado sugar, available in the bulk section of some grocery stores or under the brand name "Sugar in the Raw" on the baking aisle, provides these cookies with extra holiday sparkle, but you can roll them in regular granulated sugar if it's all you have on hand.

Makes 2 dozen large cookies

2 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

3 teaspoons ginger

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon allspice

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup canola oil

1 cup sugar, plus additional sugar for rolling

1 medium egg

2 tablespoons water



1/3 cup blackstrap (dark) molasses

Turbinado sugar for rolling

1. Preheat oven to 350 and line baking sheets with baker's parchment. In a mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, allspice and salt; set aside.

2. In a separate bowl, whisk oil and 1 cup sugar, then stir in egg, water and molasses. Add dry ingredients all at once to oil mixture and stir just until mixture is combined. Divide dough into 4 pieces and chill.

3. Roll each piece of chilled dough into 6 balls, and roll the balls in turbinado sugar. Arrange the balls on the baking sheet, allowing plenty of room for the cookies to spread, and bake 8 minutes, or until cookies are crackled and lightly browned.

Christina's Brown Sugar Shortbread

One pound of butter
One pound of flour (about 3 1/2 cups)
1/2 pound of brown sugar, packed (about one cup)
1/3 cup of cornstarch
1 tsp of salt if the butter is unsalted
1 Tablespoon of vanilla.

Combine dry ingredients in a food processor. Add butter at refrigerator temperature, vanilla, and process until a clump forms.

Chill in flat rounds. Roll out chilled circles (not too think) cut into shapes and freeze before baking. Warm the oven to 350 degree, put the frozen shapes on the cookie sheet lined with parchment paper, and bake for 15 minutes.

Greg Atkinson's Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

Makes 4 dozen cookies

4 ounces unsweetened chocolate

1/2 cup canola oil

2 cups granulated sugar

4 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup cocoa nibs

1 cup powdered sugar



1. Melt the chocolate in a stainless-steel bowl set over barely simmering water. Mix in the oil and granulated sugar. Whisk in the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition, then stir in the vanilla extract.

2. In another bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. With a rubber spatula, stir the flour mixture and cocoa nibs into the chocolate mixture just until the ingredients are combined. Cover the dough securely with plastic wrap and refrigerate for several hours or overnight.

3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with baker's parchment. Drop teaspoonfuls of dough into the powdered sugar. Roll the dough in the sugar and shape into balls. Place the cookies at least 2 inches apart on the lined baking sheet and bake 10 to 12 minutes. Do not overbake. Serve warm with cold milk.