Murder She Baked

I have been reading these mystery books since last summer. Actually, I stumbled across them at my sister-in-laws when I found myself with nothing to read. I read the first one and I was hooked.

The stories are entertaining, however, the "whodunit" isn't the reason I became hooked. I can usually figure out in the beginning who the villian is but there is light humor in there that provides some good chuckles. The real gold mine in these books is that they are filled with recipes. Ooey, gooey, yummy recipes that you do not even want to think about when you are dieting. This last book I read, I had to literally flip past the recipes so I wouldn't be tempted. The first book I read I couldn't put down. I was too excited about the recipes and looked forward to reaching the next chapter to see what recipe came next. It was so bad that I started whipping up a batch of Cocolatta's at 11pm to surprise Bob with them the next day.

If you are a baker, then you will enjoy these books. It gives you a time out to read and you get wonderful recipes to try. I have been checking them out from the library and making sure to enter all the recipes into Mastercook before I return the books. Enjoy!

http://murdershebaked.com/

Cocolattas

Ingredient -- Preparation Method
1 cup butter -- melted
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar -- firmly packed
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp coconut extract -- *see Note
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 cup egg beaters® 99% egg substitute -- room temp
2 cups coconut flakes -- finely chopped, use only 1 cup after chopped
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour -- don't sift-pack it down in your measuring cup
IT IS IMPORTANT TO PACK THE FLOUR!
1 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350*F, rack in the middle position.

Melt butter and mix in the granulated and brown sugar. Add the baking soda, coconut extract, and the salt. Add the eggs and stir.

Chop the coconut flakes in a food processor. Measure the coconut AFTER it is chopped. Pack it down when you measure it, add it to your bowl and stir thoroughly.

Add half the flour and all of the chocolate chips. Stir well to incorporate. Finish by mixing in the rest of the flour.

Let the dough rest for 10 minutes on the counter, uncovered. Drop by teaspoons onto ungreased cookie sheet, 12 cookies to a standard sized sheet. If the dough is too sticky to handle, chill it slightly and try again. Bake at 350*F for 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown around the edges. Let cool for 3 minutes, then remove cookies from the baking sheet and transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling.

Note:
"I use almond extract instead of coconut and it is wonderful!"
Source:
"Cherry Cheesecake Murder - Joanne Fluke"
Yield:
"6 dozen"