Category Archives: COOKIE RECIPES

GRASSHOPPER BROWNIES

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Since it is Valentine’s Day (ahhhhhh) I thought I would share something sweet with you today. (Actually I consider Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day to be Hallmark holidays. Father’s Day too, but that doesn’t affect me! I have always felt that if my husband and children choose to only tell me how wonderful I am one day a year through the means of a $2.95 card, I might as well pack my bags. I mean really, what about the other 364 days in the year? Once a year being told that you are loved by the people at Hallmark is just not enough for me personally! Whew – got that out of my system. And yes, I know that makes me kind of a spoil sport, but I am willing to accept the title if it gets my point across. In other words, show those you love how much they mean to you each and every day of the year.) Now where was I? Oh yes, something sweet to share with you.

I have been making these brownies for over 10 years. They are rich and decadent and everything about them screams I LOVE YOU! I mean truly, who could even begin to imagine they were not loved with a big old bite of one of these brownies in their mouth. So if you want to help your loved ones feel cherished every day of the year, (and not just on special occasions), make them something good to eat. It doesn’t even have to be one of these brownies, although that’s not a bad idea! It can be as fancy as a special pasta that they like, or as simple as a beautifully ripe pear. As long as whatever you set before them is delivered with love, your family and friends are always going to know how important they are to you.   Happy Valentine’s Day my friends.

Brownie:

  • 1/2 c. butter, room temperature
  • 1 c. sugar
  • 1 c. flour
  • 4 eggs, room temperature
  • 1 ½ c. chocolate ice cream syrup (Hershey’s is perfect)

Filling:

  •  ½ c. butter, room temperature
  • 2 c. powdered sugar (or more as needed to reach desired consistency)
  • 2 T. green crème de menthe*   

Glaze:

  • 6 T. butter
  • 6 oz. (1 c. chocolate chips)

**Brownie: Cream butter and sugar; add flour, eggs, and chocolate ice cream syrup. Beat until completely blended. Pour batter into a lightly buttered 9×13-inch pan and bake in a pre-heated 350 degree oven for 30 minutes. Let cool completely. Filling: Cream butter together with powdered sugar and *crème de menthe. Spread filling on cooled brownie. Let frosting set up for at least 15 minutes. Glaze: Melt butter in a small saucepan. Remove from heat and add chocolate chips. Let sit for about a minute; stir until chips are completely melted. Gently smooth glaze over mint filling layer. Glaze will flow very easily and when cool will have a glossy appearance. Carefully cover the pan with plastic wrap (don’t let the wrap touch the glaze); refrigerate for at least an hour. Cut into bars and store in the refrigerator. Can be served cold or at room temperature.

*If you only own white crème de menthe, add 3 drops green food coloring. If you don’t happen to own either green or white crème de menthe, or don’t happen to want to use liqueur in your brownies or purchase a whole bottle of liqueur for just one recipe (I do this all the time and it drives Mr. C. crazy), add 3 drops green food coloring and ½ teaspoon peppermint extract. (I use Trader Joe’s Organic Peppermint Extract.)  And by-the-way, if you happen to have a great recipe for a dessert that uses Banana Liqueur, please send it my way. Mr. C. would be ever so pleased.

**If you don’t have a lot of time to prepare the “brownie” part of this recipe, you can cheat like I do sometimes and use a brownie mix. I love the Ghirardelli Triple Chocolate Brownie Mix that Costco carries.

 

 

COCONUT-LIME SHORTBREAD COOKIES

My husband, better known in cyber world as “Mr. C.”, and our good friend Jim hate coconut. Won’t touch it, won’t try it, won’t like it! However, out of a desperate need for a cookie recipe that did not include chocolate, I went in search of something different. Luckily I found this fabulous recipe (compliments of Better Homes and Garden), tweaked it a bit to better reflect my tastes, and have been making it ever since. Oh, back to Mr. C. and Jim. Well it so happens that the day I made these cookies Mr. C. and I had been invited to Jim and Margo’s home for dinner. Knowing that Margo loves coconut as much as I do, I took some along for her to try. (I’m sure you could write the end of this story, but I’m going to bore you with the details anyway.) The guys decided that they would condescend to try the cookies so that my delicate feelings would not be hurt. Right!! And as I am sure you have already surmised, they loved the cookies, coconut and all. So for all of you coconut haters out there (poor refined palate challenged folk that you are) give these cookies a try. It’s not too late to join our happy band of coconuts. (Get it? Coconuts!)

  • ½ c. flaked coconut, toasted**
  • ½ c. sugar
  • 2 T. finely shredded lime peel (zest)
  • 1 tsp. vanilla
  • 2 ½ c. flour
  • 1 c. butter, cut into pieces
  • 1 recipe lime glaze (recipe below)

In a food processor combine coconut, sugar, lime zest, and vanilla. Cover and process until coconut is finely chopped. Add flour; cover and process with the on/off pulse just to combine. Add butter; cover and process until mixture starts to cling. Transfer to a bowl and shape dough into a ball. Using a small ice cream scoop, form balls, and place 1-inch apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Flatten each ball slightly with your fingers until the cookies are about 1/3-inch thick. Bake in a pre-heated 325 degree oven for about 15 minutes or until bottoms start to brown. Transfer cookies to a wire rack; let cool. When completely cool and still on the wire rack, drizzle each cookie with Lime Glaze. Allow glaze to harden completely. Store cookies in an airtight container.

**Toasted Coconut

Place coconut on a baking sheet. Place in a 350 degree oven for about 10 minutes or until the coconut starts to turn a light brown around the edges of the pan. Remove from oven and allow to cool before using in any recipe that calls for toasted coconut.

Lime Glaze recipe:

  • 2 c. powdered sugar (or more)
  • ½ tsp. finely shredded lime peel
  • 1 T. lime juice (or more)
  •  water

Whisk powdered sugar, lime peel, lime juice, and about 2 tablespoons water together in a small bowl. You will need to play around with the consistency, but basically you want to be able to stick a fork in the glaze and drizzle the frosting off the tines of the fork in a thin stream. Add more lime juice or powdered sugar or water as needed to reach desired consistency.