Surely there is nothing more amazing than butter.
The next time someone asks me what the best invention or human innovation is, my answer will be butter. (Or bacon, depending on the day.)
I don't believe in margarine...I think the stuff is just disgusting. It even sort of smells terrible.
The Deputy went to the grocery store for me yesterday and when he came home with the butter I had put on the list he says to me, "Maybe we should just get a fridge for JUST butter." I nearly said to him "YES! That would be a great idea! Then our butter wouldn't taste like everything else in the fridge." But at the risk of being made fun of and getting *that* look...you know what look I'm talking about...I held back.
Now, I have a friend who has a father who realllllly likes coconut, so I've been meaning to make him some coconut cookies for the longest time and just haven't gotten around to it. So, what's the best way to kill two birds with one stone? (The birds being...the butter bird and the coconut bird.)
Toasted Coconut Shortbread...of course!
I had never toasted coconut before or made shortbread before...so this was something of a learning experience all around. However, this recipe was anything but difficult.
At the end of the whole thing, as I was packing the cookies up for transport to Miss Anastasia Beaverhausen for her Papa, I was getting the hairy eyeball from the Deputy. Little did I realize that he big hearts toasted coconut and really enjoys a good shortbread. (Please, spare me the short jokes here....)
So, I guess these go into the..."Make-These-Again" pile.
Beaverhausen Shortbreads
aka Toasted Coconut Shortbread Cookies
1/2 Cup Shredded Coconut (instructions for toasting follow)
3/4 Cup Unsalted Butter (room temperature)
1/2 Cup plus 1 Tsp White Sugar
1/2 Tsp Kosher Salt - coarse
1/2 Tsp Vanilla
1 1/3 Cup Flour
Preheat oven to 325 degrees and spread the 1/2 cup of coconut out evenly. Bake, stirring occassionally untl the coconut until it is just light golden brown. Cool completely and then grind the coconut in a coffee grinder, food processor, or blender. (A big thank you to my Mr. Preppy!) Turn your oven off as you won't be baking these cookies right away.
Using an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar in a large bowl until blended. Mix in the salt and the vanilla. Beat in the flour in 2 parts and then stir in the toasted coconut. The dough will be crumbly and you'll have to push it together.
On your counter or work surface place a long piece of plastic wrap and turn your dough out onto it. Gather the dough together in a ball and flatten it out into a disc. Wrap the disc up in the plastic wrap and place in the fridge for at least an hour.
When you're prepared to bake these cookies, take the dough out of the fridge as you start your oven. Your oven needs to be preheated to 325 degrees. Also, before you start to roll out your dough, prepare your cookie sheets with parchment paper, silpats, or silicone baking mats.
Your dough will be pretty hard, but as you work it the heat from your hands will soften it up quite a bit. Roll the dough out to about 1/4 inch thick and using a cookie cutter that's about 1 3/4 inches to 2 inches wide cut your dough into shapes or rounds or just slice with a knife and place on the cookie sheets about 2 inches apart. Gather your dough and repeat until you have no dough left.
Bake cookies until light golden brown, about 15 to 20 minutes. Cool on baking sheets for about 10 minutes and then move to racks to cool completely.
(Next time...I'm adding more coconut and maybe even using a coconut milk or extract to really kick these up a notch.)
Maybe next time a little skim of lime frosting to give these an island feel...anything to escape the wintery mess, right?
The next time someone asks me what the best invention or human innovation is, my answer will be butter. (Or bacon, depending on the day.)
I don't believe in margarine...I think the stuff is just disgusting. It even sort of smells terrible.
The Deputy went to the grocery store for me yesterday and when he came home with the butter I had put on the list he says to me, "Maybe we should just get a fridge for JUST butter." I nearly said to him "YES! That would be a great idea! Then our butter wouldn't taste like everything else in the fridge." But at the risk of being made fun of and getting *that* look...you know what look I'm talking about...I held back.
Now, I have a friend who has a father who realllllly likes coconut, so I've been meaning to make him some coconut cookies for the longest time and just haven't gotten around to it. So, what's the best way to kill two birds with one stone? (The birds being...the butter bird and the coconut bird.)
Toasted Coconut Shortbread...of course!
I had never toasted coconut before or made shortbread before...so this was something of a learning experience all around. However, this recipe was anything but difficult.
At the end of the whole thing, as I was packing the cookies up for transport to Miss Anastasia Beaverhausen for her Papa, I was getting the hairy eyeball from the Deputy. Little did I realize that he big hearts toasted coconut and really enjoys a good shortbread. (Please, spare me the short jokes here....)
So, I guess these go into the..."Make-These-Again" pile.
Beaverhausen Shortbreads
aka Toasted Coconut Shortbread Cookies
1/2 Cup Shredded Coconut (instructions for toasting follow)
3/4 Cup Unsalted Butter (room temperature)
1/2 Cup plus 1 Tsp White Sugar
1/2 Tsp Kosher Salt - coarse
1/2 Tsp Vanilla
1 1/3 Cup Flour
Preheat oven to 325 degrees and spread the 1/2 cup of coconut out evenly. Bake, stirring occassionally untl the coconut until it is just light golden brown. Cool completely and then grind the coconut in a coffee grinder, food processor, or blender. (A big thank you to my Mr. Preppy!) Turn your oven off as you won't be baking these cookies right away.
Using an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar in a large bowl until blended. Mix in the salt and the vanilla. Beat in the flour in 2 parts and then stir in the toasted coconut. The dough will be crumbly and you'll have to push it together.
On your counter or work surface place a long piece of plastic wrap and turn your dough out onto it. Gather the dough together in a ball and flatten it out into a disc. Wrap the disc up in the plastic wrap and place in the fridge for at least an hour.
When you're prepared to bake these cookies, take the dough out of the fridge as you start your oven. Your oven needs to be preheated to 325 degrees. Also, before you start to roll out your dough, prepare your cookie sheets with parchment paper, silpats, or silicone baking mats.
Your dough will be pretty hard, but as you work it the heat from your hands will soften it up quite a bit. Roll the dough out to about 1/4 inch thick and using a cookie cutter that's about 1 3/4 inches to 2 inches wide cut your dough into shapes or rounds or just slice with a knife and place on the cookie sheets about 2 inches apart. Gather your dough and repeat until you have no dough left.
Bake cookies until light golden brown, about 15 to 20 minutes. Cool on baking sheets for about 10 minutes and then move to racks to cool completely.
(Next time...I'm adding more coconut and maybe even using a coconut milk or extract to really kick these up a notch.)
Maybe next time a little skim of lime frosting to give these an island feel...anything to escape the wintery mess, right?