My very first Daring Bakers Challenge!

So today is posting day for my first Daring Bakers Challenge! How exciting!

The Daring Bakers is an online baking club/blogroll/community thing that's really neat and has one challenge recipe a month. The recipe is secret until posting day, but today is posting day, so the secret's out! I copied and pasted the original transcription of the recipe, and put my comments and amendments in bold italics.


This month's challenge:

Filbert Gateau with Praline Buttercream
From Great Cakes by Carol Walter

The recipes to be prepared:

1 Filbert Genoise
1 recipe sugar syrup, flavored with dark rum
1 recipe Praline Buttercream
½ cup heavy cream, whipped to soft peaks
1 recipe Apricot Glaze
1 recipe Ganache Glaze, prepared just before using
3 tablespoons filberts, toasted and coarsely chopped


Recipe part one! Although I usually bake allergen free, I decided to make this for my friend's birthday, and so made the cake recipe strait off, not changing anything ingredient-wise. I did however split the batter and made a four inch, a six inch and a seven inch cake, instead of the single ten-inch cake that was specified in the recipe:

Filbert Genoise



Because of the amount of nuts in the recipe, this preparation is different from a classic genoise.

1 ½ cups hazelnuts, toasted/skinned
2/3 cup cake flour, unsifted
2 Tbsp. cornstarch
7 large egg yolks
1 cup sugar, divided ¼ & ¾ cups
1 tsp. vanilla extract
½ tsp. grated lemon rind
5 lg. egg whites
¼ cup warm, clarified butter (100 – 110 degrees)

Position rack in the lower 3rd of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 10” X 2” inch round cake pan.

Using a food processor, process nuts, cake flour, and cornstarch for about 30 seconds. Then, pulse the mixture about 10 times to get a fine, powdery mixture. You’ll know the nuts are ready when they begin to gather together around the sides of the bowl. While you want to make sure there aren’t any large pieces, don’t over-process. Set aside.

Put the yolks in the bowl of an electric mixer, with the whisk attachment, and beat until thick and light in color, about 3-4 minutes on med-high speed. Slowly, add ¾ cup of sugar. It is best to do so by adding a tablespoon at a time, taking about 3 minutes for this step. When finished, the mixture should be ribbony. Blend in the vanilla and grated lemon rind. Remove and set aside.

Place egg whites in a large, clean bowl of the electric mixer with the whisk attachment and beat on medium speed, until soft peaks. Increase to med-high speed and slowly add the remaining ¼ cup of sugar, over 15-20 seconds or so. Continue to beat for another ½ minute.
Add the yolk mixture to the whites and whisk for 1 minute.

Pour the warm butter in a liquid measure cup (or a spouted container). * It must be a deep bottom bowl and work must be fast.* Put the nut meal in a mesh strainer (or use your hand – working quickly) and sprinkle it in about 2 tablespoons at a time – folding it carefully for about 40 folds. Be sure to exclude any large chunks/pieces of nuts. Again, work quickly and carefully as to not deflate the mixture. When all but about 2 Tbsp. of nut meal remain, quickly and steadily pour the warm butter over the batter. Then, with the remaining nut meal, fold the batter to incorporate, about 13 or so folds.

With a rubber spatula, transfer the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing the surface with the spatula or back of a spoon. **If collected butter remains at the bottom of the bowl, do not add it to the batter! It will impede the cake rising while baking.

Tap the pan on the counter to remove air bubbles and bake in the preheated oven for 30-35 minutes. You’ll know the cake is done when it is springy to the touch and it separates itself from the side of the pan. Remove from oven and allow to stand for 5 minutes. Invert onto a cake rack sprayed with nonstick coating, removing the pan. Cool the cake completely.

*If not using the cake right away, wrap thoroughly in plastic wrap, then in a plastic bag, then in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. If freezing, wrap in foil, then the bag and use within 2-3 months.


Sugar Syrup
Makes 1 cup, good for one 10-inch cake – split into 3 layers

1 cup water
¼ cup sugar
2 Tbsp. dark rum or orange flavored liqueur

In a small, yet heavy saucepan, bring the water and sugar to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from heat, add the liqueur. Cool slightly before using on the cake. *Can be made in advance.



