Coconut/chocolate cookies

Sat, 4 Oct 2008 18:55:03 +0000

How time flies! It looks like the last time I posted something in this series was around January 1999...

Well, in the last year or so I have been toying with cookie recipes. Not that I especially go for cookies myself, but they do keep the bartenders happy at Rockwood and Banjo Jim's, and happy bartenders are a Good Thing.

And so, on with the cookies.

Mix 1 cup of heavy cream and 1 cup of sugar until dissolved (it helps to warm it up.) Add 1 cup of instant rolled oats ("1 minute" preferably), mix well, and let sit overnight in the fridge.

Add 1 cup of fine dried coconut, mix well, and let sit an hour. On a cookie sheet lined with non-stick aluminum foil, shape rounds using metal or plastic molds (cookie cutters or the like) to a diameter of 1.5 to 2.5 inches. Use 1 tablespoon of dough for 2.5", or adjust proportionally (remember, area goes as the square of diameter!)

(This amount will make about 40 2.5" cookies, but the dough needs not be used all at once, it can keep several days in the fridge.)

Flatten the cookies by stabbing gently vertically with a teaspoon, sprinkle generously with coarse shredded coconut, flatten well with fingertips (the coconut will prevent sticking) and remove the molds. I use two cookie cutters that I reuse without wiping; the small amount of dough that sticks to the rims is not a problem.

Place in a 250F oven and turn the temperature down to about 210F. Let bake until the coconut turns pale brown. This may take an hour or two, but is much more reliable than baking at a higher temperature, which leads almost unavoidably to burning on the bottom. Remove from the oven and let cool. The cookies should be dry and crisp. If not, return to the oven. (once you've done the recipe a few times, you will be able to gauge how long it will take at a given setting for your oven.)

Meanwhile, melt about 4oz dark chocolate (60-70% cocoa; I use Valrhona Caraque or Guanaja but this may be overkill; the coconut overpowers the finer points of the chocolate.)

Collect all the excess toasted coconut fallen from the cookies, and add it to the chocolate. Mix well, let it cool until close to setting, and place a heaping teaspoon (or less for smaller diameters) of chocolate between cookies, coconut-covered tops facing outward; squeeze gently until the chocolate almost reaches the edges, and leave in a cool place to set.

Keep in a tight box at room temperature for a few days, or in the fridge for a couple of weeks.

The bartenders are happy.