A new look at cooking and home decorating...with an attempt to add more greens to the plate, more vegetarian options & hopefully lots of new ideas to explore

Friday, April 17, 2009

Oatmeal Coconut cookies


When the warmer weather begins to come around, many of us get spring fever. I notice that I have it when I start to bake what I consider to be "summer" desserts like lemon pies- or desserts with coconut. These cookies fit the bill, and are delicious with milk or lemonade.

1 cup of unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup of regular sugar
2 large eggs
1 cup flour
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3/4 teaspoon table salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups of oats (I am using the Silver Palate Brand- which are slightly rougher and thicker)
1 3/4 cup shredded coconut, sweetened

Preheat oven to 350
Have ready 2 baking sheets lined with silpat sheets(or buttered)

Place the butter into a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Mix on medium speed for 1 minute or less until the butter is light and fluffy. Add in the sugars and continue to combine for another minute. Reduce speed to low and add in the egg one at a time, then the flour, vanilla, salt, baking powder, baking soda, oats, and coconut. Mix just until a dough has formed.

Scoop out balls of dough with a small ice cream scoop (or about 1 1/2 tablespoons of dough per cookie). Place on cookie sheets leaving space in between the cookies. Pat down each cookie so it is about 1/2" thick. Bake at 350 for 13-16 minutes or until golden around the edges. let cool and continue with second batch.

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Anja's Asparagus

This simple asparagus Hors D'oeuvre was passed around at a baby shower- I loved it because it was easy to eat while standing and drinking a cup of Coffee. It tasted good and looked pretty to, which is about all that you can ask for from cocktail food.

Anja said: I don’t remember if I told you because I spoke to several of the ladies yesterday about the wraps but the funny thing is that it is basically wonder bread and canned asparagus! Ok, here it goes…

1 can asparagus
1 large loaf of white bread (like Wonder or Sunbeam)
1 stick of butter
grated parmesan cheese
dill

Cut the crust off the bread. With a rolling pin, roll each piece of bread till flat. In a small frying pan, melt a stick of butter. Place grated parmesan cheese on a plate. Roll up one asparagus in a piece of bread (starting on the bread’s angle), then roll it in the melted butter and then in the cheese.Put it on a cookie sheet (the sheet should be covered in aluminum foil).
Sprinkle all the wraps at the end with dill and bake at 350 for approx. 20 minutes.

Lisa, a couple of notes: The original recipe called for thin slice wonder bread but I can’t find that anymore so I roll the pieces really flat. I tend to use better parm (while I don’t grate it fresh but I buy freshly grated) because I think the end result is more tasty and the dill I use is dried although I’m sure you could try fresh. So easy, they always look great, everyone wants to try them and they are always a big success! I had a lady once ask me if I was a pastry chef because she was so intrigued with the “dough”! And then people are always amazed when you tell them the recipe!

Love it! Thanks Anja!