autumn

the signs of winter...

...I do so love.

leaves falling

empty fields

cold and coats

soup

brown grass

getting dark early

crackle of a hot fire

warm milk and springerle

locking the door to the garden

asian beetles

acorns galore

Anything that points to winter, I'm lovin'.  

Snow - bring it on!  :)

almond coconut delights

Have you ever eaten those almond joy m&ms?  They're quite tasty.  The other day, I thought it might be fun to create a cookie that shouted "almond JOY!"

After two tries and several helpful critiques from the BEST bakers around, here is the published recipe:

1 c. butter

2 c. sugar

1/2 c. sweetened condensed milk (1/2 can)

3/4 c. unsweetened coconut milk (1/2 can)

1 egg

1 T. almond extract (or more)

1 t. vanilla extract

1/2 t. baking soda

1 t. salt

6 c. flour

4 c. coconut

1 c. almonds

whole almonds

semisweet chocolate chips

Cream butter and sugar.  Add milks, egg, and extracts beating together well.  FYI:  The coconut milk needs to be stirred in can before added to the mixing bowl.  Add remaining ingredients, beating well.  Drop by spoonfuls on cookie sheet, and smash a salty almond on the top.  Bake 10-12 minutes at 375.  Drizzle melted chocolate chips in a crisscross pattern over cooled cookies.

By the way, I realize that this recipe is annoying because it only uses half of the milk cans.  You could double the recipe and fix this problem, but then you'd have 11 dozen cookies on your hands.