Praline Buttercream
1 recipe Swiss Buttercream
1/3 cup praline paste
1 ½ - 2 Tbsp. Jamaican rum (optional)

Blend ½ cup buttercream into the paste, then add to the remaining buttercream. Whip briefly on med-low speed to combine. Blend in rum."



Swiss Buttercream

For the buttercream, I used my mother's simple buttercream recipe instead of this egg-y one. I figured I was going to be itchy enough from the eggs in the cake and wanted to limit my allergen intake. My mother's recipe is: Beat several cups of confectioner's sugar with milk, adding a tablespoon at a time until a uniform paste is formed. Beat in one measure unsalted butter, equal amount shortening (for stability) and beat on medium until fluffy.

For good measure, here is the original buttercream recipe that I did not use, though the consensus was that it is quite divine.

"4 lg. egg whites
¾ cup sugar
1 ½ cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, slightly firm
1 ½ -2 Tbsp. Grand Marnier or liqueur of your choice
1 tsp. vanilla

Place the egg whites in a lg/ bowl of a elevtric mixer and beat with the whisk attachment until the whites are foamy and they begin to thicken (just before the soft peak stage). Set the bowl over a saucepan filled with about 2 inches of simmering water, making sure the bowl is not touching the water. Then, whisk in the sugar by adding 1-2 tablespoon of sugar at a time over a minutes time. Continue beating 2-3 minutes or until the whites are warm (about 120 degrees) and the sugar is dissolved. The mixture should look thick and like whipped marshmallows.
Remove from pan and with either the paddle or whisk attachment, beat the egg whites and sugar on med-high until its a thick, cool meringue – about 5-7 minutes. *Do not overbeat*. Set aside.

Place the butter in a separate clean mixing bowl and, using the paddle attachment, cream the butter at medium speed for 40-60 seconds, or until smooth and creamy. *Do not overbeat or the butter will become toooooo soft.*

On med-low speed, blend the meringue into the butter, about 1-2 Tbsp. at a time, over 1 minute. Add the liqueur and vanilla and mix for 30-45 seconds longer, until thick and creamy.

Refrigerate 10-15 minutes before using.

Wait! My buttercream won’t come together! Reheat the buttercream briefly over simmering water for about 5 seconds, stirring with a wooden spoon. Be careful and do not overbeat. The mixture will look broken with some liquid at the bottom of the bowl. Return the bowl to the mixer and whip on medium speed just until the cream comes back together.

Wait! My buttercream is too soft! Chill the buttercream in the refrigerator for about 10 minutes and rewhip. If that doesn’t work, cream an additional 2-4 Tbsp. of butter in a small bowl– making sure the butter is not as soft as the original amount, so make sure is cool and smooth. On low speed, quickly add the creamed butter to the buttercream, 1 Tbsp. at a time.

Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 5 days, or can be frozen for up to 6 months. If freezing, store in 2 16-oz. plastic containers and thaw in the refrigerator overnight or at room temperature for several hours.

Praline Paste
1 cup (4 ½ oz.) Hazelnuts, toasted/skinless
2/3 cup Sugar
Line a jelly roll pan with parchment and lightly butter.

Put the sugar in a heavy 10-inch skillet. Heat on low flame for about 10-20 min until the sugar melts around the edges. Do not stir the sugar. Swirl the pan if necessary to prevent the melted sugar from burning. Brush the sides of the pan with water to remove sugar crystals. If the sugar in the center does not melt, stir briefly. When the sugar is completely melted and caramel in color, remove from heat. Stir in the nuts with a wooden spoon and separate the clusters. Return to low heat and stir to coat the nuts on all sides. Cook until the mixture starts to bubble. **Remember – extremely hot mixture.** Then onto the parchment lined sheet and spread as evenly as possible. This worked surprisingly better than I thought it would, however, it took much longer than the recipe said that it would for some reason.



As it cools, it will harden into brittle. Break the candied nuts into pieces and place them in the food processor. Pulse into a medium-fine crunch or process until the brittle turns into a powder. To make paste, process for several minutes. Store in an airtight container and store in a cook dry place. Do not refrigerate.



Apricot Glaze
Good for one 10-inch cake

I made a strawberry glaze, per the request of my roommate, whose birthday I made this for.

2/3 cup thick apricot preserves
1 Tbsp. water

In a small, yet heavy saucepan, bring the water and preserves to a slow boil and simmer for 2-3 minutes. If the mixture begins to stick to the bottom of the saucepan, add water as needed.

