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Toasted…the cookies, not me….

Born just north of Phoenix Arizona, Crazy Cocker Spaniel was born into wealth. Life took a tragic turn though when she was just 5 months old when her owner had a stroke. Unable to care for CCS, she was put into the foster care system. Luckily, with her adorable looks and charming personality, CCS was quickly adopted. Adopted by me, a REAL hockey mom…well hockey PLAYING mom (the best kind there is). Oh and as a side note, I have eaten moose, killed a quail(I accidentally ran over it, but still) and wear lipstick.
Her first years were quite an adjustment as CCS’ mom did not lead a lifestyle where she was home much between teaching school, going to school and playing  hockey. CCS was left alone a lot to be with her thoughts and to no doubt educate herself about the world around her. 😉
Moving to Washington state was an adjustment as well. She was forced to learn to go the bathroom on grass(dirt and rock make up most of Phoenix landscaping)…and what was worse, wet grass. CCS has risen above this and now has no problem going on the grass. She can overcome.
CCS enjoys swimming, napping, sniffing things, laying on clean laundry that has not been put up yet, begging for food, barking at the UPS man and sitting on your chest if you are ignoring her. She is a candidate that can get noticed when she needs to be. And her record on napping, sniffing things and begging for food speaks for itself.
She is not without her problems. She still constantly battles with her need to eat and shred Kleenex (especially used….don’t judge people, don’t judge). She knows it can get out of control and she is dealing with it, taking it one day at a time. It also helps that we hide the trash cans when we leave. 😛
She stands up for all animals. She doesn’t mind being called a pig, heck, she even dresses up as one from time to time because she knows that the pig is a smart animal.

She was raised with cats her first 5 months even taking on some cat like tendencies of walking along the back of the couch and curling up like a cat. She never judges people based on whether they are cat or dog people, for she is both pro dog and pro cat, reaching across those party lines. In choosing a bunny as her running mate she has shown that she cares about what the small pet population has to say as well.
My dad says he wants to know where the ticket stands on the economy. She is giving the generic answer that it is a tough time right now as Little Fuzzy Bunny(LFB), as most of you know, is battling a bacteria that could take her eye and we are focused on that. But I promise we will get to the issues…eventually.

Thanks to all those throwing their support to the Fluff ticket. And please think good thoughts for LFB.

Toasted Coconut Shortbread

1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut (about 3 ounces)
1 ½  cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
¾  cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup powdered sugar
1 ¼  tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 2/3 cups all purpose flour

Preheat oven to 325°F. Spread coconut on rimmed baking sheet. Bake until coconut is light golden, stirring occasionally, about 8 minutes. Cool completely.
Using electric mixer, beat butter and sugars in large bowl until well blended. Mix in salt and vanilla. Beat in flour in 2 additions. Stir in toasted coconut. Gather dough together; divide in half. Flatten each half into disk; wrap each in plastic and chill at least 1 hour. (Can be prepared 2 days ahead. Keep chilled. Soften slightly at room temperature before rolling out.)
Preheat oven to 325°F. Line 2 rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper. Roll out 1 dough disk on lightly floured work surface to scant 1/4-inch thickness. Using 1 3/4- to 2-inch-diameter cookie cutters, cut dough into rounds (or squares like I did). Transfer cookies to prepared baking sheets, spacing 1 inch apart. Gather dough scraps and reroll; cut out additional cookies. Repeat procedure with remaining dough disk until all of dough is used.
Bake cookies until light golden, about 20 minutes. Cool on baking sheets 10 minutes. Transfer cookies to racks and cool completely. (Can be made ahead. Store airtight at room temperature up to 1 week.)

Adapted from Bon Appƒ©tit Magazine, March 2004

 

We are Crazy Cocker Spaniel and Little Fuzzy Bunny, and we support this blog post. Now get out there and get educated on the issues and make sure you are registered to vote!

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Comments

  2. These look delicious! I love coconut and it looks great with the shortbread. Your dog is so cute and love it when you tell stories about her and post pictures! I hope your bunny is doing well- make sure you keep us updated on her!

