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Tate’s Bake Shop Gluten Free Coconut Crisp Cookies

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Tate's Bake Shop Gluten Free Coconut Crisp Cookies

Tate’s Bake Shop Gluten Free Coconut Crisp Cookies

I haven’t been very active on the food blog (or any of my blogs for that matter!) lately. My computer crashed and crashed hard a while back and, on top of that, I have been so affected by the pandemic that (truth be told) I allowed everything to get me out of my regular routine. While my family, thanks be to God, hasn’t been personally touched by the Coronavirus, the fact that so many other families have been touched and often tormented by it has shaken me to my core. For better or worse, I am an insanely empathetic person and don’t just feel other’s pain.. I FEEL it.

I decided a few weeks ago to stop reading every news story and stop visiting personally (through social media) with every person who has suffered a loss. I made the decision to pray for them but not to read every single thing going on. It’s keeping me sane.

Ironic thing is, just when I made this decision and decide to get back into my normal routine – my computer checked out on me!

2020 has a real attitude, doesn’t it?

Back to “Normal”ish

If you’ve read my food blog before or know me, personally, you know that Cookie Monster is my spirit animal. I love cookies… I live for cookies. They’re one of my favorite things to bake and eat! So I decided to jump back into the food blog with a review of some extra, extra wonderful cookies I just discovered: Tate’s Bake Shop Gluten Free Coconut Crisp Cookies (link to the cookies on Amazon). I had never seen them on store shelves before, but recently saw them at my favorite grocery store in the “cheap” bin.

If I’d ever seen them before, there wouldn’t be any of them left to go in the bargain aisle – I’d have bought them all!

These cookies are absolutely outstanding. They have such a distinctive and delicious taste of coconut (one of my favorite flavors), while giving an extraordinary crunch – something, as a dunker, I appreciate in a cookie. While these cookies were (past tense, we ate them all) fantastic right out of the bag, they were Heavenly with coffee as well.

These cookies are available on Amazon (gluten-free as well as the original) and I couldn’t recommend them more highly. I just noticed that there is also a Tate’s Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip (Amazon link) cookie and I am pretty much beside myself.

This human Cookie Monster feels like it’s Christmas morning.

I hope and pray that you and your loved ones are well and safe. I’m thinking of you and praying for you. I hope you will, now – more than ever, find the things that bring you joy and embrace them every chance you get. For me, that’s family (including my cats!), cookies, and old movies.

Stay positive and stay safe. We will get through this! ~ Joi

Tate's Bake Shop Gluten Free Coconut Crisp Cookies

Tate’s Coconut Crisp Gluten-Free Cookies with Coffee

Gluten-Free Peanut Butter Cookies: One of the Easiest Recipes of All Time

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Easy Gluten-Free Peanut Butter Cookies
Before I had to give up gluten/wheat (health reasons), I baked cookies almost weekly. That’s what we Cookie Monsters do. Once I had to swear off all of the traditional cookie ingredients, I pretty much had to swear off making cookies weekly (gluten-free flour and other ingredients are much higher).

I did not, however, at any time swear off being a Cookie Monster – so I have certain favorite recipes I use again and again. The Peanut Butter Cookies recipe below is a favorite – of mine as well as everyone else that gets within reach of these delicious cookies.

While their flavor is the best thing about them, their few (cheap) ingredients and level of insane easiness to make run a close second and third.

You’re going to love these cookies for all of these reasons. You’ll want to keep this cookie recipe handy for Christmas, birthdays, game days, and any day that calls for a yummy peanut butter cookie.


Cookie Mixes from Krusteaz Makes Christmas Gift-Giving (and Baking) Quick & Easy

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Krusteaz Cookie Mixes

Some of Krusteaz’s Cookie Mixes

Since I am gluten-free (health reasons – body dictated/brain didn’t get a vote) and I write a lot of gluten-free reviews and recipes on Get Cooking, I always like to point out when a product or recipe is NOT gluten-free – in the vein of it’s always better to be overly safe than uncommonly sorry. These cookie mixes from Krusteaz are not gluten-free, although Krusteaz does have a great line of gluten-free products, including a gluten-free flour that is as big a staple in our kitchen as I am. More about their gluten-free products in the next post.

