VANILLA RICH WHITE CHOCOLATE CHUNK-COCONUT-PECAN COOKIES

This recipe, from McCormick, was supposed to use semi-sweet chocolate chips and walnuts.  But since it was a vanilla-rich cookie, it seemed to me that white chocolate would be a better choice.  I passed up the chemical-tasting white chocolate chips that don’t contain any cocoa butter at all and opted, instead, to use Ghiradelli white chocolate bars, cut into chunks. 



Ghiradelli’s white chocolate baking bar contains cocoa butter and no partially hydrogenated fats.  The flavor is rich, the texture is smooth.  These worked well in this cookie with the coconut, pecans and extra vanilla.  Everyone loves this cookie, including me.



After the cookies cool, the chocolate chunks are soft and almost gooey, and the outside edges of the cookie are crisp.  The insides are soft and almost chewy.  The cookies start to soften quickly and lose their crispy edges, but it doesn’t matter.  These are so good, no one cares about crispy edges.  These are just plain good.

Vanilla Rich White Chocolate Chunk-Coconut-Pecan Cookies Adapted from McCormick’s Vanilla Rich Chocolate Chip Cookies Rating:  9.5 out of 10 Click for PRINTABLE PAGE

INGREDIENTS:  3-1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour 1 tsp. baking soda 3/4 tsp. sea salt or kosher salt 1-1/3 cups (2 sticks + 5-1/3 Tbsp.)butter, softened 1-1/4 cup granulated sugar (I used 1/2 cup sugar + 3 Tbsp. NuNaturals Stevia) 1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar 2 large eggs 4 tsp. pure vanilla extract (I used homemade) 1 (4 oz.) bar Ghiradelli white chocolate, cut into  chunks (almost 1 cup) 1 cup sweetened dried coconut 1 cup toasted broken pecans Heat oven to 375F.  Whisk together flour, baking soda and salt in medium bowl; set aside. Beat butter and sugars in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy.  Add eggs and vanilla; mix well.  Gradually beat in flour mixture on low speed until well mixed.  Stir in chocolate, coconut and pecans. Drop onto baking sheets lined with parchment  by rounded tablespoonfuls about 2 inches apart.  (I used my small ice cream scoop.)     Bake 9-11 minutes, or till lightly browned.  Cool on baking sheets 1 minute, then transfer to  wire rack to finish cooling.  Yield:  about 28 (3-1/2”) sturdy cookies.

ORANGE-PECAN-WHITE CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

This recipe, adapted from Ghiradelli, makes a sweet, chewy cookie with a crunchy exterior full of complex,  outstanding flavors.  The original recipe calls for Macadamia nuts, but I used pecans instead.  Just about everyone who tasted these thought the pecans were Macadamia nuts, but I’m not sure why.  Although pecans and Macadamia nuts both taste buttery, the appearance of the nuts is distinctly different. 

The original recipe is on the back of packages of Ghiradelli white chocolate chips.  I made changes, noted below.  These cookies got the most raves of anything I have made lately, and I would definitely make them again.  The orange zest, though not in the original, is the final touch that takes these over the top.  

I used 1/4 cup dough per cookie to make 17 (3-1/2”) cookies; and rounded tablespoonfuls of dough to make 8 smaller cookies.  Everyone liked the larger cookies better.  Although they’re very soft when they first come out of the oven, they firm up and become sturdy.   Use a toothpick inserted near center to test for doneness.  If it returns with just a few crumbs, remove the cookies from the oven.

Orange-Pecan-White Chocolate Chip Cookies Adapted from Ghiradelli Rating:  9.5 out of 10 PRINTABLE RECIPE

INGREDIENTS:  1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter.  1 cup brown sugar 1-1/2 cups granulated sugar (I used 3 Tbsp. NuNaturals Stevia + 3/4 cup sugar) 1 Tbsp. finely grated orange zest  (my addition) 2 large eggs 2-1/4 tsp. vanilla (I used 1-1/2 tsp. vanilla  extract+ 3/4 tsp. chocolate extract) 3 cups all-purpose flour (I used 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour + 1 cup bread flour) 1/2 tsp. baking soda 1 tsp. salt (I used sea salt) 2 cups Ghiradelli white chocolate chips 1 cup Macadamia nuts (I used toasted broken pecans) Heat oven to 350F.  Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Let butter sit on counter for about 1/2 hour.  Do not soften in microwave, and do not allow butter to get too warm.  In large bowl, cream butter, sugars and zest on medium speed of mixer.  Beat in eggs and flavoring.  Stir in flour, baking soda and salt, mixing only till barely combined.  Fold in chips and nuts.  Using 1/4 cup dough for each cookie, drop mounds onto cookie sheet, spacing several inches apart.  Bake 13-16 minutes, or till lightly browned on edges.  Do not overbake.  Cookies will be very soft.  Allow to sit in pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire rack to finish cooling.  Yield:  21 (3-1/2”) cookies

WHITE CHOCOLATE CRANBERRY OATMEAL COOKIES

Get ready for a really, really good cookie! This one is very crispy on the outside with a wonderfully tender, slightly crunchy interior. A subtle orange flavor with a hint of cinnamon perfectly complements the creamy white chocolate chips and tangy dried cranberries. These are a little piece of heaven.

