Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Hawaiian Wedding Cookies


I usually include Mexican Wedding Cookies in my Christmas baking repertoire. They are also known as Italian Wedding cookies, butterballs, or Russian Tea Cakes. The traditional recipe is made with almonds, or sometimes pecans, and vanilla.
This year, I decided to try a new spin on the classic. These have the exact same texture & buttery, shortbread taste. But, they are made with macadamia nuts, toasted coconut and lime. I found the recipe in Cuisine at Home magazine.
The recipe makes about 5 dozen cookies.

To prepare, begin by preheating the oven to 350 degrees. Pour 1 cup of sweetened, shredded coconut on a baking sheet & bake for 10-15 minutes, or until golden brown on the edges. Measure 1 cup of macadamia nuts,

chop them, and add them to a mixing bowl.

To them, add the toasted coconut, a 1/2 teaspoon of salt, 2 cups of flour. Stir to combine.
Juice half of the lime into a small bowl,

and finely mince the zest of 1 lime.

Put 2 sticks of softened unsalted butter into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment {a hand mixer can be used as well}.
Add 2/3 cup of the powdered sugar & the lime zest. Beat until light & fluffy.

Add the lime juice & beat again, until combined. Add the flour mixture and mix with a spoon, until just combined.

Using a mini cookie scoop, form the dough into small balls. Place them about 2 inches apart on a parchment lined cookie sheet & bake for 18 minutes, or until the bottoms are golden brown.

Cool the cookies for 5 minutes, then toss in powdered sugar. Place them onto a rack to continue cooling. Once completely cool, toss them in the sugar again.

Hawaiian Wedding Cookies

Adapted from Cuisine at Home: Holiday Cookies
Makes about 5 dozen cookies

2 cups flour
1 cup macadamia nuts, chopped
1 cup sweetened shredded coconut, toasted
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
2/3 cups powdered sugar, plus an additional 2 cups for rolling
zest of 1 lime, minced
juice of 1 lime

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
Add the flour, chopped nuts, coconut & salt to a mixing bowl. Stir to combine. In the bowl of a mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, powdered sugar & lime zest until light & fluffy. Add the lime juice & beat to combine, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary. Add the flour mixture & beat until just incorporated.
Scoop the dough out, using a mini cookie scoop & shape into balls. Arrange on the baking sheets, spacing 2" apart. Bake until the bottoms are golden, about 15-18 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through the cooking time. While hot, roll the cookies in a bowl of powdered sugar & lay out on a parchment lined baking sheet. When the cookies are completely cool, roll once again in the powdered sugar & serve.
Note: The cookies can be made ahead & stored in an airtight container for up to a week. Re-roll in sugar, before serving, if necessary. The dough can also be frozen.
Click here for the printable recipe.

4 comments:

Christine said...

This is the best version I've seen for these!

LMBrown said...

Will you be sending any of these cookies to Oregon??

Janelle Kibbe said...

Could you add a printable version for these? They look great!

katie said...

Janelle, I'll try to get one up soon.

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