Joanne Fluke's Lake Eden Cookbook Part 38

1 cup white (granulated) sugar

1 cup flour (not sifted pack it down when you measure it)

stick cold b.u.t.ter ( cup, pound)

2 large eggs

In a food processor with the steel blade, zoop up the coconut with the sugar and flour. Pulse it several times so that the coconut flakes are no longer than a quarter inch.

Cut the b.u.t.ter into 4 pieces and add them to your work bowl. Pulse again, until the mixture looks like coa.r.s.e meal.

Crack the eggs into a small bowl or a cup, and whisk them up with a fork. Add them to your work bowl and pulse until they're incorporated into the mixture.

(If you don't have a food processor, you don't have to buy one to make this cookie it's just a little messier when the coconut flakes are longer. To make this cookie without a food processor, just add all of the ingredients except the b.u.t.ter to a small bowl and stir them up. Then melt the b.u.t.ter and mix it in.) Cover and chill the coconut mixture for at least an hour. (Overnight is fine, too.) When you're ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F., rack in the middle position.

Form b.a.l.l.s of chocolate dough, 1 inch in diameter, with your impeccably clean hands. Place them on a greased cookie sheet, 12 to a standard-sized sheet. Press them down with the heel of your impeccably clean hand to flatten them.

Form b.a.l.l.s of coconut just a bit smaller than the chocolate b.a.l.l.s you made. Place them on top of each squashed chocolate ball. Squish those down. Now you have two b.a.l.l.s, both squashed.

Make 12 more chocolate b.a.l.l.s, the same size as the first ones, and put them on top of the squashed coconut b.a.l.l.s. Press them down slightly to make little "sandwiches."

Bake at 350 degrees F. for 9 to 11 minutes. Let the cookies cool on the sheet for at least two minutes. When they're cool enough to remove, use a spatula to move them to a wire rack to complete cooling.

Yield: 5 to 6 dozen yummy cookies.

If you have any coconut mixture left over, form coconut b.a.l.l.s, 12 to a baking sheet, put a milk chocolate chip on top of each ball and press it down slightly, and bake at 350 degrees F. for 10 minutes.

Norman wants me to make these cookies even chewier he says it'll provide more revenue for his dental clinic. (He's kidding. . . I think.) GERMAN CHOCOLATE CAKE COOKIES.

DO NOT preheat oven yet make the cookie dough first.

COOKIE DOUGH:.

1 cup salted b.u.t.ter (2 sticks, 8 ounces, pound)

1 cup milk chocolate chips (6 ounce package)

2 cups white (granulated) sugar

2 large eggs, beaten (just whip them up in a gla.s.s with a fork)

teaspoon baking powder

teaspoon baking soda

teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

3 cups flour (no need to sift pack it down in the cup when

you measure it)

FROSTING:.

cup firmly packed brown sugar

cup tightly packed coconut

cup chopped pecans

cup chilled salted b.u.t.ter ( stick, 2 ounces, pound)

2 egg yolks, beaten

In a microwave-safe bowl, melt the b.u.t.ter and chocolate chips on HIGH for 2 minutes. Stir until smooth.

In another mixing bowl, mix the sugar and the eggs. Add the baking powder, baking soda, salt, and vanilla extract.

Stir the melted chocolate mixture until it's fairly warm to the touch, but not so hot it'll cook the eggs. Add it to the mixing bowl and mix it in thoroughly.

Add the flour in one-cup increments, mixing after each addition. (Dough will be stiff and a bit crumbly.) Cover the dough with plastic wrap and set it aside while you make the frosting.

Combine the sugar and coconut in a food processor. Mix with the steel blade until the coconut is in small pieces.

Add the chopped pecans. Cut the b.u.t.ter into four chunks and add them. Process with the steel blade until the b.u.t.ter is in small bits.

Separate the yolks, place them in a gla.s.s, and whip them up with a fork. Add them to your bowl and process until they are thoroughly incorporated.

Hannah's Note: If you don't have a food processor, you can make the frosting by hand using softened b.u.t.ter.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F., rack in the middle position.

Chill the frosting in your refrigerator while the oven's preheating. It'll make it easier to work with. This will be especially true if you've made the frosting by hand and haven't chopped the coconut into shorter shreds.

Pat the cookie dough into one-inch b.a.l.l.s with your fingers. Place the b.a.l.l.s on a greased cookie sheet (or sprayed with Pam or another nonstick cooking spray), 12 to a standard sheet. Press down in the center of each ball with your thumb to make a deep indentation. (If the health board's around, use the bowl of a small spoon.) Pat the frosting into half-inch b.a.l.l.s with your fingers. Place them in each indentation.

Bake at 350 degrees F. for 10 to 12 minutes. Let the cookies cool on the cookie sheet for 2 minutes, then remove them to a wire rack to finish cooling.

Yield: 5 to 6 dozen, depending on cookie size.

HANNAH'S BANANAS DO NOT preheat oven this dough must chill before baking.

1 and cups melted, salted b.u.t.ter (3 sticks, 12 ounces,

pound)

2 cups white (granulated) sugar

2 beaten eggs (just whip them up in a gla.s.s with a fork)

cup mashed very ripe bananas (2 medium or 3 small)