Happy October! Coconut Cream Cheese Cookies

My mother used to frequently admonish me with this saying... a man who looks at many trees seldom climbs even one.. This week, it has been something like that.. 4 different ideas all half complete.. Well make that 3 half complete, & the fourth (from yesterdays mega-inspiration), went through not one, but two fabulous versions. The first with a lemons worth of zest and the next, with cardamom, saffron & coconut.

This weeks recipe is an Indian inspired version of Merrill Stubbs' mothers iconic cream-cheese cookies. follow this link for the original version.

Photo credit: Jennifer Causey & Food52.com

While OOHing & aahing at this genius of a rich cookie gem, a lot of the food52 contributors came up with a list of variations for this simple recipe & my input was initially saffron & cardamom. Combined with another suggestion (indirectly from Merrill herself) of coconut, comes this unbelievably simple keeper.

Coconut cream cheese cookies (adapted from Merrill Stubbs recipe on Food52.com).

Ingredients: (makes ~ 24 cookies)

3 oz. Plain cream cheese at room temperature
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup grated coconut
1/4 tsp saffron threads, crushed
1 tsp powdered cardamom seeds
1/2 tsp salt

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the cream cheese, butter, sugar, salt, saffron & cardamom powder.

Cream using a beater or manually with a wooden spoon till light & & fluffy (~ 5-7 minutes).

Combine the coconut and the flour & mix just until the flour is completely incorporated into the batter.

Using a measuring tablespoon (or a small ice cream scoop), scoop out dollops of the cookie batter and gently place on the baking sheets.

Make sure you leave about 2-3 inches in between, Believe me this is important! or else the cookies tend to expand into one another as seen below!

Bake for about 10-12 minutes till you notice the edges browning. Keep an eye on the oven to ensure that the underside of the cookie does not brown too much.

Remove from the oven, cool on a cookie rack. Goes great with a cup of hot coffee..

Bon appetit!

Product Review: Ninja Mega Kitchen system and a recipe for Masala Dosa

One of the biggest reasons for attending conferences is the priceless experience of meeting fellow bloggers and get an invaluable exposure to all things culinary. This includes vendors with new products to savor and get inspiration from. I had no complaints about whatever appliances I had for making traditional Dosa (Traditional South Indian rice & lentil crepes) batter, a sturdy tabletop stone grinder that you could add the Urad dal, turn the timer on , and 30 minutes later, come back to a container full of fluffy, batter with the consistency of whipped egg whites. The The cons of this is the cleaning up, of the various parts, the roller, the grinding bin, the multiple trays on which the rollers need to be placed while transferring the rice & lentil batter, the invariable drips of thick batter on the counter.... you get the point, It takes quite a bit of time. I was pleasantly surprised when the appliance company, Ninja asked me if I'd like to try an...

Somewhat Rare Treats - Banana Stem Stir Fry

The banana tree has often been described as a perfect example of being totally useful from root to fruit. (well, considering that the 'tree' is in reality a mutant, giant grass, the description begs for quite a bit of clarification). The banana 'plant grows from fat squat entities called corms which are the actual stems of the plant, the 'trunk' in reality is the base of the leaves which are tightly layered in concentric layers. In terms of its use, other than the fruit, the inflorescence (banana flower) is often used as a vegetable in Asian cuisine, the leaves are used for wrapping food for steaming, as disposable plates and the occasional umbrella. The fibers from the exterior part of the stems are used for textiles as well as yarn. The core (or the heart) used for cooking consists of the central, compressed part of the stem, the part which cannot be peeled off in layers. Its been used as a folk remedy for kidney stones and thanks to its fiber rich...

Khandvi deconstructed.. Chickpea flour Spaghetti & Pappardelle Pasta

Khandvi may well be my all time favorite noshing 'tiffin' tea time snack & quite possibly because it can be pretty intimidating at first sight. a beautiful, almost impossible vision to behold, gossamer thin, jellied strips of chickpea flour & sour yogurt, tiny miniature savory Swiss rolls that delightfully wobble in your mouth before delicately disintegrating & gliding down your throat, making way for... the next little morsel!

Panfusine

Search This Blog