Get out the cookie sheets, girls. And you boys, too. We have a cookie emergency on our hands here.
To protect the life of a Forum reader, we’ll mention no names here, but suffice it to say that she/he writes, “I’m hoping you can help me. A couple of months ago, you printed a recipe for a very simple shortbread cookie that had coconut in it.
‘“My mother kept the recipe, made several batches … And then, I made the fateful mistake of borrowing it from her. And promptly lost it!
“I am hoping you can perhaps send me a copy of the recipe or maybe tell me what issue it was in, so I can try to find it at the library.
“Otherwise, I’ll never hear the end of it!!! I’m in hopes you can help me out. Thank you so much for any assistance you can provide.”
Well, we here at the Forum can actually provide this recipe, taken from a Herald Wednesday Food section dated Dec. 8, 2004, and it’s called “The Powell Women’s Hawaiian Shortbread.”
But wait. Before we get to that, we have another cookie recipe to get to. This one comes to us via a request from Randi Burns, who writes, “Around election time, I remember that I made some oatmeal cookies, and they were great. I remember the column was what Laura Bush made. If you could let me know if I’m on the right track, I would appreciate it.”
Yep, right on track. The recipe for Laura Bush’s oatmeal-chocolate chunk cookies was published in the June 30, 2004 edition of The Herald’s Wednesday Food section.
So, you cookie bakers out there, here we go with this pair of recipes, exactly as they appeared on the dates previously noted:
The Powell Women’s Hawaiian shortbread
1cup butter, softened to room temperature
3tablespoons sugar
1teaspoon vanilla
2cups flour
1cup shredded coconut
Cream together the butter with the sugar. Beat in the vanilla and the flour. Add the coconut.
Roll the dough into bite-sized balls, and place on a cookie sheet. Flatten each ball with the bottom of a sugar-coated drinking glass. Bake in 300-degree oven just until firm but not brown. Remove and cool. Coat/roll each cookie in powdered sugar.
Laura Bush’s oatmeal-chocolate chunk cookies
1 1/2cups (3 sticks) butter, at room temperature
1cup sugar
1 1/2 cups light brown sugar
3eggs
1tablespoon vanilla
3cups flour
1tablespoon baking powder
1teaspoon salt
2teaspoons cinnamon
3cups quick oats (not old-fashioned)
2cups chopped walnuts
1 1/2 packages (8 ounces each) chocolate chunks (3 cups)
2cups coarsely chopped dried sour cherries
Heat oven to 350 degrees.
With electric mixer, cream butter and both sugars.
Beat in eggs, one at a time, then beat in vanilla.
Add flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and oats; slowly beat until blended.
Stir in walnuts, chocolate and cherries.
Drop by tablespoonfuls onto cookie sheet covered with parchment paper. Bake at 350 degrees for 12 to 15 minutes, until golden brown.
Makes about 8 dozen cookies.
The next Forum will appear in Wednesday’s Food section.
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