These beautifully quick & ridiculously easy cookie mixes are a dream come true for those who bake a lot at Christmas and throughout the year.

I received these cookie mixes for taking part in Krusteaz’s National Cookie Day promotion. As a human cookie monster, I had the day marked on my calendar and jumped at the chance.

While Krusteaz Gluten-Free flour is a constant in my life (even listed on the side under my “Can’t live without”s), I had NO idea they made so many mixes. This opens up a whole new world, if we’re being honest. Their gluten-free mixes are on my radar, now, so watch for reviews of them in the future.

As for the mixes you see in this post, they could not have been easier to make and bake. The thing that came to my mind was how IDEAL they are for both…

  • busy bakers with a million and one things to do
  • bakers who have eager “little hands” ready to help

These mixes don’t even require a mixer (you can use your hands AND put those little eager hands to work!). When you use mixes, it frees up the list of ingredients needed for the cookies – allowing you to go crazy with the decorating.

Decorated Christmas Cookies

Decorated Christmas Cookies

Little hands and big hands, alike, love getting artsy! When I’m decorating cookies, it takes me back to decorating them with my mom AND to decorating them with my own three daughters when they were little.

When they were little, nothing. My youngest helped me with a batch just a few days ago. Girl talk over cookies… there’s nothing like it.

A Few Icing Suggestions:

  • If time is an issue, it’s perfectly okay to use icing from a tub. Vanilla or cream cheese are delicious on cookies.
  • Marshmallow Cream is fun and yummy on cookies (kids, especially, love it). It’s bright white color (Marshmallow Cream is on the cookie in the picture above with a Christmas tree in the middle) stands out in a crowd of cookies and, let’s keep it real here, it’s as easy as it gets. Open the jar, insert knife, spread. When icing with Marshmallow Cream, start in the middle of the cookie and gently spread outward.
  • I actually didn’t do it this time around, but you could easily use the Krusteaz Shortbread Cookie Mix and make a Quick & Easy version of Almond Scandinavian Bars. Simply bake the cookies and ice (Stir together 1 cup sifted powdered sugar, 1/4 teaspoon almond extract, and 3-4 teaspoons of milk. Drizzle on top of the cookies and top with chopped almond slices).
  • The Krusteaz Shortbread cookies have a recipe on the back for Raspberry Thumbprints that look as delicious as they are beautiful.
  • On the back of the Krusteaz Butter Vanilla Sugar Cookies is a GREAT recipe for icing (See Below). These cookies can be baked and cut with cookie cutters with a simple tweak to the recipe on the back. Complete, easy instructions are provided. While they make gorgeous cut-out cookies, these cookies couldn’t be any more beautiful than they are, as pictured on the front of the box.

Krusteaz Iced Cutout Sugar Cookie Icing: In a small bowl, stir together 3 cups powdered sugar, 3 TBS warm water, 1 TBS light corn syrup, and 1/4 almond extract until well-blended and smooth. If adding food coloring, start with a few drops until desired shade is achieved.

Krusteaz Triple Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Krusteaz Triple Chocolate Chunk Cookies – A Work of Art All By Themselves!

The Triple Chocolate Chunk Cookie Mix makes beautiful and delicious cookies that need no introduction or decorating. You could, of course, perch a reindeer, Santa, or elf on top to make them extra festive but.. personally… I love them just like they are.

Krusteaz Cookie Mixes
The Snickerdoodle Cookie Mix will be a sure favorite with everyone – Everything you need to make them is provided in the box. I added more red sugar to the coating mixture (cinnamon sugar) to make them even more festive.

