Working your way through an entire cookbook, recipe by recipe can be a tricky business. Especially, when someone else is choosing the recipes for you! Sometimes, you’re delighted by what you end up with - and sometimes, not. While Dorie’s Coconut Butter Thins do contain several ingredients that I love - butter, coconut, lime, macadamia nuts and ground coriander - I didn’t really love them in this cookie. Don’t get me wrong, I LIKED the cookies. I just didn’t LOVE them.
Coconut Butter Thins are supposed to be thin, crispy and lacy shortbread-like cookies. And mine were. But to me, the flavors were so subtle that they were virtually undetectable. I got no sunny pop of lime or scent of coriander. Nor did I find much crunch of macadamia nuts. I did get some chewiness from the coconut, but mostly in the annoying shreds that peeked out from my neatly cut cookie shapes. They were a nice little unassuming cookie that would probably be great paired with something else, but without much personality of their own.
I also think that there’s a reason that there is no accompanying photo of these cookies in the book. My cookies were just not very photogenic. When baked, they flattened out and spread a bit so that their edges blurred. I made one sheet of cookies cut into squares as Dorie directs in the recipe. Once out of the oven, they took on a kind of stretchy, Dali-esque quality. I cut the next batch into rounds which held their shape better, but not much. To be fair, I do think that I rolled my cookies a little too thin. I don’t know how much that affected the shape, if at all.
I’m sorry, Dorie! You know I love you. But, these just didn’t do it for me the way so many of your other fantastic recipes have.
Thanks to Jayne from The Barefoot Kitchen Witch for choosing our recipe for this week. If you’d like to see how the rest of the TWD gang fared with these Coconut Butter Thins, check out the Tuesdays with Dorie blogroll.
Filed Under: Baking, Cookies and Brownies, Desserts, Recipes, Tuesdays with Dorie
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On March 31, 2009 at 12:25pm, vibi said...
Come to think of it… you are absolutely right. I thought at first they were great, for it is easy to find something so buttery and crispy, nice. But true the tastes didn’t shine out… although I did get a lot of the lime.
But in the end, I doubled them with a creamy lime frosting, which like you mentioned… was a great pairing idea to rescue the cookie.
Yours look totaly fabulous though… to bad you didn’t endu up LOVING them. LOL
On March 31, 2009 at 12:54pm, Melissa said...
I thought the cookies were really good but I totally agree that they weren’t exactly the most photogenic.
Great job though!
On March 31, 2009 at 1:04pm, chocolatechic said...
Mine look nothing like your beautiful cookies.
On March 31, 2009 at 1:04pm, Amy said...
Sorry you didn’t love these - they look absolutely perfect, though!
-Amy
http://www.singforyoursupperblog.com
On March 31, 2009 at 1:11pm, Jennifer said...
Yours are so pretty! Mine were not so photogenic. I enjoyed these cookies and loved the taste of the dough, too.
On March 31, 2009 at 1:59pm, onlinepastrychef said...
I think they look good, but if you weren’t thrilled with them, might I suggest dipping them (well, maybe just sandwiching them) with some fresh lime curd?
On March 31, 2009 at 2:38pm, Leslie said...
Sorry these were disappointing! I think they look delicious but beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
On March 31, 2009 at 2:55pm, Snooky doodle said...
they look great though pity you didn’t love them
On March 31, 2009 at 2:58pm, Emily Rose said...
I’m sorry these didn’t rank high on your TWD list! I actually used the zest of two limes and I think it made a pretty good difference in flavor- but I have to agree that these are just not the prettiest of cookies! Your food always looks beautiful, so if you couldn’t make these cookies look amazing I don’t feel so bad about the way mine look! haha!
On March 31, 2009 at 3:15pm, Gera @ SweetsFoods said...
Susan, I understand that you want a more perfect one instead of love is like.
Anyway for me are delicious with good pics.
On March 31, 2009 at 3:24pm, Banjo said...
OK I feel a little better about bombing this recipe, as your are the 2nd person I have seen that wasn’t thrilled with it. Phew! They do look lovely however.
On March 31, 2009 at 4:26pm, Peggy said...
Your cookies are so fabulously beautiful! I really loved these. Great job on yours.
On March 31, 2009 at 5:21pm, Helene said...
They look really good. Sorry to read that you did not fall in love with these. It’s not easy to bake from this cookbook.
On March 31, 2009 at 5:52pm, Ingrid said...
Sorry these didn’t float your boat…though as someone else mentioned your photos are certainly lovely!
~inrgid
On March 31, 2009 at 5:54pm, Kris said...
They look gorgeous! I’m sorry you didn’t love them, I know there are times I bake where its just “meh”, not that its bad, but its just not knocking your socks off. They DO look yummy though!
