This one is a throwback to my childhood.  To the skinny tall yellow box that my parents may or may not have strategically placed on the very top shelf of the pantry, so that we kids would probably have a hard time reaching them.  Growing up with a diabetic dad, this was a secret “low-fat-ish” snack that he would have in lieu of double-stuffed Oreos (although those did make a very short appearance every once in a while as well….).  We’d crumble them up over ice cream, dip them in tall, cold glasses of milk, or just eat them plain out of the box.  Vanilla wafers.  Plain old fashioned goodness in cookie form.

Recently, in a discussion with someone I am very fond of, I came to learn that one of his favorite cookies was similar to the old school vanilla wafer..with fudge on top.  I stuck that in the corners of my mind and quickly did a search to see if I could find a recipe to make a homemade version.  I was pumped when Shawnda’s version came up first in my Google search, so I went off to try my own hand at it.

Now, a caveat.  They are not *exactly* like the cookies that come from the box.  They have more of a shortbread consistency to them, and they pack a little less of the vanilla flavor.  (I was tempted to try vanilla beans in lieu of vanilla extract, and next time I might add one or two beans in to add a little more vanilla punch to the cookie.)  And, as far as the fudge frosting, I found a nice smooth chocolate ganache with a little sour cream in it to add a little tanginess.  (I love piping with ganache, so that was a bonus.)  Top them off with some sprinkles?  Why, of course.

Homemade Vanilla Wafers with Fudge Frosting

Servings: approximately 24 cookies

Ingredients

For the wafers:

16 tablespoons (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 egg yolks

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

2 and 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

For the frosting:

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

8 ounces semisweet chocolate chips

3/4 cup sour cream

Sprinkles, for garnish (optional)

Instructions

1. For the wafers:  In the bowl of your standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the butter, sugar, and salt on medium-high speed and mix until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes.

2.  Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the egg yolks, one at a time, mixing well after each addition.

3. Add the vanilla.

4. Add the flour and mix until thoroughly combined.

5. Transfer the dough to a clean and lightly floured surface and divide it into three equal portions.

6. Roll each portion in to a 2-inch diameter cylinder.

7. Wrap each cylinder tightly with plastic wrap and chill until firm, at least 2 hours.  *You can also do a quick freeze of about 20 minutes if you are short on time.

8. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

9.  Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

10. Unwrap each cylinder, and very carefully, cut each cylinder into 1/4-inch thick slices.  Place each slice onto the prepared baking sheet, spacing each wafer about one inch apart from one another.

11. Bake until the wafers are lightly golden, about 12-15 minutes.  Let cool completely before frosting.

12. For the frosting: In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine the whipping cream and butter and stir until the butter is completely melted.

13. Remove the saucepan from the heat and add the chocolate chips. Let sit for about 2 minutes before stirring.

14. After two minutes, whisk the chocolate into the melted butter mixture, mixing until completely smooth.

15. Add the sour cream and whisk until combined.

16. Transfer to a medium bowl, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and chill for at least 30 minutes.

17. Pipe as desired onto the wafers.

Sources:  Vanilla wafers from Confections of a Foodie Bride, originally adapted from Williams-Sonoma.  Frosting from Bon Appétit, via Epicurious.

It’s cookie time.  Awwww, yeah.

I haven’t posted all that many coconut recipes on here yet, which is ironic considering that I do love coconut.  Usually when I make cookies, I go for something with chocolate and/or peanut butter.  But, in a recent effort to clean out my baking shelf in the pantry, the half bag of sweetened coconut caught my eye.  And the leftover jar of raspberry preserves (from these cupcakes) also caught my eye when I attempted to clean out the fridge.  Cleaning out the kitchen is a bonus. Making cookies with these ingredients equals a win-win situation.

