"Aloha! [ah loh' hah !]
May there be friendship or love between us!
Greetings to you and me!"
My friend Linda and I traveled to Hawaii in January of 2008 to celebrate our joint birthday and my having retired after 30 years at MO State University. Things to love about "The Islands" are too many to innumerate but one of the things I loved most was the sincere way in which we were greeted and made to feel welcome. This was true even when we attended church; we were greeted by beautiful young children who gave us leis. Surprisingly, they were not made of flowers (as many there are); rather; these were made of yarn. Our Sunday School teacher greeted us with Aloha! And everyone in attendance responded with Aloha! back to her. I enjoyed this greeting so much that as I have greeted classes and taught lessons since returning from Hawaii, I, too, have told attendees I like to welcome them with Aloha! and hear them welcome me in return.
What I have not told my class members is that the woman who taught the Sunday School class in Hawaii also passed homemade cookies around the room while the lesson was being taught. I remember that they were full of the traditional Macadamia Nuts, and were yummy!
Since I'm teaching a class this weekend on CHARITY: THE PURE LOVE OF CHRIST, and since I've been out of state a lot lately and have been missed the women in my class, I decided this was a good time to go the extra mile and add the second part of the greeting (the cookies). So I spent the afternoon trying out two new cookies recipes and will share them on Sunday during my lesson on charity.
I've always liked Almond Roca candy, but had never tried an Almond Roca cookie, so was intrigued by this recipe, which I found on FoodTV. Steve and I liked the result so I thought I would share the recipe.Blue Ribbon Almond Roca Cookies
Recipe courtesy Lynn Scully, Rancho Santa Fe, California
Cook Time: 22 min (I used my convection oven and baked for 20 minutes)
Makes approx. 4 dozen cookies (if you make approx. 1" dough balls)
Ingredients
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup dark brown sugar
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 cup butter, room temperature
• 2 eggs, room temperature
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1 package toffee bits
• 1 cup coarsely ground almonds
• 4 ounces milk chocolate
• 1/2 tablespoon vegetable oil
Directions
Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.
In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer, blend sugars together on medium speed. Add butter and mix to form a grainy paste. Add eggs and vanilla and mix at medium speed until light and fluffy. At low speed, slowly add the flour mixture and then the toffee bits. Mix until just blended; do not over-mix.
Place ground nuts in a small bowl. Using hands, roll balls of dough into 1 to 1 1/2-inch balls, then roll in the ground nuts. Place on cookie sheets several inches apart. Bake approximately 22 minutes and then transfer cookies to a cooling rack.
Melt the chocolate with the vegetable oil in a double boiler or in a bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Drizzle melted chocolate over cooled cookies. Place cookies on a cookie sheet and place in freezer or refrigerator until chocolate is firmly set.
The second recipe is for Chocolate Chip Ranger Cookies. I've made Ranger Cookies for years, and they are one of my personal favorites, but I had never made them chocolate chips. I also had never formed them in balls and rolled them in powdered sugar, as this recipe called for. Here's the recipe in case you'd like to give them a try: Chocolate Chip Ranger Cookies
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Ingredients:
• 1 cup butter or shortening
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 cups quick-cooking rolled oats
• 2 cups corn flakes
• 1 cup flaked coconut
• 1 cup (6 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans (optional)
• confectioners' sugar as needed
Preparation:
Cream together the butter and both sugars. Blend in the eggs. Into a separate container, sift together the flour, baking soda and baking powder then add to the creamed mixture, blending well. Mix in the vanilla; stir in the rolled oats, corn flakes, coconut, chocolate chips and pecans. Form mixture into balls about 1 inch in diameter. Roll in powdered sugar. Press down with a fork on greased baking sheets. Bake in a 350° oven for 12 to 15 minutes.
Makes about 4-5 dozen chocolate chip ranger cookies, depending on how large you make the dough balls, of course.
As much as we enjoy cookies as "food for our bodies," there's an even better kind of nourishment to be had. Using one of the quotes that I like best from this lesson on CHARITY, THE PURE LOVE OF CHRIST , I made little labels for the cookie bags. (If you maximize the photo by clicking on it, you should be able to read the quote.)I hope that the combination of the words I share and the cookies will help those in my class to feel as well fed and welcome as Linda and I felt while visiting in Hawaii.
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