Krusteaz Snickerdoodle Cookies
Kids Helping in the Kitchen

Kids love to help make Christmas cookies and the time spent with them will be among your most cherished memories. Naturally, adults should always supervise every step and keep little hands from being burned.  One of the first things I thought of with these cookie mixes were how simple they’d be for kids to make “all by themselves” (which of course means with adult eyes nearby!). Again, these mixes don’t even require electric mixers – and the measuring is as minimal as it gets.

Their favorite part might just be icing and decorating the cookies and adults should allow them complete freedom to decorate the cookies however they want. If their idea of “beautiful” is a polka dot haphazard mixture of colors you would’t personally have ever selected…. applaud them and tell them how proud you are of their creativity. Better yet, take pictures of their works of art and put them all over your social media!

Iced Christmas Cookies
Not only are there endless color options for icing, you can find a crazy selection of decorations these days. Take your time and look around at several different stores.  I found the adorable little green trees (pictured below) at Kroger and I threw just about every box into my cart. They’re just too cute perched on top of the Snickerdoodles.

Decorated Christmas Cookies
You’ll also want to grab a few icing in tubes for borders or swirly patterns.  Make no mistake about it, I’m all about the swirl.

Iced Christmas Cookies
As I said earlier, Marshmallow Cream stands out in a crowd! Maybe it’s just me, but I think it makes a gorgeous, shiny, icing.

Other fun ideas for topping cookies:

  • Crushed candy canes or peppermints
  • M&M’s (Mini M&M’s are especially cute on cookies)
  • Nuts
  • Colored Sugar
  • Dried Fruit (a bigger hit with adults than kids… trust me, here)

Decorated Christmas Cookies
 

A Few Extra Cookie-Baking Tips:

Whether you’re using Krusteaz’s great cookie mixes or a recipe, below are a few tips for smoother sailing.

  • Always read through a recipe or instructions entirely before beginning.
  • When softened butter is called for, be sure it’s really, really, really soft. IF you soften it in the microwave, be sure to do so in intervals of just a few seconds. Melted butter isn’t going to do you or the cookies any good.
  • If the recipe calls for butter, use butter… not margarine.
  • Always place cookie dough on cool cookie sheets. If you place them on warm sheets, they’ll spread like… oh, nevermind.
  • As a general Cookie Rule, place cookies containing leavening 2 inches apart on cookie sheets. Unleavened cookies can be placed 1-1/2 inches apart.
  • Unless otherwise instructed, remove cookies immediately from cookie sheets after they come out of the oven, as they will continue to cook if they’re allowed to hang out on the pan.
  • Cool cookies on a wire rack for the best air circulation.
  • When baking, use the middle oven rack.
  • I’ve become obsessed with using parchment paper – it’s a bakers best friend… okay, second, behind butter.
  • Pre-Heat your oven for at least 10 minutes before cooking.

Iced Cut Out Christmas Cookies
If you have to eat gluten free, thanks to Krusteaz Gluten Free Flour, you can bake any darn cookies you want. See my Gluten Free Cranberry Pecan Cookies for inspiration.

More Information:


Pecan Sandies: Perfect Little Cookies (They Are Sooo Not Just for Christmas!)

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Pecan Sandies

Pecan Sandies

Have you ever bit into something you’ve made for a holiday and asked yourself (with a glorious mouth full of food), “Why don’t I make this more often?!”  Happens to me all the time.  Well, it USED to happen. Not long ago, I figured it all out: Life’s too short and food’s too lovely to chain favorite recipes to any given day.

Pecan Sandies are a delicious example. These quick, simple, inexpensive to make little delicacies are too perfect to only make Christmas appearances.  You’ll find these beauties (which happen to be one of my favorite cookies) in our kitchen year round. I’ve tried quite a few different recipes for them, but the one below is the best of the best.

