Lizzard Loves Blue Sky Snow Covered Vail

Tuesday, March 21, 2017

Oatmeal Cherry Coconut Cookies - New Recipe

Lizzard Loves cookies. 
Oatmeal Cherry Coconut Cookies. Thanks sissy for the idea!

No one is surprised by this.

Lizzard Loves when people suggest a recipe to try - or a recipe to try to replicate! My sister did just that this week, she had a wonderful cookie at a bakery near her home in Colorado and texted me to inform me I should try to copy it :)

Always glad to oblige!

I found this recipe online - a quick Google search yielded a perfectly good place to start my quest for a delicious copycat cookie.

Here's the recipe I came up with - slightly crunchy on the edges, soft in the middle, great contrast of sweet & salty, good texture from the mix ins, really just a solid cookie all the way around it! I am quite happy with the results - the true test will be when my sister tries it!

Oatmeal Cherry Coconut Cookies
Yield: approximately 2 dozen smallish cookies
(double this recipe - you won't be sad you did)

Ingredients
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teasppon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups old fashioned oats
1/2 cup dried cherries
3/4 cup sweetened, shredded coconut
1/2 cup butter (1 stick) - at room temperature
1/2 cup brown sugar - packed
1/8 cup coconut sugar (granulated white sugar is perfectly fine - you'll just have a slightly sweeter cookie)
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon coconut extract
Sea salt for sprinkling (Kosher salt or any flaky/chunky salt will do!)

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
2. Combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon, salt & oats in a medium bowl (or a large one if you are doubling the recipe). Set aside.
3. In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or with a hand mixer, or by hand if you are Hercules ;) cream the butter with both sugars. Don't rush it- it takes a few minutes.
4. Add the egg & both extracts. Beat on medium speed to fully incorporate.
5. With the mixer on low, add the dry ingredient mix you made in step 2. Mix until just incorporated (if you overmix your dough - the cookies' texture is not as delectably tender - they end up tougher. I like my girls tough - not my cookies!)
6. Keeping the mixer on low- add the dried cherries & coconut. See above about overmixing! It'll only take a few rotations to get the ingredients incorporated.
7. Using your favorite mini scoop (or your hands, or a spoon) - ball the dough & put it on parchment lined baking sheets.
8. Sprinkle the tops with kosher salt, sea salt, flaky/chunky salt of any kind. (this step is technically optional - but the slight crunch & the contrast of the sweet & salt makes it 100% worth it).
9. Bake for 10-12 minutes until the edges are slightly golden.
10. Cool on the baking sheets for slightly firmer cookies, cool on a rack for slightly chewier cookies (I go chewier every time)

I hope you enjoy these as much I did! They were a lovely addition to my afternoon cup of tea :) Please feel free to suggest new recipes for me to try to copy! I'm always game for a challenge!

Monday, March 20, 2017

International Day of Happiness


Baking makes me happy. Irish Soda Bread & Irish Brown Bread.
Who knew there was an International Day of Happiness/Happiness Day?? 
Not me, until today!

How did I find out about this day? By catching up on reading some of my favorite blogs :)

So, in no particular order - here are some things that have been making me happy today & lately:

~Reading Pull Up A Chair, a fabulously written blog by Barbara Mahany. She is an accomplished writer, she is unequivocally positive, & her posts make me pause & smile every single time I read them.
Oatmeal Cherry Coconut Cookies. Yum.
~The suggestions from my big sister (who is quite a great baker herself) to try to copy a cookie she bought for my niece this week. It was apparently big enough that they shared the cookie! Oatmeal, Cranberry, Coconut. I found a recipe as a jumping off point and made some tweaks. The finished product is cooling on the counter which means I have a fresh baked cookie in my future. The text from my sissy made me happy, baking makes me happy, cookies make me happy. The tea I will have with the cookie is also a source of happiness.
~Coffee in bed 2 mornings in a row this weekend. Made by my husband & brought to me too. The same husband who fed & let the dog out so I could be completely, unabashedly lazy & stay in bed late. All of these things make me both happy & grateful.
~Making a donation to a food pantry that serves Syrian refugees (along with many others). Had been looking for a concrete way to support the Syrian refugees who find their way to our area. Have been looking for a way to feel less terrible about the closed door executive orders that have been coming out of the White House. Found the pantry on the blog mentioned above (Pull Up a Chair)
Scone ingredients. Triple yum.
~Having a neighbor who uses his snowblower to clear the sidewalk all the way down our block. It is such a nice treat to wake up to a beautiful, snowy morning & have half of your shoveling done for you. What a kind thing to offer your neighbors! For the record - I needed to do some digging to find out who the snowblower fairy was......I dropped off some pumpkin muffins & dark chocolate,walnut, & date scones as a small thank you for the effort. My neighbors make me happy, and not to be too repetitive, but baking makes me happy too.
~My mother in law's improving health. Amazing. After a really tough 2016, things are finally, blissfully, looking up for her. She has been going out to lunch & dinner, enjoying time with family & friends & hasn't been hospitalized in OVER A MONTH! Yippee, yahoo & yay!
~A text chain with my 2 best, oldest friends. Celebrating amazing news, laughing our faces off, dealing with the difficulties that accompany adulting, and simply staying up to date. This ongoing conversation makes me happy every time we strike it up.
~The early spring flowers popping up everywhere; particularly because they seemed to have no issue being covered by 8+ inches of snow last week.......the snow is gone - the flowers are not! 
~Living near my parents & my brother/sister in law/nephews & niece. It is so nice to be able to see them casually without plans, give hugs & get updates, lend things, borrow things, stay in touch because we're physically close. It makes me happy that we're only 15 minutes away.
~On a similar note - today is the first day of Spring! Yay! Summer is coming!

What is making you happy today? Or this week/month/year? I would love to know in the comments!

Happy International Day of Happiness!