June Showers, Baby Cakes, and Cookies!

Here in upstate New York, we won't let the almost certain chance of rain dash our plans. I've heard it said that, here, "If you don't like the weather, wait five minutes!"After what seems like rain every day so far for the first two weeks of June, we seem to have turned a corner and the sun came out late Friday afternoon, all day yesterday, and this Sunday morning I woke to bright sunshine streaming through my bedroom window. What a nice surprise, especially after the forecasters advised to get any outdoor plans accomplished on Saturday. I haven't checked the weather for the rest of today, and this cheerful morning sun could go tuck itself behind some clouds later today, but for now, I'm enjoying it!

There's been a bit of baking going on in my kitchen over the past few days, which has been somewhat challenging given that I hurt my elbow the other day. In an attempt to fling a too-heavy bag of trash into the back of my son-in-law's truck (after emptying my refrigerator of out-dated items I'd planned to cook/eat but never did - heavy things like ricotta cheese, etc. -- a huge waste of money!!!) it happened. I didn't realize how heavy the bag actually was and how (apparently) weak my right arm is when the bag didn't quite make it up into the truck and bent my poor elbow back in the wrong direction! So, woe is me but I'm on the mend with good advice from Russ (chiropractor b'friend). Still, there were cookies to finish and a fondant baby to make for my friend Cindy's daughter's baby shower, and there was no way I was going to disappoint them. I tried to switch my brain to using my left hand over my right, and everything worked out fine.

Before the elbow fiasco, in addition to baby feet cookies, there was enough cookie dough left over to make a few chocolate-dipped cookies with toasted coconut. The recipe follows - it's the same sugar cookie recipe I always use, from Alton Brown. The only thing I don't do is refrigerate the dough as he suggests. Instead, I let it rest at room temperature for a few minutes and then roll it out without chilling. It always works very well so I suggest you do the same. Chilling made it too stiff to roll (must be all that butter!).

Baby Cake and Cookies!

And here's the easy recipe for those chocolate-dipped toasted coconut cookies:

CHOCOLATE-DIPPED TOASTED COCONUT COOKIES

Sugar cookie dough - enough for 2 dozen cookies
Melted chocolate (I used 1 cup of Wilton's Dark Chocolate Candy Wafers)
Toasted Coconut - about 1/2 -1 cup (you can save whatever you don't use)

Bake sugar cookies in 2-inch (or whatever size) rounds according to recipe directions. I used a biscuit cutter to make the circles.  Allow to cool on wire rack.

Toast coconut: In pre-heated 350-degree Farenheit oven, on ungreased cookie sheet, toast coconut just until it begins to brown. It took 7 minutes in my oven. Remove from heat.  Put toasted coconut in a bowl.

Melt chocolate.  I melted my chocolate wafers in the microwave for 1 minute. Be careful - the bowl gets hot. Remove from microwave and stir until it's smooth. If using chocolate chips, you can add 1 tablespoon of shortening to the chocolate before you melt it - thins it enough for easier dipping.

Dip one side of cooled cookies into melted chocolate.  Hold over coconut and sprinkle coconut over melted chocolate.  Allow to cool on cookie sheet until chocolate is set (you can pop it in the fridge or freezer for a few minutes to speed up the process).

Chocolate-dipped Toasted Coconut Cookies!

I hope you all enjoy this beautiful Sunday, and I wish every father, grandfather, and Godfather a wonderful day with those you love.

Enjoy!