Remove from heat and, using a strainer, press the mixture through the mesh and discard any remnants. With a pastry brush, apply the glaze onto the cake while the cake is still warm. If the glaze is too thick, thin to a preferred consistency with drops of water.

Ganache Glaze
Makes about 1 cup, enough to cover the top and sides of a 9 or 10 inch layer or tube cake

**Ganache can take on many forms. While warm – great fudge sauce. While cool or lukewarm – semisweet glaze. Slightly chilled – can be whipped into a filling/frosting. Cold & solid – the base of candied chocolate truffles.

6 oz. (good) semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, like Lindt
6 oz. (¾ cup heavy cream
1 tbsp. light corn syrup
1 Tbsp. Grand Marnier, Cointreay, or dark Jamaican rum (optional)
¾ tsp. vanilla
½ - 1 tsp. hot water, if needed

Blend vanilla and liqueur/rum together and set aside.

Break the chocolate into 1-inch pieces and place in the basket of a food processor and pulse until finely chopped. Transfer into a medium sized bowl and set aside.

Heat the cream and corn syrup in a saucepan, on low, until it reached a gentle boil. Once to the gently boil, immediately and carefully pour over the chocolate. Leave it alone for one minute, then slowly stir and mix the chocolate and cream together until the chocolate is melted and incorporated into the cream. Carefully blend in vanilla mixture. If the surface seems oily, add ½ - 1 tsp hot water. The glaze will thicken, but should still be pourable. If it doesn’t thicken, refrigerate for about 5 minutes, but make sure it doesn’t get too cold!

Assembling Cake

Cut a cardboard disk slightly smaller than the cake. I used cardboard circles slightly larger than my cakes because I would be transporting two of the three that I made. Looking back, it would have been less messy to use a smaller board and then transfer the cake to a platter or something. More on the mess later.

Divide the cake into 3 layers and place the first layer top-side down on the disk. Using a pastry brush, moisten the layer with 3-4 Tbsp. of warm sugar syrup. Measure out 1 cup of praline buttercream and set aside.

Spread the bottom layer with a ¼-inch thickness of the remaining buttercream. Cover with ½ of the whipped cream, leaving ¼-inch border around the edge of the cake. Place the middle layer over the first, brush with sugar syrup, spreading with buttercream. Cover with the remaining whipped cream. I had less whipping cream than I thought, so that layer was a little thin.

Moisten the cut side of the third layer with additional sugar syrup and place cut side down on the cake. Gently, press the sides of the cake to align the layers. Refrigerate to chill for at least 30 minutes.



Lift the cake by sliding your palm under the cardboard. Holding a serrated or very sharp night with an 8-ich blade held parallel to the sides of the cake, trim the sides so that they are perfectly straight. Cut a slight bevel at the top to help the glaze drip over the edge. Brush the top and sides of the cake with warm apricot glaze, sealing the cut areas completely. Chill while you prepare the ganache. I didn't trim the edges of my cake because I thought that they were even enough. Again, looking back I think it may have been beneficial to trim them to make them just a little neater. I just don't trust my vertical knife skills....



Place a rack over a large shallow pan to catch the ganache drippings. Remove the gateau from the refrigerator and put it the rack. With a metal spatula in hand, and holding the saucepan about 10 inches above the cake, pour the ganache onto the cake’s center. Move the spatula over the top of the ganache about 4 times to get a smooth and mirror-like appearance. The ganache should cover the top and run down the sides of the cake. When the ganache has been poured and is coating the cake, lift one side of the rack and bang it once on the counter to help spread the ganache evenly and break any air bubbles. (Work fast before setting starts.) Patch any bare spots on the sides with a smaller spatula, but do not touch the top after the “bang”. Let the cake stand at least 15 minutes to set after glazing. My ganache turned out well, though it could have been a little more viscous. I feel it was a little thin. The tiny cake glazed evenly, but I had more run off than I thought I would, so I glazed the cardboard too. For the two larger cakes I made a little border a half-inch or so from the bottom of the cake so that there would be a little moat of ganache around the bottom. It worked better than I thought it would, there was just a little leaking.





