Aunt Jeannette's No-Bake Chocolate Coconut Cookies

2 cups sugar
6 tbsp cocoa
1/2 cup milk
1/4 lb butter
3/4 cup peanut butter
1 1/2 cup oatmeal
1 1/2 cup coconut
1 tsp vanilla

Blend the sugar, cocoa, milk, and butter. Boil until dissolved, stirring, then add the rest of the stuff. Drop by teaspoon on waxed paper, let cool completely.

Source: Brian Gray's Aunt Jeannette, I guess.

Pumpkin Pie Pinwheel Cookies

From Emeril Live TV show, Food Network, c/o Alisha Payton, Louisville, KY, c/o Lawrenceville "Joy of Cookies" cookie tour, 2007

2 c. flour
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 c. butter, softened
1 1/4 c. sugar
1 egg
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp almond extract
1 c. canned pumpkin
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1/4 c. plus 1 c. brown sugar
whipped cream and ground nutmeg for serving, optional

Preheat oven to 375.

Sift flour, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt together twice. Cream butter and sugar in a stand mixer until light and fluffy. Combine egg, vanilla, and almond extract, and add to creamed mixture. Mix on medium until combined. Add sifted ingredients and mix only until combined; dough should be stiff.

Roll dough out between 2 sheets of parchment paper to a 12"x9" rectangle, using 1 long sheet of parchment paper folded in half. Make sure you roll out the dough evenly. Cut the edges off neatly with a bench scraper to even them. Place dough in the freezer until firm, about 15 minutes.

Mix together the pumpkin, pumpkin pie spice, and 1/4 c. brown sugar for filling.

Remove dough from freezer, peel back the top parchment paper. Thinly spread the pumpkin filling evenly over the dough. Don't spread too thickly; you should still be able to see the dough slightly through the pumpkin. If you don't use all the filling, it's okay.

Starting at one end, roll up the ends in the same manner as a caker oll. Make sure to keep it tight and even. If the dough cracks slightly, rub it together with your fingers. Wrap the roll in the parchment paper, seam side down, and place back in the freezer until firm, about 1 hour.

Slice cookies 1/4" thick, and place onto a cookie sheet at least 1" apart. Sprinkle brown sugar on the tops of the cookies and rub it in with your fingers. Bake 8-10 minutes, just until the edges are turning brown.

Serve cookies on a platter with a small bowl of whipped cream and nutmeg so guests can make pumpkin pie pinwheel sandwiches.

White chocolate-coconut cookies

White chocolate-coconut cookies
From Paula's Home Cooking TV show, Food Network, courtesy Paula Deen, 2007, c/o Lawrenceville "Joy of Cookies" tour, December 2007

1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
2 1/4 c. flour
1/2 tsp. salt
8 oz. butter, softened (2 sticks)
1/2 c. packed light brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 c. quick oats
3/4 c. shredded coconut flakes

8 oz. white chocolate, melted
3/4 c. toasted, shredded coconut flakes

Preheat oven to 350. In a small mixing bowl, whisk together baking powder, soda, flour, and salt. In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and brown sugar together until light and fluffy with a hand-held electric mixer. Beat in the egg. Add the dry ingredients, beat until just combined. Fold in the oats, vanilla, and 3/4 c. shredded coconut flakes.

Form walnut-sized balls of the mixture and drop 2" apart onto parchment paper-lined sheet pans. Bake in preheated oven for about 10 minutes until the bottoms of the cookies are golden brown. Remove from oven and cool completely.

When the cookies are cool, dip halfway into the melted white chocolate and then into toasted shredded coconut flakes. Set them on parchment-lined sheet pans to dry completely.

Mocha Viennese Swirls

Mocha Viennese Swirls
From International Cookie Cookbook, by Nancy Baggett, c/o Lawrenceville "Joy of Cookies" tour, December 2007

9 oz semisweet chocolate, chopped
1 c. unsalted butter ("scant 1 c." so maybe just less than 1 c.)
1/2 c. confectioner's sugar
2 tbsp strong black coffee
1 3/4 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 c. cornstarch
about 20 blanched almonds

Preheat oven to 375. Lightly grease two large baking sheets. Melt 4 oz of the chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of hot water. Cream the butter with the confectioner's sugar in a bowl until smooth and pale. Beat in the melted chocolate, then the strong black coffee.

Sift the flour and cornstarch over the mixture. Fold in lightly and evenly to make a soft mixture.

Spoon the mixture into a piping bag fitted with a large star nozzle and pipe 20 swirls on the prepared baking sheets, allowing room for spreading during baking. (if it's too stiff to pipe, add a little more coffee) Bake about 15 minutes, until the cookies are firm and just beginning to brown. Cool about 10 minutes on the baking sheets, then lift carefully on to a wire rack to cool completely.

Melt the rest of the chocolate, dip each swirl, place on a sheet of baking parchment, and set. Makes 20 cookies.

Dan's note: we skipped the piping stuff.