Pecan Sandies

1 cup butter or margarine
1/3 cup sugar
2 teaspoons water
2 teaspoons vanilla
2-1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 cup chopped pecans
1/4 cup powdered sugar

  1. Beat the butter (or margarine) with a mixer until softened.
  2. Add sugar and beat until fluffy.
  3. Add water and vanilla; beat well.
  4. Stir in flour and nuts.
  5. Shape into 1 inch balls and place on an ungreased cookie sheet.
  6. Bake in a 325 degree oven for about 20 minutes.
  7. Pour powdered sugar into a plastic bag. When the cookies have cooled, gently shake a few at a time in the powdered sugar.

Yield: About 45 buttery, sweet, delicious little cookies that I could eat by the handful.

Christmas Cookies Recipe: Beautiful Starlight Mint Sugar Cookies

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Christmas Cookies Recipe: Peppermint Swirl Cookies

As pointed out in a festive short video on Targets “A Bullseye View,” Peppermint makes the Christmas season even more beautifully delicious and deliciously beautiful (click here for the video). Whether it’s something as simple as hanging peppermint candy canes on the tree or baking beautiful peppermint desserts – like the cookies below – peppermint just makes the season feel more festive.

After reading the recipe, check out a few of the adorable Christmas decorations available on Target.com and in Target stores.  I recently raided our local Target and came out with 14 different Christmas decorations! Once I got started, I couldn’t stop. Seriously, two of my three daughters were with me and they couldn’t even slow me down.

Over the years, I’ve collected A LOT of Christmas ornaments. I always buy ornaments that “represent” the different members of my precious family.  Some ornaments represent an animal someone’s crazy about (cats, pigs, and polar bears for me… penguins for Emily..), favorite hobbies, favorite cartoon characters, favorite Christmas movies, etc. I also encourage everyone top pick out one or two ornaments each year that catch their eye.  Needless to say, I spend a great deal of time looking for ornaments and I give you my word – Target has the best selection of original ornaments AND the best prices on ornaments.  They also have tons of ridiculously beautiful stockings out this year.  I came thisclose to getting new stockings for everyone.  The idea’s still on the table – they have some seriously gorgeous stockings this year.

On this recent trip I grabbed 5 different ornaments and promised at least 10 that I’d be back for them.  Fortunately, I’m a Target-o-HAUL-ic of my word.

I also happen to collect anything and everything related to Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. I’ve been obsessed with that cartoon since… well…  since I can remember.  It used to be pretty hard to find Rudolph-related decorations, but Target hooked me up but good this year. They have the most adorable little stuffed replicas of the characters and, yes, of course I had to have them all.  The top of an antique roll top desk has become the North Pole and I can’t promise that they won’t stay out year round.

Target.com has A LOT of ornaments and decorations that aren’t available in stores (if you’re an NFL fan, you’ll love the NFL ornaments and gnomes). See Target’s Christmas Decorations and Ornaments and, of course, be sure to check out your local Target store.

Now for the cookies! The recipe below will make the tastiest and possibly the most adorable cookies you ever had. They’re perfect for gift-giving too, but I’m not sure I could part with them.

Starlight Mint Sugar Cookies Recipe

1/2 pound (2 sticks) butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 large egg
2 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon peppermint extract
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
Few drops red food coloring

  1. Beat butter and sugar in large bowl until blended. Beat in egg, milk and extract. Add flour and baking powder; beat on low until just combined.
  2. Remove half of dough; press into disc shape and wrap with plastic wrap. To remaining dough, add a few drops food coloring. Mix well. Flatten into disc and wrap. Refrigerate both at least 30 minutes.
  3. Place colored dough between 2 large sheets of plastic wrap; roll out to a 12×8-inch rectangle, about 1/4 inch thick. Repeat with plain dough. Remove top sheet of plastic wrap from both doughs. Invert plain dough onto red dough. Gently press and trim edges. Remove top sheet of plastic wrap. Starting with short side, roll up dough into spiral. Wrap tightly; freeze about 30 minutes or until very firm.
  4. Heat oven to 375°F. Unwrap dough; cut into 1/4-inch slices. On ungreased cookie sheet, place slices 1 inch apart. Bake 8 to 10 minutes until set. Cool 2 minutes; remove from cookie sheet to cooling rack. Store in an airtight container.