To garnish the cake, fit a 12 – 14-inch pastry bag with a #114 large leaf tip. Fill the bag with the reserved praline cream. Stating ½ inch from the outer edge of the cake, position the pastry tube at a 90 degree angle with the top almost touching the top of the cake. Apply pressure to the pastry bag, moving it slightly toward the center of the cake. As the buttercream flows on the cake, reverse the movement backward toward the edge of the cake and finish by pulling the bag again to the center. Stop applying pressure and press the bag downward, then quickly pull the tip up to break the flow of frosting. Repeat, making 12 leaves evenly spaced around the surface of the cake.

Make a second row of leaves on the top of the first row, moving the pastry bag about ¾ inch closer to the center. The leaves should overlap. Make a 3rd row, moving closer and closer to the center. Add a 4th row if you have the room. But, leave a 2-inch space in the center for a chopped filbert garnish. Refrigerate uncovered for 3-4 hours to allow the cake to set. Remove the cake from the refrigerator at least 3 hours before serving.

As we were allowed to decorate as we pleased as long as we had all of the elements, I didn't decorate the cake as was instructed. I did different decorations on all of the cakes, however, I didn't get a photo of the littlest one.







Leftover cake can be covered with foil and kept in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

Weekends

I went down to Binghamton this weekend and met six day old Elliot Jane. She is very sweet, and beautiful. A very good baby. Stephanie looks good, though very tired. She and Jacques are still getting used to the new parent thing. They're doing quite well though. :)









Also, Amanda got a kitty, Zip, and brought him to visit last night. Other than using the regular camera, we had fun in photobooth on my computer.









Going back in time, last weekend I made a coffee cake. I used Sally's transcription of the original, and made a few changes. I used a blend of Almond flour (1 cup), rice flour (3/4 cup), tapioca flour (1/2 cup), and millet flour (1/4 cup). I also used the juice of one lemon plus soymilk to bring it to 1 cup for the butter milk. I would have preferred to use coconut milk, but I apparently used my last can and didn't replace it. I didn't have any dark brown sugar, so I used light, and I used Ener-G egg replacer, with a 1/2 Tbsp of flax meal for the egg replacer. I also sprinkled the top with slivered almonds in addition to the raspberries, and lacked the large-grain salt. It turned out pretty well, though after two days the top was a little soggy. I will make it again, but when it will be consumed quicker.



I made it immediately before I went to my sister's, and had been planning on taking it with me. I didn't really think about how to transport a 400* dish before it was in the oven. I lined a cardboard box with a few layers of cereal boxes from the recycling, folded up a towel and rolled the ends to fill in the longer ends of the box, lined it with foil, and had a quite successful means of carrying.

hot, hot, hot

You know it's hot when you break a sweat powdering your face. Yeesh.

Of course I would decide to bake in this weather. More about that later.

Also, I picked raspberries (five different kinds!) the day before last in the hot hot heat. If I remember correctly they are from left to right (front to back) Canby, Royalty, Prelude, Killarney, and Encore. I purchased, from the same fruit farm, some of the largest cherries I've ever seen, and some lovely Crispin apples.



Brian also almost died of heat, but was also hott (with two t's) when he dressed up as the Joker yesterday, all day, for Batman. Purple suit and all (he had taken off his jacket here.

New Bicycle, new recipe, sadly no new job yet.

So I've been looking for a new bike more suited to me, and not of the mountain variety. (I have had a mountain bike for a while; my friend Dan is purchasing it from me in a while.) I was looking on Craigslist for ladies bicycles and found a really neat bike. I went to look at it today and immediately knew that I must purchase it, so I did. It is a vintage Schwinn "Suburban." It is "raspberry" in color, and has a petal-generator powered headlight, and a rearview mirror. I am very happy with my purchase.



The headlight:


The tiny generator:


The rearview mirror (and me):


The insignia, and a close-up to try to capture the color




Tonight Helen came to visit and I made cookies. They turned out really well, though I didn't completely sub all of the ingredients, they are almost-vegan and almost-allergen free. I was making a rather large batch to take to several people and I wanted to use things that I knew would work instead of making a bunch of small batches and tweak them to make them perfect in every way. I think that they would be very easy to completely de-allergenify.

