Think German Chocolate Cake, without the cake. Think German Chocolate Frosting, in a cookie.

It’s a cookie. No, it’s a candy. It’s a cookie that tastes like candy.

It’s a cookie that causes the person eating it to roll their eyes, moan and say:

“oh my gosh” (socially acceptable version).

This is one lovely, delectable cookie.

Be prepared to swoon.

German Chocolate Macaroons

1 pkg. sweetened, shredded coconut (14 oz), divided

1 cup finely chopped, toasted pecans

1 can sweetened,condensed milk (12 oz): 1/3 cup for cookies, the rest for topping

3 egg whites

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 cup sugar

4 tbsp butter, melted

2 tsp pure vanilla

Topping:

4 oz sweet chocolate, chopped

Sweetened, condensed milk (see above)

Dash of pure vanilla

For the Macaroons:

1.  Mince 1 1/2 cups coconut in a food processor.

2.  Transfer minced coconut to mixing bowl. Add remaining coconut and pecans;  toss to combine.

3.  Whisk together 1/2 cup sweetened, condensed milk, egg whites flour sugar, butter, and vanilla in a bowl with a pour spout.

4.  Gently mix egg white mixture into coconut and pecans until combined. Chill dough for at least 1 hour, or up to 24 hours.

5.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees, or 375 degrees for high altitude. Line baking sheets with parchment or Silpat. Scoop dough onto prepared baking sheets with a #60 cookie scoop (about 2 tsp), spacing 1-inch apart.

6.  Bake cookies until brown on base and golden on tops and edges, 16-18 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes, then transfer to cooling racks.

For the Toppings:

1. Cook remaining sweetened, condensed milk in a double boiler until slightly thickened, 45 minutes to 1 hour, 15 minutes.*

2. While sweetened, condensed milk is thickening, melt sweetened chocolate in microwave, in 35 second intervals until chocolate is halfway melted. Stir to continue melting.

3. Drizzle and spoon chocolate over tops and sides of macaroons.

4. When sweetened, condensed milk has thickened, add a dash of vanilla, stirring well.

5. Drizzle thickened condensed milk over macaroons.

*Note: Recipe called for 45 minutes over double boiler to thicken, but it took much longer for the condensed milk to thicken (over an hour). The extra time is worth it. I suggest starting the process while you are making the macaroons, instead of waiting until the cookies are baked.

Thank you to Cuisine Holiday Cookies magazine for a delicious recipe! (I eliminated the shortening in the chocolate topping, increased the vanilla in the cookies, and added the dash of vanilla to condensed milk topping).

These cookies are a tradition at our house during the holidays, but would make an excellent cookie choice for Easter or any Spring or Summer get-together. They would be ideal at a wedding, bridal or baby shower.

This past Christmas, things were hectic at our house. Our home had been under construction for months, I got sick, and we were breathlessly awaiting the birth of our second grandchild. Needless to say, I didn’t get to my holiday baking, which at our house, is unheard of. Sure enough, my daughter went into labor and I could not think of much else. We were blessed with the appearance of our grandson early in the morning on Christmas Eve, the best Christmas gift any of us could ask for. I could not fathom celebrating Christmas without something sweet, so I somehow managed to make these cookies. They were all we needed. Our family Christmas was complete.

For the Cookies:

1 6oz. can orange juice concentrate, thawed

1 1/2 c sugar

1 c (2 sticks) butter, softened

1 c sour cream, at room temperature

2 eggs

4 c all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

2 tbsp grated orange zest

For the Frosting:

6 tbsp butter, softened

3 1/2 c powdered sugar

4 tbsp evaporated milk, or enough to make frosting fluffy and spreadable

2 tbsp reserved orange juice concentrate

1 tbsp grated orange zest

2 tsp or 1 tbsp vanilla (to taste)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees (375 degrees for high altitude).

To Make Cookies:

Reserve 2 tbsp. orange juice concentrate for frosting. Grate 2 tbsp. orange zest for the cookies and 1 tbsp. zest for the frosting. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, cream sugar and butter together for 2 minutes. Add sour cream, eggs, and orange juice concentrate. Mix well.

In another bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add the flour mixture and grated zest to sugar/butter mixture and beat thoroughly. Using a 1 inch cookie scoop or a rounded tablespoon of dough, drop cookies onto a nonstick baking sheet (or line baking sheet with Silpat or parchment), and bake for 10-12 minutes or until the bottom of cookies are just lightly browned. Do not overbake. Remove the cookies from the baking sheet and transfer to a baking rack to cool.

To Make Frosting:

Beat butter in mixing bowl to fluff. Beat in the powdered sugar and evaporated milk, alternately, until the frosting is fluffy and spreadable. Add the reserved orange juice concentrate and orange zest, mixing well.

Frost cookies and enjoy!

Makes  60 1-inch cookies or 30 2-inch cookies.

Adapted from More Recipes from Quilt Country Cookbook

1/2 c shortening

1/2 c butter, softened

1 cup sugar

1 cup brown sugar

2 large eggs

2 tsp vanilla

2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup creamy or crunchy peanut butter

3 c unbleached flour

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease two baking sheets or line with Silpat or parchment.

In a mixing bowl, cream together the shortening and the butter. Add sugars and beat until fluffy. Add the eggs, vanilla, baking soda, salt, and peanut butter. Mix until combined. Add flour, stirring to combine.

Drop the dough by tablespoonfuls onto the baking sheets, leaving space between each cookie. Press down each cookie with a fork to make a crisscross pattern, pressing slightly each time. Bake the cookies for 10-12 minutes, or until cookies are lightly browned.

Remove from the oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Adapted from one of my favorite cookbooks : King Arthur Flour Cookie Campanion