On March 31, 2009 at 6:21pm, Steph said...
I think you got the texture perfect on these cookies. They look so perfectly thin without being burnt!
On March 31, 2009 at 7:34pm, SiHaN said...
not photogenic? you must be insane?! your cookies look perfect!
but i do agree with you that I weren’t crazy about them.
On March 31, 2009 at 7:37pm, thecoffeesnob said...
What do you mean your cookies are not photogenic? That first photo had me wanting to reach into the computer screen and scoff down the entire plate of cookies!
On March 31, 2009 at 8:30pm, MaryBeth said...
They look so thin and crispy…simply perfect with a big glass of milk!
On March 31, 2009 at 9:19pm, Tangled Noodle said...
Although they didn’t meet your standards, they really do look lovely!
On March 31, 2009 at 9:26pm, pinkstripes said...
You know what? I ended up trimming my cookies after they came out of the oven. I was asking myself, is this what I’ve come to? trimming cookies so they look good for photos?
Anyway, I think your cookies do look great. I like that they are actually thin.
On March 31, 2009 at 9:30pm, Tracey said...
I completely agree with your feelings on this cookie. They were ok, just not my favorite. Your cookies look lovely though!
On March 31, 2009 at 11:12pm, Rosa's Yummy Yums said...
These cookies look fantastic! What great flavors!
Cheers,
Rosa
On April 01, 2009 at 6:22am, Angela@spinachtiger said...
I think your stack of cookies actually looks quite appetizing. However, I agree. I won’t be rushing to make these again, which there are so many foolproof great cookies out there.
On April 01, 2009 at 6:46am, CookiePie said...
I’m sorry you didn’t love these — but I think your pics are lovely!!!
On April 01, 2009 at 7:49am, Elyse said...
I’m sorry that these cookies didn’t pack enough punch to be loveable. I hate it when awesome flavor combinations don’t quite shine through in the final product. I wonder if these cookies could be jazzed up with more nuts, more zest, and ground coconut (to prevent annoying shreds from pulling out)? Either way, your cookies certainly look pretty, and I wouldn’t turn one (or five) down!
On April 01, 2009 at 8:08am, Amanda said...
Well they look gorgeous! I liked these cookies more than I thought I would. I keep nibbling at them LOL
On April 01, 2009 at 8:57am, Teanna said...
WOW! Yours look absolutely, absolutey perfect! Seriously! How gorgeous!
On April 01, 2009 at 9:00am, Passionate About Baking said...
The look really pretty…sorry they weren’t your type. I’m not a ‘coconut’ person, but I love how the cookies look!
On April 01, 2009 at 10:40am, leanne said...
I used lemon not lime and thought they were wonderful. Sorry you didn’t love them more. They sure look wonderful!
On April 01, 2009 at 11:38am, duodishes.com said...
Mmmm, we can smell these almost through the computer! Love the buttery look to them.
On April 02, 2009 at 6:26am, Ciao Chow Linda said...
These cookies look wonderful - and they are photogenic. Stop by my blog. I’ve got something for you.
On April 02, 2009 at 7:52am, Simply...Gluten-free said...
I love that you are so honest about these! They look great though!
On April 02, 2009 at 9:37am, TeaLady said...
I think it was the blend of the flavors that got me. I really liked them, but I changed to cashews and chai…. Yours look delicious. tho’.
On April 02, 2009 at 10:12am, Nicisme said...
They look pretty good to me, I’m not mad on loads of coconut though.
On April 02, 2009 at 11:04am, Elra said...
Irresistibly mouth watering, crips, and just pure bliss, maybe melt in your mouth too?
Cheers,
elra
On April 02, 2009 at 2:16pm, Bellini Valli said...
Sorry you didn’t just absolutely love these cookies, I was thinking though they would make a delicious cheesecake base:D
On April 02, 2009 at 3:44pm, Rhiani said...
Susan - I too was disappointed in these, I expected more flavor. Even the coconut (which I tried to enhance with coconut extract) didn’t come through clearly.
Bellini - I found myself thinking almost the same thing…”what can I make that would benefit from these in a crust?”
On April 06, 2009 at 12:12am, The Food Librarian said...
Although not your favorite, they do look lovely!!
On April 11, 2009 at 12:18am, Manggy said...
Hmm, Chinese butter coconut cookies are one of my childhood favorites. I think I’ll have to see if I can send you a pack of them one of these days. In fact, I’ve always wanted to find a recipe for them! Too bad these weren’t all that :/
On April 17, 2009 at 1:15pm, Mermaid Sweets said...
I love the way yours turned out, so pretty.