Gift Giving Idea: Wrap individually in cellophane and tie with ribbon for gift-giving!

Recipe Courtesy of A Bullseye View

Some of My Recent Loot:

Owl Christmas Ornament from Target  Penguin Christmas Ornament from Target Polar Bear Christmas Ornament from Target Raccoon Christmas Ornament from Target Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer Dolls Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer Dolls Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer Dolls

When I was checking out, my adorable cashier fell in love with each ornament. When she scanned the first one (the owl), she said, “As soon as I get off, I’m going back there for this one.” By the time she got to the last ornament, she changed her mind, “Forget when I get off, I’m spending my lunch break rounding these guys up.”

Sigh. A kindred spirit.

First Words Out of Your Mouth Will Be, I’ve Never Eaten a Better Cookie!

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Coyote Oaties Cookies

A few weeks ago, I was sent a box of gorgeous premium oatmeal cookies to review. They were wrapped so beautifully and the cookies, themselves, were real works of art. As a bona fide  cookie monster, I was drooling before I even took a bite. In all my years of doing food reviews, I’ve never seen a more beautiful job of packaging and attention to detail.

Now, having said all of that, if the cookies didn’t measure up to the fanfare, I’d have been disappointed.

Fortunately, Coyote Oatie Cookies are so uncommonly delicious, disappointment’s the last emotion you’ll experience.  Not counting the disappointment you’ll feel when you go back for one and realize they’re all gone.  Then the disappointment is intense, profound, and very deep.

About Coyote Oatie Cookies

Our Mission at Coyote Oaties is to bake the freshest, most amazing cookies every day, never compromising integrity, customer service, or the highest standards of excellence.  We’re confident you will love our cookies and will want to share them with others.

Made with whole rolled oats and real cream butter, our cookies are baked fresh with all the goodness grandma intended. There is no white sugar or flour, 0 trans fat and absolutely no preservatives.

All the good, all the flavor. We ship them quickly for freshness. Enjoy sending them as gifts, but by all means– keep some for yourself!! – From Coyote Oaties Website

The box arrived in the mail on a day when the only people at home were my youngest daughter (Stephany) and I.  The others were working long hours and… quite frankly… that sealed their fate.  Stephany and I wanted to save a few cookies for them, really we did.  However, as soon as we took a bite – we knew that while things didn’t look good for the rest of the family – they looked DANG good for us.

Basically we threw a cookie party and only invited ourselves. She told me that she hoped I would tell everyone, in my review, that these were (without a doubt) the best cookies they’d ever find.  I promised to do so. In between bites.

Honestly, these are the best oatmeal cookies in the world. Even people who don’t love oatmeal cookies won’t be able to put them down. That’s the case with Steph, actually.  Being the elder cookie monster, I personally love all cookies. Oatmeal cookies are, in fact, a personal favorite.  My husband also loves oatmeal cookies to distraction. If he hadn’t been out of town, I’m almost certain I would have saved him one. Almost.

Steph, however, has never gone out of her way for oatmeal cookies. She loves sugar cookies, chocolate chip cookies, and anything remotely chocolate – but, until Coyote Oaties, I’m not sure I’d ever seen her eat an oatmeal cookie.  She’s a believer now!

Coyote Oatie Cookies come in a wide variety of flavors and, trust me, you can’t go wrong with any of them. The ingredients generously piled into these Heavenly cookies will blow your mind.  Choices include: white chocolate,  walnuts, cashews, raisins, dark chocolate…  Each bite is something true cookie lovers will never forget. You’ll think, “I’ve lived for a moment just like this!”

Coyote Oaties Cookies 2

Order these wonderful cookies by the dozen, 1/2 dozen, or crates.  The crates are available for a variety of holidays and special occasions.  If you were to give these cookies as a gift to someone, trust me, they’ll sing your praises forever more.