A word about white chocolate chips: Please read the package labels before you buy. If you see "hydrogenated" or "partially hydrogenated" anywhere in the list of ingredients, put the package back and find one that doesn't contain those words. Look for pure cocoa butter in the list of ingredients. Wal-Mart used to have Sam's Choice White Chocolate Chips, which contained pure cocoa butter. They were Wal-Mart's best kept secret and I bought them for years, reveling in the creamy rich cocoa flavor of their chips. But to my dismay, they discontinued them recently and I'm left to search for alternatives now. I bought Ghiradelli last time, and while they're not as good as the Sam's Choice, they're vastly superior to Nestle. I would do without white chocolate if Nestle were the only supplier left on the planet.

White Chocolate Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies

Adapted from RecipeGirl.com

Rating: 10 out of 10

INGREDIENTS: 1/2 cup flour

1/4 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. cinnamon

1/8 tsp. sea salt

1-1/2 tsp. grated orange zest

1/2 cup quick (not instant) oats

1/2 cup white chocolate chips

1/4 cup dried sweetened cranberries

1/4 cup toasted broken walnuts

5 Tbsp. Smart Balance 50/50 blend

1/4 cup sugar (or sugar substitute)

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 egg (1-1/2 Tbsp.)

1/4 tsp. pure vanilla extract

1/4 tsp. orange extract

Heat oven to 350F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In small bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, zest and oats; stir in chips, berries and walnuts; set aside.

In a medium bowl, beat SB and sugars till smooth. (I do this by hand, because I've found that my cookies are much better when I make them by hand. They never collapse in the center; they're always fat and puffy, and the texture is better. I believe this is because hand beating doesn't overheat the dough.)

Beat in egg, vanilla, & orange extract. Stir in dry ingredients.

Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls onto prepared sheets, 2" apart. Bake until edges are light brown, 11-13 min. (Mine took 12 min., and I put a toothpick in the centers to check for doneness.) Cool in pan 2-3 min., then turn out onto wire rack to finish cooling. Yield: 11 cookies

NOTE: If you want a bigger batch, just double the ingredients. These cookies will not spread much; they'll stay high and puffy and look like little miniature scones.

WHITE CHOCOLATE-CHERRY COOKIES, AKA JOHN'S KITCHEN SINK COOKIES

Right now, my fridge, freezer and pantry are overloaded with leftovers of baking projects. Like the 2 cups of dried cherries soaked in creme de cocoa...and the tub of crumb topping in the freezer that's a combination of 3 different topping leftovers...the half-used carton of buttermilk... the bag of self-rising flour...etc., etc. Enter Martha Stewart (and many others on the internet) with John's Kitchen Sink Cookies recipe. If they're throwing in the kitchen sink, maybe I can use some of my leftovers. Hmmm. Martha says these cookies are chewy and rich, sweet and nutty, and that other dried fruits besides raisins would work. So I decide to give these a try with my drunken cherries and some white chocolate chips.

Let me say a word about white chocolate chips. Do not buy Nestle Premier White Chocolate Chips. Why? There's no cocoa butter in them, only partially hydrogenated palm kernel and palm oils. Read the label. Don't buy Ghiradelli white chocolate chips. There's no cocoa butter in them. Only palm kernel and palm oils. If you don't like white chocolate chips, you may be eating the wrong ones. Do yourself a favor and go to Wal-Mart: buy Sam's Choice white chocolate chips, made with real cocoa butter and no hydrogenated oils. They're delicious and quite inexpensive.

The flavor combination in these cookies is a real winner; white chocolate and creme-de-cocoa- soaked cherries are addictive. Bet you can't eat just one. Try these, and they'll be on your list of faves.

White Chocolate-Cherry Cookies, AKA John's Kitchen Sink Cookies (half recipe)
Rating: 8 out of 10
(for original recipe, go to http://www.marthastewart.com/ and do a search on John's Kitchen Sink Cookies.

1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour, lightly spooned and leveled
1/2 tsp. sea salt
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup light brown sugar
3/4 tsp. dark corn syrup
1-1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1 large egg
1/2 cup dried cherries soaked in 1/2 cup creme de cocoa for as long as you can (I put mine in the fridge, covered for more than a week; alternatively you can simmer the liqueur and cherries in a small pan on the stove for about 3-5 minutes, then drain the cherries.)
1/3 cup white chocolate chips (made with real cocoa butter, no hydrogenated oils)
1/3 cup toasted chopped nuts of your choice (I used walnuts)
1/4 cup old-fashioned oats

Preheat oven to 375F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside. In a large bowl, whisk together first four ingredients; set aside.
Using an electric mixer, on low speed, beat together the butter, sugar, corn syrup and vanilla until well combined. Beat in egg until well incorporated, still using low speed. Gradually mix in flour mixture just till combined. Do not overmix. Fold in remaining ingredients.

Drop 2-inch balls of dough, spaced 2" apart, onto prepared baking sheets. Flatten dough balls slightly. Bake 12-16 minutes, or till cookies are lightly browned and test done with a toothpick inserted in center. Cool 5 minutes on baking sheets; transfer to wire rack to cool completely.
Yield: 12 cookies