Saturday, October 02, 2010

Teacher Appreciation Week: Bittman's Coconut and Nut Chews -- Wow!

This week is Teacher Appreciation Week. Baby G's teachers love him and take good care of him during the work week, we try to show our appreciation often! Ms. Lara and Ms. Meagan love when I bring in baked goods and other homemade treats. So, I thought I would make them something yummy, but easy since most of my baking stuff is still packed up.
Baby G happened to pull our copy of "Food Matters" by Mark Bittman off the living room shelf the other day. I had previously earmarked a number of recipes, and "Coconut and Nut Chews" was one of them. I knew these would be good, they definitely sounded interesting. I did vary my add-ins slightly, and I recommend waiting the 30 mins before peeling them off of the parchment. I did not and half of the first one was left behind. I will likely package them in stacks with small squares of wax paper between them -- they are a bit sticky, but definitely good and worth repeating.

ORIGINAL RECIPE
Coconut and Nut Chews
"Food Matters" by Mark Bittman (page 289)

1 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups shredded unsweetened coconut
1 1/2 cups chopped nuts
4 egg whites, lightly beaten until just foamy
1 tsp vanilla extract
Pinch salt

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Combine all ingredients and mix well with a rubber spatula.
2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper (this I recommend).
3. Wet hands and make small balls about 1 Tbsp. in size, and put on prepared sheet about 1 inch apart.
4. Bake until light brown, about 15 mins. Remove from oven and let cool on a rack or at least 30 minutes. The keep well in a covered container for up to 3 days.

*Bittman notes, "as long as you keep the total volume (minus sugar and eggs) to 3 cups, you can make a 'kitchen sink' cookie that includes a bit of everything." I took him at his word.

MY INGREDIENTS

1 cup sugar
1 cup sweetened shredded coconut
1/2 cup white chocolate chips
3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup craisins
4 egg whites

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