Coyote Oatie Cookies are fresh, delectable, gorgeous, and you can taste the quality with each bite.   They’re melt in your mouth delicious and I’m just about to die for one right now!

I strongly suggest you go to Coyote Oaties right now and read more about these outstanding cookies.  I love when I’m sent food to review that I love so much I end up ordering more. That’s certainly the case with these cookies. I’m two minutes away from ordering more right now!

Pecan and Chocolate Chip Cookies

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This book review and recipe were written and posted before I had to give up gluten and wheat and before I dedicated the food blog to gluten-free recipes. I feel it’s only fair to leave the post up since they were kind enough to send me the book! It is not a gluten-free cookbook, however, and the recipe below is certainly not gluten-free. I normally substitute gluten-free flour and other ingredients when dealing with traditional recipes but cannot personally vouch (not yet anyway!) for how these would turn out with gluten-free flour.

Make the most amazing Christmas cookies ever this year! Many of these cookies would also make exceptional gifts or additions to Thanksgiving or Holiday gift baskets.

My inner cookie monster recently had cause to celebrate and did so by eating a chocolate chip cookie.  I was sent a gorgeous cookbook called One Sweet Cookie: Celebrated Chefs Share Favorite Recipes and it’s my pleasure to do so now.

This beautiful cookie cookbook features cookie recipes that are probably already some of your favorite types of cookies:

  • Snickerdoodles
  • Orange Cookies
  • Chocolate Chip Cookies
  • Monster Cookies
  • Sandys
  • Peanut Butter Cookies
  • Thumbprint Cookies
  • Sugar Cookies

However, they’re sure to be the BEST recipe you’ve ever tried for each of these cookies.  You see, the cookie recipes in this book are from extraordinary chefs, pastry chefs and bakers – the best the world has to offer. These include Lidia Bastianich, Terrance Brennan, Laurent Tourondel, Jacques Torres, Mario Batali, and others. Cream of the crop!

In addition to cookies you’ve no doubt heard of, there are MANY amazing cookie recipes that will literally blow your mind before you ever even bake them:

  • Pecan and Chocolate Cookies
  • Pink Swirl and Dusted Meringues
  • Wicked Chocolate Biscotti
  • Coconut-Nutella-Almond Macaroons (one look at the picture and I wanted to weep with joy)
  • Petits Fours De Noel
  • City Bakery Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
  • Crazy Cowboy Cookies (from Chef Batali and his son)
  • Raspberry Granola Bars
  • Fig Squares (think Fig Newtons from a Culinary Institute)
  • Cheesecake Brownies
  • Cheesecake Brownies
  • Cheesecake Brownies… Sorry, but the concept of chocolate AND cheesecake teaming up is worth mentioning more than once. Or twice.
  • Red Velvet Whoopie Pies
  • …. and many more, but I’m getting too weak in the knees to go on!

Pecan and Chocolate Chip Cookies

Makes About 18 Large or 36 Small Cookies

11 ounces 66 percent chocolate (such as Valrhona Caraibe)
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 large eggs
1 cup plus 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup 70 percent chocolate chips (such as Valrhona Caraibe) (optional)
1/2 cup pecan pieces (optional)

Pre-heat the oven to 325 degrees.  Line two half-sheet pans with parchment paper.

In the top of a double boiler over low heat, melt the 66 percent chocolate and butter.  Remove the mixture from the heat and set aside to cool for a few minutes.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the eggs and sugar.  Add the chocolate mixture, then the flour, baking powder, and salt, and mix just until combined.

Remove the bowl from the mixer, and fold in the chocolate chips and pecans (if using).

Shape the batter into balls the size of golf balls, and arrange them on the prepared pans.  Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, depending on the size of each cookie.  The edges will feel done, but the centers will feel slightly undone.  Cool completely on wire racks.

Read more about One Sweet Cookie: Celebrated Chefs Share Favorite Recipes by clicking the link.