Posts filed under 'Cookies'
I just love making these cookies and an added bonus — there is very little guilt involved with eating them!
Not much more than an over-baked glob of pie meringue, containing no fat or cholesterol, and only a bit of sugar, Meringues can satisfy that urge for a treat without ruining your diet.
Last weekend, we made some of these - a few for us and a few to share, and I was experimenting a bit so we added some mint extract and broken up chocolate bits. Delicious!
Mint Chocolate Chip Meringues
makes 2 dozen
3 large egg whites, room temperature is best
1/4 t. salt
1/4 t. cream of tartar
1/2 t. peppermint extract
3/4 c. sugar
1/2 c. broken or chopped semi-sweet chocolate
To start with, set the oven to 225 degrees (that’s correct, not a typo - really low heat for this) and line two cookie sheets with foil.
Next, separate the eggs and discard the yolks or set them aside for something else, like noodles. I’m not a great noodle maker, so mine generally get tossed. Drop the whites into a medium-sized bowl. (No yolks allowed - if you get a bit of yolk mixed in with the whites, you have to start over, this recipe will NOT work with yolks, even a tiny bit.) Add the salt and cream of tartar. You will have to get out your mixer and go to town beating those egg whites up. Beat and beat and beat them - on high. They will turn white and fluffy, but keep on beating until they form peaks when you pull the beaters out.
Now it’s time for the sugar and mint — add the mint, but just a little sugar at a time, and lower the speed on your mixer to medium. Once all of the sugar is added, your meringue will be smooth, fluffy, and glossy. Gorgeous. Slow the mixer way down and fold in the chocolate bits.
Great - now plop by spoonfuls onto cookie sheets. Bake these at 225 for 1 1/2 hours. (Again, not a typo - an hour and a half.) No peeking! They might fall if you do. The final result should be a slightly browned, crispy, airy meringue cookie.
ENJOY!
October 16th, 2007
Can something as simple - and tasty - as coconut help sufferers of IBS? (Irritable Bowel Syndrome) This is what I’d heard, and a quick google search confirmed - that some people with IBS have found that eating just two Archway macaroon cookies each day helps control their symptoms (diarrhea).
We had to put this to the test, and - by golly - it really does seem to help. Some folks say it is the coconut oil, others claim it is the soluble fiber. Who cares - coconut is yummy and I think it’s not a hardship to eat a couple of coconut cookies every day.
This morning, my ten-year-old tried the recipe for macaroons that is printed on the back of the coconut package. I’ve decided to call them meringues, since they really are a meringue cookie with coconut added. Macaroons, I believe, have flour, eggs, etc., like a sugar cookie. These were so easy for her to make, all I did was separate the eggs. She probably could have done that, too, but they were my last two eggs, so we didn’t take any chances. 
Coconut Meringues
makes 2 dozen or so
2 egg whites
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
dash of salt
2/3 c. sugar
1 1/2 c. sweetened coconut flakes
Heat your oven to 325.
Whip the egg whites, vanilla, and salt until stiff, white peaks form. This takes awhile, as any experienced meringue-maker knows — be patient, it WILL happen. Next, slowly add the sugar - a little at a time, while still beating. The mixture will remain stiff and become glossy. When all the sugar has been added, turn off the mixer and gently fold in the coconut.
Grease a cookie sheet and plop spoonfuls of your mixture on it. Bake at 325 for 20 minutes. Let cool before removing from cookie sheet.
Enjoy!
July 21st, 2007
After checking out a few recipes for homemade granola bars and comparing them against what I had in my pantry, I came up with my own recipe for chewy snack bars. I’m hoping the hubby and kids will enjoy them in their packed lunches or just as a snack.
By the way, folks, I have to apologize for taking several days off of writing posts. I have just been plain-old busy and besides that my computer monitor is on the brink and, although, I can use it, it is rather giving me a headache. (Picture a cartoon character that has been clobbered on the head and has swirly eyes.) Anyway, I will try to tough it out today and we will be looking for a new monitor very soon.
Back to the granola bars… I’ve been making more of these types of treats lately because buying the ingredients is SO much less expensive than buying the treats themselves. They are probably better for you, too, although I am not fooling myself because they are still loaded with sugar and corn syrup. We are getting a whole grain, but I’m not sure it is worth it with all of that sugar. But then again, how else is a person supposed to make granola bars chewy?
So, here we go, people — homemade chewy granola bars. Feel free to add your own creativeness to this recipe. I had chopped dates on hand — you might have raisins, mini chocolate chips, cranberries or some kind of nuts.
Golden Chewy Granola Bars
makes about 18-24
3 c. old-fashioned oats
1 c. white or wheat flour
1 1/2 c. crisped rice cereal
1 t. baking soda
dash of salt
1 t. cinnamon
1 c. butter, room temperature or slightly warmed in the microwave
3/4 c. corn syrup
2/3 c. brown sugar
1 c. chopped dates
Assembly is simple: you need two bowls, a large one for the dry ingredients, and a smaller one for the wet ingredients. Into the large bowl goes the oats, flour, cereal, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and the dates (or whatever yummy add-ins you like). Into the smaller bowl goes the butter, corn syrup, brown sugar.
Heat your oven to 325 degrees.
Toss the dry ingredients together until they are well combined, then tackle the wet ingredients. Use a mixer and cream the butter with the corn syrup and brown sugar, as if you were making cookies. When it is a delicious-looking, pale yellow, fluffy mixture, fold it into the dry ingredients. It will take a little elbow grease to get it worked in, but no one said this was going to be a walk in the park.
Once it is all combined, grease a jelly-roll pan or a 9×13 pan, and flop this sloppy granola into it. Spread and press it down firmly. I tried a spatula, then waxed paper, then finally settled on spreading it with my bare hands — it is pretty sticky!
Finally, place it in your preheated oven and bake for 20 minutes, give or take a couple of minutes. It will turn golden brown and when you give it a little shake, it will be set on the edges and just a little soft in the middle.
Resist the temptation to taste them right away! Let them cool completely before cutting and serving, otherwise you will have a big, sticky mess on your hands.
ENJOY!
June 20th, 2007
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