Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Food, Cooking, and Game Preparation honey-anise-coconut cookies

Here's one of my original cookie recipes for anyone daring enough to try 'em and let me know how you like 'em (I still can't eat anything by mouth). I've baked some, and they look and smell great. My chief local taster pronounces 'em "good!" but a wider test seems advisable before I decide whether to adopt or modify the "draft" recipe before I make many more.

� Preheat oven to 350� F.
� Beat 1 cup of butter (room temperature) and 2 cups of sugar until fluffy.
� Beat-in 2 large eggs and � cup of honey.
� Gradually add 3� cups of flour, 2 teaspoons of baking soda, 2 teaspoons of ground anise, 1 teaspoon of vanilla flavoring, and 1 cup of flake coconut and beat until thoroughly blended.
� Drop by ice-cream scoop onto cookie sheet, 2�3 inches apart.
� Flatten to � inch thick with fork.
� Bake 10�12 minutes.
Let cool on cookie sheet.

Makes about 18�20 thick, chewy five-inch cookies.

After you've tried 'em -- any suggestion for variation or improvement? I want the honey, the anise, and the coconut to be identifiable but not overwhelming. What say you?

Never mind.

Forget 'em.

All who've tried the samples that I've sent have pronounced 'em "perfect" and advise "don't change a thing."

Ken,

Coconut is one of the few foods I just can't eat. My obvious terrible taste in food aside, do you figure that recipe will work if I simply omit the coconut?

Guess if it doesn't work, between the anise, honey and sugar, it should make about the BEST bear bait around! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

I don't know why it wouldn't be almost as good -- or as good. Since my basic recipe has turned-out so well, I've been thinking of trying it with chopped nuts, raisins, blueberries, or even chocolate chips in lieu of the coconut. Hadn't thought of simply omitting the coconut without replacing it with some other "additive."

Try it your way and let me know how it works-out for you.

OOOOOH! I was set to try it and simply omit the coconut, but raisins in there sounds really good. I'll try them each way this week.
Thanks!

Doc - Well if you don't mind I'll try pervertin the recipe to suit my kids, too. Seems the little snobs don't like coconut either. One of my dirty little baking secrets: I have to make banana bread and leave out the walnuts (!) cause they don't like 'em.

Yum, sse

OK, here's the $64 question Ken. Where do you find ground anise? anise seed and anise extract are no problem.

Soooo, I gave them a try and substituted anise extract, but didn't use 2 teaspoons as the extract seemed a bit on the potent side -- used too much anyway! At least for my tastes. My kids and wife love 'em! I've been getting all kinds of good things done around the house, using the cookies as leverage (grin).

So, I'm out to give them another try with the proper ingredients if I can find ground anise (or try it again with less extract). Guess I could try and grind the seed myself.

BTW, this was sans coconut. Texture, etc. seemed perfect!

I bought whole Chinese star anise and ground it myself.

For great anise and my other spice needs, I like Penzey's Spices. Get their catalog.

Thanks! I'll give that a try.

Stalker, another variation that I want to try will use banana instead of coconut. If you beat me to it, let me know how it works for you. I'll probably use both banana extract and chopped banana. Just haven't decided whether to use firm just-ripe or soft brown bananas. (The latter would add more flavor, I think -- and cream homogeneously into the dough, not in identifiable chunks.)

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm! I'm out of butter, or I'd be making them right now <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />.