thecookieblogger.com

there are some cookies that go way back, having held a place of honor in the family cookie jar for as long as anyone can remember. these are not holiday cookies or special cookies we are talking about. these are everyday, “grab one after school on your way out to ride your bike with friends or play stickball out in the street” type of cookies. unfortunately, i don’t have childhood memories of these cookies, but many of my friends (and a few of my blog readers) do, and they were highly recommended to me. this recipe, based on one created by the queen of cookies, maida heatter, in her classic cookie book, maida heatter’s book of great cookies is outstanding. delicious, with a real ‘old-world’ taste and texture, they are cookie perfection.

coconut washboards
ingredients:
2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/4 pound unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
1 egg
2 tablespoons water
4 ounces (approximately 1 1/4 cup shredded sweetened coconut

instructions:
1. in your mixer, cream the butter until light and fluffy.
2. beat in vanilla
3. add the brown sugar and blend well
4. add the egg and water and blend well
5. sift the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, blending well on very low speed, just until incorporated.
6. stir in the coconut.
7. prepare baking sheets with parchment paper. with your #100 scoop, place a large mound (a heaping teaspoonful) of cookie dough onto the baking sheet. continue, placing dough mounds approximately 2 1/2 inches apart (you should fit about 8 mounds on the sheet). refrigerate for about 15 minutes, until mounds get firm – this will make it easier for you to form into the washboard shape.
8. preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
9. once the mounds are firm, remove from the refrigerator. in your hands, roll each mound into a log and place back on baking sheet. with the back of a metal spatula dipped in flour, press down on the log so that it flattens out the back of the log. your log may stick to the back of the spatula – if it does, just use a second offset metal spatula to gently scrape it off the back and place the formed cookie back onto the baking sheet.

10. dip a fork into some flour, and gently scrape the fork lengthwise through your now-flat log. it will create long indentions in your dough which will give your cookies the ‘washboard’ effect.
11. bake your cookies for 12 -13 minutes, turning the baking sheet once midway during the baking process. bake until the cookies look golden brown. remove from oven.
12. let cookies rest for 3 minutes on the baking sheet, then remove to wire rack to cool completely.
enjoy!
yield: 26 cookies