Chocolate pecan puddle cookies

Would you believe me if I told you that I made these cookies using only egg whites, cocoa, icing sugar and pecans?

I must confess that I doubted Aimée’s post at first – sorry, sweetie! – but since I was feeling pretty fearless I decided to see it for myself. And wow – these are so good! Sinfully delicious!

Now it’s your turn to be fearless and make these cookies – just be aware that they’re very addictive. :)

Chocolate pecan puddle cookies

3 cups (330g) pecans
4 cups (560g) icing sugar
2/3 cup (60g) cocoa
¼ teaspoon salt
4 large egg whites
1 tablespoon good vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F; line two large baking sheets with baking paper.
Toast your pecans, cool them and roughly chop them.
In a large bowl, sift together the icing sugar, cocoa and salt. Add the nuts, then stir in the egg whites and vanilla. Stir until well combined.
Drop the batter in small mounds (about 1 tablespoon each) onto prepared pans, spacing them well away from each other.
Bake for 9-11 minutes – they will spread, puff, crack on top, get glossy and then turn matte. Slide the cookies on the parchment off the sheet onto a cooling rack and let them cool.

Makes three dozen 5cm (2in) cookies – I halved the recipe, used 1 leveled tablespoon of dough per cookie and got 24

Chocolate thumbprints

It’s been a while since I last made ice cream and, even with the cold days here, I sometimes feel like having a scoop or two... :D
Next time I make ice cream I know exactly where to go for inspiration: the issue #9 of Desserts Magazine is full of delicious ice cream recipes! And my sweet corn ice cream is there, too. :D

In the winter, I’ll take any excuse to turn the oven on to get the kitchen warm and cozy, and that’s much better when there are cookies involved. This recipe comes from Martha’s website but it only worked out perfectly because of Lizzie’s comment about the extravagant amount of filling and the Food Librarian’s warning about burned thumbs. :D

Chocolate thumbprints

Cookie dough:
½ cup (113g/1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
½ cup (70g) confectioners' sugar, sifted
¼ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 ¼ cups (175g) all-purpose flour, sifted

Filling:
2 tablespoons (28g) unsalted butter, room temperature
56g (2oz) semisweet chocolate, chopped
1 teaspoon light corn syrup

Preheat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF; line two baking sheets with baking paper.

Start by making the dough: in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the butter, sugar, salt, and vanilla on medium-high speed until smooth, about 2 minutes. Beat in flour, beginning on low speed and increasing to medium high, until a dough forms – it won’t be sticky.
Roll dough by teaspoonfuls into balls, and place 2.5cm (1in) apart onto prepared sheets. Bake for 10 minutes, remove from oven, and press thumb* into tops of cookies to make indentations. Return to oven, and bake until light brown on the edges, 7 to 9 minutes more. Remove to a wire rack to cool.
Make the filling: combine chocolate, butter, and corn syrup in a small heatproof bowl. Set over a pot of simmering water; stir occasionally until melted and smooth. Allow to cool slightly. When cookies are cool, fill the thumbprints with the chocolate mixture – there will be some filling left, even though I halved the filling recipe without halving the dough recipe.

* I used this measuring spoon to make the indentations on the hot cookies

Makes 2 dozen – I got 30

Coconut balls

I grew up hearing comments about my bad temper – I used to get in trouble with my father and my teachers for protesting over just about anything. As I get older I try hard to believe I’m also getting calmer. :)
Some things still make me furious, though, and I was mad as hell at the guys from a certain website for not keeping their word (and they did the same to other bloggers I love). You’ll no longer see recipes from Better Homes and Gardens on my blog.

You will, however, see me using recipes from other websites, because there are great ones out there – these coconut balls are one of Martha’s cookies.

Coconut balls

1 cup (2 sticks/226g) unsalted butter, softened
¼ cup (35g) confectioner's sugar, sifted, plus more for dusting
2 cups (280g) all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon salt
2 cups (200g) sweetened flaked coconut

Preheat oven to 180ºC/350ºF; line two large baking sheets with baking paper.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream butter with ¼ cup confectioners' sugar until fluffy. Mix in flour and salt until they're just combined. Stir in coconut.
Roll dough into 2.5cm (1 in) balls; place 5cm (2 in) apart on prepared sheets. Bake until just starting to brown, 15 to 20 minutes.
Roll the warm cookies in confectioners' sugar; let cool completely.

Store cookies in an airtight container for up to 1 week.

Makes 36 – I halved the recipe and still got 24