    Reply

  4. Thank you for the tasty treats last night. I woke up with a note saying, “From Peabody, she made them!”
    I scarffed one down and wanted to save one for after work, but when I returned they were gone!!! Fabulous shortbread (and muffins)! Thanks again!

    Reply

  11. LFB has my vote, CCS or no CCS (although my parents have an exact replica of CCS, so I’m a bit partial). Because bunnies rule, ya know 🙂

    Hope LFB feels better soon, b/c god knows I love the bunnies. And the shortbread doesn’t look too shabby, either.

    Nems

    Reply

  13. I had a Cocker named Rosie for 19 years, a sweet friend. I now have Sophia, spoiled, spoiled and spoiled. I did a post about Devil Cat a few days ago, which means I now also have a bird due to my cat. Which means I can not use non stick pans now. But I do hope bunny is going to be fine. Now…I love shortbread, particularly with tea. And I have not seen a square cookie cutter, very cute.

    Reply

  14. CCS and LFB don’t need lipstick to get my vote! Hope the bacteria situation is improving for the next VP. The cookies look wonderful…toasted coconut is easy to vote for and has few issues…as far as I know.

    Reply

  15. I was so distracted by the cuteness of your pig, er…CCS and LFB, that I had to scroll back up to see your cookies.

    I hope LFB is oksy. And my crazy dog shreds Kleenex too. She tears it into pieces (tiny pieces) gets it all wet, spits them out, and moves on to bigger and better things like socks.

    And yes, quail killing, moose eating, lipstick wearing women are all requirements I look for in friends. Glad to have found you!

    Reply

  21. Awww! I love it. You’re a good mommy to them. I need to hear what the LFB has to say in all this madness. The LFB must be counted for!
    But I might vote for the CCS, as she obviously stands for naps; we need to bring naps back as normal protocol in America.

    Reply

  27. Okay, you’re funny.

    Besides pets, I adore coconut AND shortbread. I can’t believe you’ve combined them into one delicious combination. This is a must try, they look heavenly!

    Reply

  28. I’m not exactly sure what it is about a dog that makes me completely forget about cooking. CCS is one of those “I could just hug you” dogs.

    Reply

  29. My dog also likes to lay in the clean laundry. He usually waits until I am folding everything, and likes to lay right in my way.

    And I’m a coconut fan – so I’ll take a pan full of these!!

    Reply

  33. Pea, I hope LFB gets better soon (sending many good thoughts all the way from Sao Paulo).

    These cookies are fantastic – I love coconut but don’t bake with it as much. I should change that.

    Reply

  35. I was never a huge fan of shortbreads (making them) until I moved to our current nose-bleed elevation. Now I love them because they are much easier to make without adjustments. And I’m a toasted coconut whore (more for the ice cream – which I can’t eat, but still…). Will have to add this to my huge list of “stuff to make some day” I’m glad to see that politics runs in the blood of your pets. My dog is so lame – she doesn’t even have a JOB. Go CCS and LFB!

    Reply

  36. The shortbread looks awesome. I haven’t tried making any of that yet, so this may be the recipe that changes all that. Hope the puppy dog’s eye is okay soon.

    Reply

  38. First thing I LOVE your site! Your recipes rock and since I’m a HUGH hockey fan makes it even better. Anyway, I am sending out cookies to a soldier in Iraq and want to make these great sounding shortbreads but I can’t seem to find Unsweetned Coconut…do you think I can use sweetened and maybe cut down on the added sugar? I need to get these out by 10/6 so I don’t have much time. Thanks

    Reply

  39. The combination of shortbread and toasted coconut sounds wonderful!

    Loved the story of CCS and good luck with LFB’s eye. If they need any campaign headquarters in the Midwest, let me know 😉

    Reply

  40. These were absolutely amazing! Our house has agreed these are the best cookies yet. We ate them with fresh strawberries, which was a really nice addition. Thanks 🙂

    Reply

  42. This is an excellent recipe, and incredibly easy to make. Toasting the coconut gives it such a rich coconut flavor. Melts in your mouth.

    Reply

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