crunchy oats, coconut and cornmeal cookies

Last week, a friend handed me an undistinguished cookie - it's the sort of cookie one would have made on a commune in the old days: very healthy and hard to chew. After a few bites it grew on me, a hint of coconut, oats and a nugget of chocolate that seemed to be out of place with the coconut. Finally last night I had a chance to fiddle with recipes and bake up a few batches.

Normally, I like a fat, soft cookie, but this one will grow on you, I promise! I tried it with raisins (so-so) and plain, and clearly the plain was best. I made both large and small cookies, and both were good, though the small ones were a little crunchier. They're sturdy and a delightful snack cookie, perhaps alongside bananas and cream or sliced strawberries.

This recipe made 9 large cookies or 25 small cookies.

Preheat oven to 350F.

Fit two baking sheets with foil.

Toast 1/2 cup flaked coconut in a toaster oven until just slightly brown.
Cool and set aside

1 stick softened unsalted butter ( 8 T.)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 extra large egg
1/2 t. vanilla
1 cup King Arthur all purpose flour
1/4 cup cornmeal
1 cup rolled oats
The 1/2 cup toasted coconut
1/2 t. baking soda
1/2 t. baking powder

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Cream the butter and sugars well. Add the egg and vanilla and mix briefly.

In a separate bowl, mix the dry ingredients ( along with the coconut) together, then mix into the butter/sugar mixture slowly.

Using a small or large ice cream scoop, scoop cookie batter onto baking sheets.

Bake the cookies one sheet at a time, baking the large cookies for 26 minutes or until golden , and the smaller ones for 15 minutes, or until golden. Remove cookies to a cooling rack, and bake the next batch . They will firm even more as they cool.

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Out to the garden ( with a cookie) to admire all my new herb plants - I hope your day is fabulous!

homemade macaroons - Revised!

Dear friends - tonight I made a batch of these and they were not the cookies I made before. They stuck to the baking sheet, and were not half as pretty, thanks to the nudging of the spatula! I'm so sorry if you had the same problem. - baking is such an inexact science! Taking a tip from my friend Winnie, who mentioned she never, ever, made these without greasing with Crisco and dusting with flour, my next batch came out just fine. I also reduced the sugar a little. Humble apologies! here is the revised version:

1 package coconut ( about 2 cups) flakes, sweetened

1/2 cup extra coconut flakes

2 large egg whites

3 T. hot water

1/2 cup sugar

pinch of kosher salt

1 T. light corn syrup

1 t. vanilla

Prehat oven to 400F.

Grease two baking sheets with Crisco , then dust with flour.

Place egg whites in mixer bowl and beat until they form soft peaks. Add the coconut flakes to the egg whites and stir briefly.

In a saucepan, stir together the hot water, sugar, salt, and corn syrup, washing down the sides of the pan with a wet pastry brush. Bring to a boil, then remove and add to the egg whites and coconut. Stir briefly, then add the vanilla. Stir in the 1/2 cup extra coconut flakes.

Using a small (1 1/2 inch) ice cream scoop, scoop little balls of the mixture onto the baking sheets.

One sheet at a time, bake the cookies for 12 minutes, then remove to cool. When cool, use a spatula to remove cookies to cooling rack. Enjoy !

Who knew it was so easy to make macaroons? In a half an hour you can mix up a batch , stick them in the oven for 12 minutes, and sit down to the chewy sweetness of these tiny coconut cookies. No butter, no flour, no milk. I think this makes them gluten-free, too - so now I know what to make little Izzie for a snack.

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In spite of yesterdays crazy snow squall, the front garden beside the house is finally bare and look! My daffodils are up!

I got this wonderful recipe from Peggy Cullen's "got milk? the cookie book" and it's definitely a winner.

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creamy coconut-almond dip for fresh fruits

Does anything spell summer more than a platter or bowl of fresh strawberries and watermelon? But then you think, hummm, how to dress this up beyond the usual shower of mint or basil? I came up with a fast, easy-peezy sour cream sauce, and a dairy-free coconut-almond sauce that fancies up that quick, refreshing bowl or glass of fresh fruit. I think you're going to love it - I sure did!

Sour Cream Sauce:

1 cup sour cream, fat free or not

1/2 cup confectioners sugar

1/8-1/4 t. almond extract

Mix together well and drizzle over glasses of fresh fruits and berries. Garnish with edible flowers , mint, lemon balm, or rosemary.

Cream of Coconut Sauce with almond:

1/2 cup cream of coconut ( the sweetened,very thick kind)

5 T. coconut milk ( unsweetened, somewhat thick from a can)

1 T. fresh lemon juice

a few drops almond extract

This sauce doesn't need any extra sugar. Just mix well, and drizzle over fruits and berries.

Garnish with herb leaves or edible flowers.

