(Note: Check out the two pages I made yesterday…”About my Ingredients” and “New in my Etsy shop”! You can find them at the top of the page.)
I guess I’ll designate this week to Christmas cookies. And I apologize to the health nuts out there…there won’t be many whole treats going on the next few days – just lots of butter, white flour, and overly processed sugar. Yum!
Almond flavoring sets these babies apart from all the other Christmas cookies on my tray. They are a bit time consuming, what with the gently patting each layer in the pan without messing up the previous layer and waiting for them to freeze but once you pull them from the freezer, they couldn’t be quicker to bake up. Let me tell you something. I was slice, slice, slicing away and Brad walked in the door. He stared at my cutting board, a look of dismay on his face, and stammered, “Zoe Dawn! Is that, is that, BOUGHT cookie dough?!” I gave him a hairy eyeball and told him to go fly a kite. So, if you mix these up a few weeks prior to baking, you’ll feel like you’re whipping up a batch of store-bought cookies. Only, these taste far better.
Chocolate Coconut Neapolitans
another recipe from my mother
1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, softened
2 1/4 cups sugar
1 huge egg (or two small ones)
1 1/2 t vanilla
3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/4 t baking powder
3/4 t salt
1 1/2 t almond extract
6 drops red food coloring
3/4 cup finely chopped flaked coconut
2 T chocolate syrup
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
2 t shortening
Cream the butter and sugar until fluff. Beat in the egg and vanilla. Mix the flour, baking powder, and salt together and then stir these into the creamed mixture. Divide the dough into 3 bowls. In one bowl, mix in the almond extract and red coloring. In the second, stir in the coconut; the third, the chocolate syrup. Now find yourself two 8×4 inch loaf pans and line them with waxed paper. Take the red dough and divide it between the two pans. Spread it in a thin, very even layer. Top it with the white dough and then the brown. Keep the layers as even as possible. Your resulting cookies will look that much prettier. Cover with plastic and freeze for 4 hours, or up to a few weeks.
When ready to bake, remove the dough from the pans. Slice the “loaves” in half lengthwise. Then cut them into 1/4 inch slices crosswise. Lay them on parchment lined cookie sheets and bake at 350 for 11 to 12 minutes or until just slightly browned. Remove from cookie sheets and cool on wire rack.
Meanwhile, melt the chocolate chips and shortening in a double boiler or in the microwave. Dip the ends of the cookies in (about 1/2 inch), shake/scrape off any excess, and set them on the COOLED parchment lined cookie sheets (if the sheets are still warm, put them in the freezer for a few minutes). Let the cookies set until the chocolate is hard and then store in a container between layers of waxed paper. These freeze well.
Yield: I do apologize, but I forgot to count before Brad got is fingers on them. I do know it’s a lot…maybe 8 dozen?
HORRORS!! All white flour and food coloring to go with! I can’t believe what you’re coming to! (Okay, okay. I just mixed up angel whispers today but at least there’s no food coloring. 🙂
I’m just joking though. These look fabulous too. It’s good I don’t live down the road from you or you might have a daily visitor to see what’s baking. Love your blog.
-Amber
It is horrifying, isn’t it?! I thought about trying to add some crushed up strawberries or something but figured that would make the dough too runny. But they are so good as is!
I would love if you lived down the road from me. Since you don’t and Brad’s parents do, they are often the lucky recipients. In fact, I’m baking cookies with his mom tomorrow. I’ll feature that recipe on Wednesday. It’s a simple one. No food coloring 🙂
Why not grind up some of those strawberries that you dried this past summer and add them for some fiber and vitamins.
Mom
Now there is an idea!