Two variations of Oatmeal Cookies:



Butterscotch chip (also known as Oatmeal Scotchies) and Chocolate Oatmeal

Notes:

*For the Butter/Shortening mix I used 1/2 cup butter (this is what added the little non-vegan and little allergenic bit) and 1 cup coconut oil (I doubled the recipe, so in the single recipe that I will transcribe that would be 1/4 cup and 1/2 cup, respectively). This is my mother's recipe, and she said that with just shortening the cookies stay in whatever shape you put them in the oven and with just butter they spread everywhere and stay very soft. A mix lets them spread but hold form enough so that they don't fall apart. I'd like to try these with just coconut oil, but I decided to use some butter this time.

*These are wheat free, but if you are gluten free, make sure that your oats are *certified gluten free*! Due to growing and processing practices, oats that are not labeled "certified" often are contaminated, though they are naturally gluten free.

*In the last step for the additives, add whatever flavorings, or a cup of chunks of whatever you want- raisins, mixed dried fruit, chocolate chips, vanilla chips....

*I made one large batch and split it before the last step so I could make the two variations.


The Recipe!

Cream together:
3/4 cup Butter/Shortening mix
1 1/2 cup brown sugar (I used light brown)

Prepare three egg replacers with the amount of water for two, so that it is very thick and foamy. Mix this into the sugar-oil mixture.

Mix in:
1/3 cup milk (whatever variety you prefer to bake with)

Blend in:
3 cups oats
1 cup flour (I used millet and was very pleased) (*If using gluten free flour, add 1/2 tsp xanthan. I used 1/4, but some of my cookies fell apart when I moved them from the cooling rack to the plate, so a little more might be beneficial.)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp soda
blurb or two of vanilla

When this is mixed together stir in:

For chocolate: 1/4 cup dark cocoa
For scotchies: 1 cup butterscotch chips

And in other areas of my life:
Still looking for a job, health insurance, and car insurance. However, Mrs. Johnson is going to let me paint what will soon be my room, which is exciting. It is now a not-quite-pale yellow. I think that I am going to paint it a nice calm sage-y green. They have a bed frame for me, I need to purchase a mattress set though. We have also discussed rent and duties, and I'm pretty excited. At least some parts of my life are coming together. Slowly but surely it all will.

On a much more shallow excitement, Brian got advance tickets for the new Batman Movie for Friday- ooo, exciting. Also, he got his first tattoo. Though I have mixed feelings about tattoos sometimes, I like it. He does too. Hopefully he will for the rest of his life. It's in a nice subtle place- on the instep side of his right heel. It is meaningful and neat looking, yet nerdy if you know what it's from. I will post pictures of it soon.

Also, I was amused when I visited Sally's blog today and saw her version of a recipe that I came upon just hours before while I was (on a break) at work. It looks quite tasty, both in the original and in hers and I feel that I will definitely have to make it soon.

It is way past my bedtime, but laundry had to be done. Tomorrow I have to get up so early so that I can get to the bank before work.

Goodnight moon.

Cue, whiney me:

Wow I want to take a nap so much.

It's almost ninety (but there's a breeze and our apartment is staying nicely cool). I don't mind the heat, but the humidity threatens to suffocate.

I have to go back to work in ten minutes. I also have to clean up the mess from the lunch I just ate that wasn't nearly as good as I wanted it to be.

I really just want to go to sleep.

*pouts*

There are nice things though:

I talked to Brian for the first time since Thursday morning. We went our separate ways, quite literally, after our last vac appointment. He went to visit home and camp, and I went home for a doctor's apt. And both camp and home are in places of little to no cell phone reception. When I talked to him he was on the way to bid grandparents adieu and then he was leaving to come back here (to Rochester, I came back last night). Hopefully he'll get back in time to stop in to say hi before he has to go into work at three.

Amanda is coming to visit when she gets off work at three. Maybe she'll want to go to Jitters. I should be able to take a break from work about then.

Also, I joined a baking club (though when you join it seems almost like you're joining the free masons....) and made the monthly secret challenge recipe yesterday while I was home. I can't talk about it (hence "secret"), but it turned out really neat after long hours of work, and was tasty to boot! I can't wait to post about it on the thirtieth....



And I got to see my Georgie when I was home.

Now out into the scaldingly beautiful day (after I wash a few dishes) and back to work I go.

Hi ho, hi ho.