These cookies are great for a couple of reasons.  They are simple to throw together-one bowl, a little mixing, and a relatively short baking time.  Another good reason?  Just the idea of toasted coconut makes me think of tropical, sunny weather (a much needed respite from the gray un-wintery winter here in New England).  And one more reason?  While I used raspberry jam (and baked the jam into the cookies), you could probably put anything chocolate or nutty in there (Nutella, what?) after you bake them if you wanted to avoid the jam thing.  Who doesn’t love thumbprint-style cookies?  The possibilities are endless.

So what lesson did I learn here?  Breaking out of the usual cookie shell can be a totally good thing.

Coconut Jam Cookies

Servings: 12 cookies

Ingredients

1 large egg

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 teaspoons lemon zest

2 and 1/2 cups sweetened shredded coconut

1/4 cup seedless raspberry jam

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside.

3. In the bowl of your standing mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the egg on medium-high speed until light yellow and smooth, about 2-3 minutes.

4. Switch to the paddle attachment, and, on medium speed, add the sugar, vanilla, and lemon zest.  Beat for 5 minutes.

5. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold in the shredded coconut, mixing until thoroughly combined.

6. Drop the batter in 1-2 tablespoon mounds onto the parchment-lined baking sheets, about 2 inches apart from one another.

7. Using the back of a spoon or your fingers, gently make an indentation in the center of each cookie mound.

8.  Place about 1 teaspoon of the raspberry jam into the center of each cookie mound.

9. Bake the cookies for about 15 minutes, or until slightly golden brown.

10.  Immediately turn off the oven, crack the oven door open slightly, and let dry in the (still warm) oven for a few more minutes.  (The original recipe states another 15 minutes, but I had to rescue my cookies after about 7 minutes because they were still continuing to brown a lot.  Use your best judgement here-oven heats can vary significantly.)

Source: Slightly adapted from Williams-Sonoma.

The other day I was getting ready to head over to my friend Jill’s house to watch a movie.  She’s a huge fan of cookies and red velvet, so I figured I should whip something up before I headed over (to eat cookies).  Since Valentine’s Day is quickly approaching, I wanted to try my hand at something a little festive and appropriate for the holiday.  These little guys fit the bill.  I took them over, still warm from the oven, and they were quickly and repeatedly snacked on.  Nothing beats good red velvet, right?

So, before you make this recipe, there are a few things you should know.  Some things that I may have had a few issues with.  But the end result turned out so good that I had to share them with you.

The cookie dough is VERY thick, so if you don’t happen to have an electric or (preferably) standing mixer, I would give these a pass.  The dough would probably be way too tough to combine by hand.  As far as the red food coloring goes, I used the standard Wilton red food coloring gel….but I had to use an awful lot of it (almost the entire larger vial) to get the cookies to turn a red shade.  Perhaps a liquid food coloring would work better with this recipe in the future (it might also help with the thickness of the cookie dough, too.)  When you are ready to bake them, flatten them down a little with your fingers or the back of a spoon-they are very cake-like and won’t flatten out like regular (less delicious) cookies.

The fact that Jill continues to talk about how delicious these cookies over a week later says a lot.  That’s music to my ears.

Red Velvet White Chocolate Chip Cookies

Servings: approximately 20 cookies

Ingredients

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 and 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup cocoa powder

Red food coloring liquid or gel

1/2 cup white chocolate chips

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Line two baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside.

2. In the bowl of your standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and both sugars on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.

3. Add the food coloring gel or liquid until you reach the desired color.

4. Reduce the mixer speed to medium-low and add the egg and vanilla, mixing well until combined.

5. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the flour, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder, mixing until thoroughly combined.**I had to add  more food coloring gel at this point because the addition of the cocoa powder really changed the color.

6. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold in the white chocolate chips until incorporated.

7. Using a cookie dough scoop or a tablespoon, drop the dough into mounds about two inches apart from one another.  Lightly flatten each cookie dough mound with your fingers or the back of a spoon.

8. Bake until slightly golden and crisp around the edges, about 10-12 minutes.  Enjoy.

Source: Barely adapted from How Sweet It Is.