Chewy Chocolate Coconut PinwheelsMakes 12Dough
3/4 cup sweetened coconut ( I used Baker’s)1/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup shortening ( I used Spectrum’s Organic Palm Oil, it was pricy, but nice to work with)
1 T. corn syrup
2 T. water
½ t. vanilla
1 cup flour
1/4 t. baking soda
1/8 t. saltGanache
3 ounces safe chocolate chips ( I used Divvies)
1 heaping tablespoon soy creamer ( I used Silk vanilla)1.) Put the coconut in a food processor and chop the heck out of it. Keep chopping it down until it is fine.
2.) In a medium bowl, cream the brown and white sugar with the shortening with a hand mixer. Add the corn syrup and water and beat until smooth and fluffy. It will curdle and separate for a bit, but should come back together if you beat it enough. Add the chopped coconut and beat again.
3.) In a small bowl, mix the flour, soda and salt together. Whisk to mix the ingredients.
4.) Pour the flour mixture into the shortening and sugar mixture. Mix carefully with the hand mixer on low until the dry ingredients are just incorporated. Don’t over-beat or the cookies will be tough.
6.) Place the dough between two pieces of plastic wrap. Roll out to a rectangle, about 7 x 8 inches. Set in the refrigerator to chill for about 30 minutes.
7.) To make the ganache, microwave the chocolate chips and soy creamer until melted, 10 seconds at a time mixing well between zaps. If the mixture seems particularly thick, add a splash more creamer and whisk well. Allow the mixture to cool and thicken slightly.
8.) Remove the dough from the refrigerator, remove the top layer of plastic wrap and orient the dough so the short edge is at your waist and it spreads out longer in front. Spread the ganache over the surface of the dough. Spread to all the edges, except the top edge. Allow 1/4 inch of chocolate-free space at the top. Allow the ganache to firm up a bit before trying to roll the dough up.
9.) Now is the time for guts. In your best Julia Child voice, belt out “Never Apologize!” and get moving. Starting at the front edge, carefully starting rolling the dough. Use the plastic wrap underneath the dough to help guide it. Stop to patch any major cracks. If the ganache squirts out everywhere, pause until it hardens up a bit. Wrap the whole beautiful log up in the plastic wrap, squeeze it back into shape, tap the ends gently into a nice log and place it in the refrigerator to chill for 30 minutes or so.
10.) Preheat oven to 350. Cut the log into 1/2 inch slices. Turn the log a bit after each slice to keep the shape round as you slice. Bake on a parchment-lined baking sheet for 10-12 minutes, until the tops just turn golden brown. They are crumbly when hot, so allow the baked cookies to rest on the cookie sheet for a few minutes before transferring to a rack to cool.
I seriously think they put something addictive in the air at Disney World, the bank account is barely recovered and you start itching to return. So we’re off again this week, doing the perfect vacation for kids and engineers…full-on repeat. Same hotel, same restaurants, same rides. Except the dresses, this year the girls decided to be part of Tinkerbelle’s fairy clan…Rosetta and Silvermist. The dresses turned out great, all itch-free with covered seams, but they nearly killed me (bias-cut chiffon…what was I thinking!?).
Disney has plenty of treats available, but I thought I’d make some cookies for our packed lunches. This is my basic, never-fail, egg-free and dairy-free sugar cookie recipe. I’ve tried others, and I keep coming back to this one. I love it because it is infinitely adaptable. It works with whatever fat you have in the house..shortening, margarine, coconut oil. I used butter-flavored Crisco today. You can play with the flavorings, you can play with the sugars, you can play with colors, you can splurge on fun cookie cutters. It always works.
Infinitely Adaptable Sugar Cookies1/2 cup shortening (or margarine, or coconut oil)
2/3 cup sugar (or some brown sugar)
1/4 cup soymilk + 1T cider vinegar2 cups flour
1/2 t. baking soda
1/4 t. salt
1T. vanilla (optional)
1/8 t. lemon oil (optional)
a pinch of cinnamon or nutmeg (optional)1.) In a large bowl, cream the sugar and shortening together until smooth, add in the thickened soymilk and beat until smooth again.
2.) Add the vanilla, lemon oil or whatever spices/flavorings you are using and mix well.
3.) Add soda, salt and flour. Mix until everything comes together.
4.) Wrap in plastic wrap, shape into a big disk and freeze for 1/2 hour.
5.) Roll to 1/4 inch thickness and cut out as you like.
6.) Bake on a parchment-lined baking sheets at 350. 10 minutes will give you soft cookies (they may seem barely baked, but they’ll firm up when cooled), 14-16 minutes will give you golden brown edges and they’ll be crispy.
7.) Cool completely before icing.Cookie Icing
2 cups powdered sugar
2 T. corn syrup
2-3T. waterMix well, getting out all the lumps. Color as you’d like. Dip the cookies or pipe on the decorations!