Banana Bread, cookie recipe, new things

So the other day when we got back from our weekend (well, Thursday-Saturday morning) at Jillian's, Brian went to work and Steve stayed to hang out, which was cool because he's pretty awesome. I saw that my bananas were browning quite quickly and mentioned that Brian has been asking for banana bread pretty much every time he sees bananas. I think that it was Steve that then said, "well lets make some!" So we did. We made two really beautiful loaves. He posted a picture of the whole loaves here. It was a grand time.

Recipe! (Adapted slightly and doubled from my 1950 Betty Crocker's Picture Cook Book). For two loaves of banana bread.

Preheat oven to 350* F.

Generously grease two 9 or 10 inch loaf pans. (I used coconut oil for this, surprise!)

Mix together until uniform and creamy:

1 1/3 cup sugar
2/3 cup coconut oil (originally soft shortening)
prepared egg replacer for four eggs (originally 4 eggs)

Stir in:

6 Tbsp (about 3/8 cup) sour milk/buttermilk
1 3/4 cup mashed banana (three large bananas)
1/4 cup plain yogurt
1ish Tbsp Apple butter

Sift/whisk together ad stir in

4 cups flour (don't forget the xanthan gum if using gf flours)
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt

When blended, stir in 1 1/2 cups chocolate chips (or nuts or whatever you want)

Divide between the two loaf pans, smoothing the tops so that they are flat and even. For a slightly crunchy and shiny top like I had, sprinkle a few Tbsp granulated or raw sugar evenly over the tops.

Bake 50 to 60 minutes, or until tests done with a knife or toothpick poked in the middle.

Cool for a few minutes, then using oven mitts remove from pans (to do this I hold the pan in one hand and turn the loaf into the other hand (with mitts on, it is still really hot!) then flip it back so that it is right side up on the rack so that I don't damage the pretty top.)

Wait as long as you possible can, and enjoy plain or with butter!

***

New things!

Yesterday I went shopping at Wegman's and wandered around for while, always a dangerous thing to do. I am happy with my extra purchases though. I got a pretty (and large) cream colored coffee mug, like the colorful ones that my roommate has, so I can stop coveting hers when I use them, and bought Brian a red one, because he also liked S.J.'s a lot. (And they were on sale.) I got a super cute (and environmentally friendly) SIGG water bottle.



The design is really pretty! This was pretty much the first one I saw, then I looked at all of the others, then I picked this one back up. :p



Also, my sister is thinking about getting a kitty, which is really exciting.

Another new thing in my life is that I've started in the formal movements to go to school part time for next year (we've moved past just thinking, people...). S.J. has talked to her parents and they are making adjustments to their house to accommodate me (her mom is really gung-ho about it now that she has gotten past her initial uncertainty and is really excited to clean out and rearrange the house), so I have somewhere to live now. I also talked to financial aid and registration. I found out that I have nine credits left to graduate. As long as I have six credits each of my last semesters, I can keep half of my PEL and there is a part time TAP that I can apply for. I also won't lose any of my loans, but will lose all of my scholarships. I have to go and ask them if I will be able to keep my on-campus jobs. I definitely need to get a real job. Also, exciting, I need to get my own insurance, because I'm going to be booted from my parents not being a full time student. Yay! Adulthood! (By yay I mean mildly terrifying....)

***

And now for that mint chocolate chip cooky recipe!



Preheat oven to 325* F.

Line two cooky sheets with parchment paper.

Cream together:

1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup coconut oil
1/4 cup white sugar
1 1/4 cup light brown sugar
2 Tbsp milk
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp peppermint extract

In a separate bowl sift/whisk together:

2 cups rice flour
1/4 cup potato starch
2 Tbsp sweet rice flour
1 tsp xanthan gum
1 tsp salt
1tsp baking soda

Add the flour mixture to the wet mixture and mix to combine.

Stir in:

2/3 cups chocolate chips
2/3 cups vanilla chips

Chill for 3/4 hour, then let sit on table for 15 minutes to soften again (the chilled coconut oil will make it too stiff to divide at all).

Break pieces off of the dough and form into balls. place an inch or two apart on the cookie sheets and smoosh them a little (they won't spread with these types of flour). I make ping-pong sized balls for two-bite cookies.

Bake for 14 minutes or just until firm and slightly brown around the edges.

Cookies will stay soft for at least a week (none survived past that) if kept covered.