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The Cookie Swap Made Me Do It: Coconut Caramel Chews
Doing this Cookie Swap contest has brought up many interesting questions: Where can I get orange oil? Does the use of cake mixes count against a cookie? What defines a cookie? What’s the difference between a brownie and a cookie? Are truffles and rum balls a cookie?
What about bars? After much contemplation, I’ve decided that bars are cookies, just in another shape. Both are baked sweet doughs, but bars are baked and then cut, while sugar cookies, for example, are cut and then baked.
The Coconut Caramel Chews recipe from Mary Haley caught the eye of Cookie Swap judge Rebecca Wallace Ford earlier this week. We were poring over recipes, and she pulled out this one. “Seventy-five years is a long time,” she said as she pointed to Haley’s description, which explained that the recipe has been in her family for three quarters of a century.
And after I baked these bars and handed them out to the newsroom, I could see why.
The brown sugar, coconut and egg white mixture on top turns into a chewy topping after baking. The sugar cookie-like dough was thick enough to press into the pan, and the topping tasted similar to caramel, without the work of actually having to make caramel.
Lots of “mmms” and “wow, this is good” on these little bars.
To get a feel for the recipes being exchanged in the Statesman’s Virtual Cookie Swap, I’ve started baking recipes that catch my eye. It’s a lot of cookies, but someone’s got to do it. You can leave comments or rate the recipes you try. The deadline to enter to win the title of Austin’s Best Cookie 2009 was Dec. 2. We’ll announce finalists on Dec. 6 and pick a winner at a holiday bash at Stubb’s on Dec. 17. Stay tuned for details.
Permalink | Comments (1) | Post your comment Categories: 2009 Cookie Swap, Cooking, Desserts
Comments
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By Polly
December 23, 2009 1:34 PM | Link to this
I caqn’t find the two main cookies that won the cookie swap - I went all the way through the site to the clams! Are the recipes in some sort of unfamiliar format? I’m frustrated - chocolate and carament together is my favorite!
Polly Hewitt