Amazon Cookies

Named long ago for the tropical rainforest and not the online retailer!

I developed this cookie recipe many years ago when I ran my catering company, Gotham Caterers. Back then Amazon was just for books and the rainforest was still what most people conjured when they heard the word. Packed with a mix of chocolates, nuts, and spices, these cookies are as decadent as could be. Add some toffee or milk chocolate, eliminate the coffee or coconut. Make these cookies your own the ILOC way by just giving it a go and adding what you like!

Equipment: medium mixing bowl; large mixing bowl; dry measuring cups; measuring spoons; hand or standing mixer; wooden spoon or rubber spatula; parchment paper or silicone baking liners; cookie sheets or sheet pans; spatula; wire racks Ingredients:

3 cups all purpose flour

1 tablespoon instant espresso

1½ teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter

1 cup light brown sugar

½ cup granulated white sugar

2 large eggs

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

10 oz. bittersweet or semi-sweet chocolate, coarsely chopped 10 oz. white chocolate, coarsely chopped 1 cup dessiccated cococnut flakes 1 cup chopped cashews or macadamias

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking liners.

2. Combine the first five ingredients in a medium bowl and set aside.

3. In a large bowl, cream together butter and both sugars with an electric mixer until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time and beat well. Mix in vanilla. Add the dry ingredients and combine well. Fold in the chocolate, coconut, and nuts with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula.

4. Form dough into 1½-inch balls. Place each ball two inches apart on the lined baking sheets. Bake 12-15 minutes, or until lightly golden brown. Cool cookies on the sheet for 5 minutes and then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

Makes three dozen cookies.

Cracking the Cookie Code

“Make these cookies your own the ILOC way by just giving it a go and adding what you like! ”

Sugar. White sugar makes a cookie crispy and potentially flatter, depending on other factors; brown sugars make a cookie chewier because of the molasses, and sometimes more puffy.

Fat. Butter helps to spread a cookie, especially if the dough is room temperature; doughs made with margarine, oil, or lard tend to hold their shape more.

Flour. How "strong" the flour is–meaning how much gluten it has–will affect texture. The baking standard is all-purpose, having justly earned its name as it falls in the middle of gluten spectrum. Try using a bread flour, which has the most gluten of all the flours, if a chewy cookie is what you seek. If a tender treat is the name of your game, then try a pastry or cake flour, which has these least protein.

I love giving these cookies as a hostess gift.

Shape. Cookies can be dropped by using two teaspoons or with a cookie scoop. They can be rolled by hand into balls, or rolled into logs and then chilled before being sliced. Sliced cookies are usually more flat than cookies that are placed on the cookie sheet as balls.

Temperature. Temperature of the dough and in the en affects the outcome. Chilled dough tends to hold its shape and be more puffy than freshly made room temperature dough; frozen dough even more so. The oven temperature itself is generally 350°F, but there is nothing stopping you from experimenting with lower or high temperatures.

Time. The same goes for time. Any recipe can be tweaked with shorter or longer baking times to yield a chewier or crispier cookie respectively.