Cookie Lei Recipes

HAWAIIAN NUT COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat an oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
• Beat the butter, brown sugar, and white sugar with an electric mixer in a large bowl until smooth.
• Blend the egg and the almond flavoring into the creamed butter and sugar.
• Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a bowl.
• Blend the flour mixture into the butter mixture.
• Fold the pineapple tidbits and coconut flakes into the dough.
• Drop teaspoonfuls of the dough 2 inches apart onto greased baking sheets.
• Bake in preheated oven until golden brown, 10 to 12 minutes.

HAWAIIAN DREAM COOKIES

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cream shortening, butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, vanilla and lemon zest. In another bowl, whisk flour, baking powder and salt; gradually beat into creamed mixture. Divide dough in half. Shape each into a disk; wrap in plastic. Refrigerate 1 hour., Preheat oven to 350°. On a surface sprinkled with confectioners' sugar, roll dough to 1/4-in. thickness. Cut with a 2-in. round cookie cutter dusted with confectioners' sugar. Using a floured 1-in. star-shaped cookie cutter, cut out the centers of half of the cookies; re-roll scraps as needed. Place solid and window cookies 2 in. apart on greased baking sheets. Repeat with remaining dough., Bake 12-15 minutes or until edges are brown. Cool on pans 5 minutes. Remove to wire racks to cool completely., In a small saucepan, mix sugar and cornstarch. Stir in pineapple. Cook and stir over medium heat until thickened. Stir in butter. Cool completely. Spread filling on bottoms of solid cookies; top with window cookies. Dust with confectioners' sugar.

THE BEST SUGAR COOKIE RECIPE

Steps:

• Add the 4 sticks (2 cups) of butter and 2 cups of white sugar to your mixer. A word about the butter, we use Sweet Cream Salted Butter when we are baking and I think it tastes great with these sugar cookies too. The butter needs to be softened but still cold. A prime culprit for dry sugar cookie dough is butter that is too warm and soft. I let the butter sit out on the counter for just under an hour before I start making the cookies - this seems to be the perfect amount of time for me. The butter is still cold to the touch but you can press into the stick with your fingers. In the past, when in a rush, I have softened the butter in the microwave but inevitably the dough that I get is on the "crumbly" side.
• Cream the butter and sugar until it is completely mixed (3 minutes on medium-high should do the trick.)
• Add 2 tablespoons of vanilla and 2 eggs. I know that sounds like a lot of vanilla but this recipe needs a little extra moisture and the cookies will taste great.
• Mix the cookie dough until light and fluffy (about 3 more minutes.)
• Add 4 teaspoons of Baking Powder and mix.
• Mix in the 6 cups of flour two cups at a time. Don't over-mix the dough when you are adding the dry ingredients. Mix it only until the flour is incorporated into the dough.
• After you have added the 6 cups of Flour the dough should be firm but not dry or crumbly. If the dough seems to dry, add a tiny bit of vanilla or milk (start with a teaspoon) and mix again.
• Roll a handful of the dough out on a prepared surface until it's about 3/8" thick.
• Cut out shapes with cookie cutters.
• Bake in an oven pre-heated to 350 degrees for 6-10 minutes depending on the size of the cookie cutter you used. Do not over-bake! We like thicker sugar cookies so they will hold a good amount of frosting. If you make your cookies on the thick side as we have done in the pictures here, you should cook them 9-10 minutes. They might not look done to you but they are. Take them out of the oven. You don't want them to start browning around the edges the way a Chocolate Chip Cookie would, for example. The cookies should be set and just bet starting to slightly brown around the edges. Over-baking is the prime culprit if you feel your sugar cookies seem dry. If you roll out thinner cookies, or use smaller cookie cutters than the ones we have used here, you should only bake the cookies 6 or 7 minutes.
• Let your cookies cool and then they are ready for frosting. We use our Best Buttercream Frosting recipe with these Best Sugar Cookies. The frosting is easy to color and tastes so delicious and yummy on these Sugar Cookies. You will have all the tips and tricks to make this yummy homemade sugar cookie frosting right here.

COCADAS RECIPE (COCONUT MACAROONS WITH DULCE DE LECHE AND CHOCOLATE)

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients.
• In a large bowl, whisk together the sweetened condensed milk, cornstarch, egg whites, and vanilla. Stir in the coconut until well combined.
• If the dulce de leche is cold, microwave it for a few seconds until it is softened and can be stirred easily.
• Mix the dulce de leche into the coconut mixture. The mixture will be sticky, but you should be able to mold it into rounds. Cover the mixture and chill for about 30 minutes.
• Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350 F. With a tablespoon or a small ice cream scoop, make golf ball size mounds, about 1-ounce each. With damp hands, squeeze each mound together lightly until it sticks together, then shape into a ball. Place them on a single baking sheet lined with parchment, wax paper, or a silicone baking mat.
• Bake the cocadas until they are just starting to turn golden brown, 18 to 20 minutes, rotating the tray half way through cooking time. Let cool completely.
• Place the chocolate and vegetable shortening in a heat proof bowl, and place the bowl over a pot of gently simmering water. Stir until chocolate is melted. Alternatively, microwave in short 10 to 15 second bursts, stirring between each burst, until the chocolate is smooth and melted.
• Dip each cocada into the chocolate to coat the bottom of the cookie, then return it to the baking sheet. Chill until chocolate is set. Store cocodas in an airtight container for up to one week, or freeze them for up to one month.

HONEY LAVENDER COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Beat butter in a bowl with an electric mixer until creamy. Beat honey, egg, and lavender into the creamed butter until incorporated. Stir flour, 1/2 cup at a time, into butter mixture until blended. Drop spoonfuls of batter onto the prepared baking sheet about 2 inches apart.
• Bake in the preheated oven until cookies are browned on the bottom, about 15 minutes.