Hope you enjoy - and it's great to be back after 8 days without my computer!

toasted coconut pound cake ( with a peach sauce)

I make a moist and somewhat sticky toasted coconut poundcake that's a perfect background to the bounty of summer fruits and berries , but also just as delightful on its own for a summer picnic or an evening cookout. I've found that if you lightly toast the slices, they are even more wonderful, especially with a fresh fruit sauce. Here, I've sliced some fresh peaches, squeezed a little fresh lemon juice in with them, and briefly cooked. I finished with a hefty drizzle of wildflower honey. But, as I said before, with a glass of lemonade or milk, just plain, it's really, really good. I often make this for birthday parties, and just plop a little bouquet of flowers in a tiny glass vase and drop it in the hole in the middle. Pretty, and easy.

I make this in a Bundt pan , but if you decide to make it otherwise, let me know how it came out - I've been wondering what other shapes might work.

To make:

Grease a medium sized Bundt pan.

Preheat oven to 325F.

You will need:

1 1/4 sticks softened, unsalted butter

1 1/4 cups sugar, plus 1/4 cup sugar for the egg whites

zest of one lemon

1-2 T. fresh lemon juice

3 large eggs, separated

1 1/2 cups King Arthur unbleached flour

1/2 cup warm milk

1 1/2 cups sweetened coconut, toasted briefly in a toaster oven

3/4 t. vanilla

pinch of salt

For the sauce:

3 fresh peaches, peeled and sliced

squeeze of lemon juice

pinch of salt

1 t. red currant jelly

about a tablespoon honey

3 T. salted, toasted and chopped almonds ( optional)

In a mixer bowl, whip egg whites until stiff, gradually adding the 1/4 cup of sugar. Scoop into a bowl and set aside ( you'll fold them into the batter at the very end - so don't forget them!)

Toast coconut in toaster oven until barely golden. Set aside.

In the same mixing bowl you used for the egg whites ( no need to wash), cream the butter and add 1 1/4 cups sugar gradually. Add the egg yolks, one at a time, and beat until somewhat fluffy.

Alternating, add flour and warm milk, then the vanilla, lemon zest, lemon juice, coconut, and salt, and mix briefly. Fold in the gg whites.

Scrape batter into the Bundt pan, distributing it evenly, and smoothing the top with a spatula. Place in oven and bake for one hour.

When done, remove pan to cooling rack for a half hour. Using a sharp knife, loosen all around the edges, including the inner tube part. Wait another 15 minutes, then turn upside down on another rack and whack with a heavy rolling pin all around the Bundt pan. It should fall out. If it doesn't, just do it again.

Make the peach sauce and drizzle on, or serve simply on its own. To serve with a bouquet, go out to the garden and gather a small tussie-mussie ( a small bouquet of flowers and herbs) . Fill a small glass vase with water, making sure it fits in the center hole of the cake. Drop the bouquet in, and serve.

To serve toasted, simply place slices briefly in a toaster oven, toast, and serve.

Happy summer picnic!

the coconut-orange cake....with flowers

Seeing this cake again on FoodieView's recipe roundup for Valentine's Day treats was a huge surprise - and I thank Susan Thomas of Farmgirl Fare for making note of it. Since this was the sort of cake my stepmother loved to make, and it's her birthday, I thought I'd show it to you. We think of the people in our lives, every once in a while, who encouraged that little sparkle of interest in food and cooking - well, she was one of them in my life. She was a marvelous, self-taught cook, but I think she loved parties more than cooking. To get to the party, you had to prepare the feast. So she learned one recipe that involved a cake mix from a box, with an addition of Jello instant pudding - and made this cake happily over and over. She made delightful bouquets from my father's garden, and placed a lovely bunch right in the middle of the Bundt cake.

I use an adapted pound cake recipe using orange extract and toasted coconut - but I still make those little bouquets to place in the middle.

To make:

1 1/4 sticks unsalted butter, softened

1 1/4 cups sugar, plus 1/4 cup for the egg whites

3 large eggs, separated

1 1/2 cups King Arthur flour

1/2 cup warm milk

zest of an orange, grated

1 1/2 cups toasted coconut, sweetened

1/2 t. vanilla

1/2 t. orange extract

pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 325'.

Grease a small Bundt cake pan, and set aside. Whip egg whites til stiff, gradually adding the 1/4 cup of sugar. Scoop into a bowl and set aside ( you'll fold them into the batter at the very end - so DON'T FORGET THEM!)

Toast coconut in toaster oven til just barely toasted.

In the same mixing bowl, cream the butter and add the 1 1/4 cups of sugar gradually. Add the egg yolks, one at a time, and beat til fluffy.

Alternately add the flour and warm milk, then the orange and vanilla extracts, orange zest, coconut, and salt, and mix briefly. Fold into the beaten egg whites.

Scoop batter into the Bundt pan, smoothing the top. Place in a 325 oven for one hour.

Remove pan to cooling rack. After a half hour, use a dull knife to loosen cake from center tube and edge. After another 15 minutes, turn cake upside down on rack, and knock pan all over with rolling pin. The cake should drop out.

When cool, insert a small glass vase in the center hole, and drop a small bouquet in of flowers or herbs.

Serve as is, or with a bowl of freshly whipped cream.