Three cookies recipes: One no bake, one bar cookie and one traditional rolled out and fully decorated cookie.

DULCE DE LECHE COCONUT PECAN KRISPIE BALLS (I’m gonna have to come up with a shorter name)

Dulce de Leche coconut balls recipe (makes 45 balls)

1 ½ cups shredded sweetened coconut

1 ½ cups pecans

½ cup dark chocolate chips

14 oz dulce de leche (in your grocery store near the condensed milk)

1 cup rice krispies

Finely chop coconut and pecans in a food processor

Mix with chocolate chips, dulce de leche and rice krispies. Scoop into small balls, I used a 025 ounce scoop.

Topping

2 cups sweetened shredded coconut

½ cup pecans

Roll the balls the topping mixture

BROWNED BUTTER BLONDIES

Browned Butter Blondies (makes 16 blondies)

1 stick butter

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup Cane Syrup

4 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup all-purpose flour

spray and 8*8 inch pan with nonstick spray and line with parchment paper. Preheat oven to 325 degrees

Brown the butter over medium heat in a small saucepan for about 4 minutes.  When it’s ready the butter should smell nutty and be golden brown.  Let the butter cool.

Beat butter sugar, cane syrup eggs, vanilla and salt in the bowl of a mixer.  Mix on medium speed for 2 minutes.

Add flour and mix until just combined, about 1 minute.

Pour into prepared pan and bake at 325 degrees for about 35-40 minutes.

let cool completely and cut into 16 squares

SUGAR COOKIES

Sugar cookie recipe for rolling (makes about 30-40 cookies depending on the size of your cookie cutters)

1 ½ cups powdered sugar

1 stick soft butter

½ teaspoon kosher salt

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 ½ cups All-purpose  flour

1/4 teaspoon your favorite spice like cinnamon, or garam masala (optional)

2 tablespoons colored sugar (optional)

I use a stand mixer, but this sugar cookie dough is easy to make by hand with a wooden spoon.

Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper

In a bowl mix butter,  powdered sugar , egg , salt and vanilla thoroughly in a bowl until combined (about 2 minutes on medium in a stand mixer)

Stir in the flour and optional spices and mix until well combined but not over mixed.

Divide dough in half, form each half into a disk and wrap each disk in plastic.  Chill the dough in the refrigerator for about a half hour.

Spread a thin layer of flour on your counter and put one disk of cookie dough on it ( leave the other disk in the fridge until you are ready to use it)  Roll out your dough with a floured rolling pin to about  1/8  inch thick. I use rolling pin bands to help me roll the dough evenly; no more guessing about what 1/8 of an inch is or struggling to keep the dough at an even thickness.

Pre heat your oven to 350 drgrees

Dip your cookie cutter in flour and cut out your shapes.  Use a thin metal spatula ( dusted with flour) to lift the cookies off the counter and place them onto the parchment lined cookie sheet.  If you are not decorating your cookies with frosting you can sprinkle them with white or colored sugar before you bake them

Bake the cookies for 10-12 (depending on the size of your cookies) until they are just very slightly brown around the edges.  Let them cool to room temperature before you frost them.

You can re-roll the scraps of the cookie dough that are left over after cutting out your cookies.  Just gather the scraps, form them into a disk, wrap in plastic and refrigerate for a half hour before rolling)

Royal Icing

1 cup powdered sugar

2 ½ tablespoons pasteurized egg whites

Food coloring

You can find pasteurized egg whites in the dairy section of your grocery store

Mix Powdered sugar and egg whites together. Add more egg white to make a runnier consistency, add powdered sugar to make a thicker consistency. Add food coloring one drop at a time until you reach the desired color.

DECORATE: 

Using a disposable pastry bag  (cut a tiny bit off of the tip to make a small hole) pipe an outline with royal icing.  Thin the icing slightly  with a drop or two of egg white.  Use this to fill in the outlined area.

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