A Tale of Two Cookies

From left to right: Coconut-Almond and Chocolate Chip Cinnamon Cookies

My due date is fast approaching and I've been crazy busy trying to get ready for my little bundle to arrive. Can you say nesting? It must be contagious because my husband is doing the same thing. For the past few weeks, while I've been cleaning and organizing around the house, he's been rounding up our son's old baby stuff from the garage and assembling baby furniture. Oh yes, I got very emotional the first time I saw the crib. I never thought we'd be going through this again. I feel very blessed.

In the meantime, my oven's been neglected and I think it's starting to get depressed. So I thought I'd bake up some cookies for the sweet folks at my doctor's office. I made a double batch of my simple shortbread cookies and added different flavors to each batch.

I had an extra bag of shredded coconut from my macaroon experiment so of course I used it for my first batch. I also found some sliced almonds in the pantry. I was thinking about making some almond croissants but I got lazy so I decided to add the almonds with the shredded coconut. Waste not, want not. As for the second batch, you can't go wrong with chocolate. Everybody loves chocolate, right? I tossed in some chocolate chips and I was going to add some dried cranberries but decided to add cocoa powder and cinnamon instead.

The verdict: they really liked both flavors. My doctor even said he kept his box of cookies to himself. Good thing I gave the staff their own box :-)

Hmmm...what other flavor combination can I try out next?

UPDATE (7/14/09): Tried two other flavors: Cranberry-Chocolate-Almond and Apricot-Orange-Chocolate.


Apricot-Orange-Chocolate Cookies. I used a cookie scoop for these cookies and lightly pressed them down.
Shortbread Cookies
Allergy Note: contains wheat, milk and tree nuts
Makes about 4 dozen cookies, 2 dozen of each flavor

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. salt
1 1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
2 tsp. vanilla extract

for Coconut-Almond:
1 cup sweetened shredded coconut
1 cup slice almonds

for Chocolate Chip Cinnamon:
1 tsp. cocoa powder
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 cup chocolate chips

for Cranberry-Chocolate-Almond:
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips
1/4 cup chopped almonds

for Apricot-Orange-Chocolate:
1/2 cup chopped dried apricots
1/4 cup chopped dark chocolate
zest from 1 orange
zest from 1 lemon
1/2 tsp lemon extract

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line cookie sheet with parchment paper or silicone baking mat.

In a medium mixing bowl, sift together flour and salt. Set aside.

Using a separate mixing bowl and an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar till smooth. Add vanilla extract. Stir in the flour mixture and mix until combined. Divide the dough in half. Pick a flavor combination to add to each half.

You can either roll the dough into logs, chill them for an hour, then slice and bake them (see chocolate chip cinnamon cookie above); OR use a small cookie scoop and bake them right away (see coconut almond cookie above). Bake for 20 minutes or until lightly brown. Cool completely.