LEMONGRASS COOKIES and BOURBON CHOCOLATE CHIP BAR COOKIES and DEEP CHOCOLATE POUND CAKES

My husband hosted his annual company meeting at a Razorback basketball game.
Thinking outside the box, he rented a luxury box, and ordered in barbecue and beer, definitely a fun way to get the job done.
I offered to stock the room with desserts, my humble, heartfelt and homemade way of saying thank you for all the hard work and dedication from this amazing team.

LEMONGRASS COOKIES

1/2 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup confectioners sugar
zest from one lemon
1 cup of flour
1/3 cup coconut, shredded
1 heaped tablespoon of lemongrass puree
1 1/2 cups white chocolate chips

Heat oven to 350F.
With an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar in a medium bowl until creamy. Add lemon zest. Gradually beat in flour, coconut and lemongrass. Stir in 1 cup of chocolate chips.
Shape dough into 1-inch balls and place 1/2 inch apart on baking sheets. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes,  or until cookies are set and light golden brown on the bottom.
Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes, place on wire racks to cool completely.
Microwave remaining chocolate chips, scrape melted chocolate into a plastic bag, snip off one corner and squeeze a dollop of chocolate onto each cookie.
Enjoy!

BOURBON CHOCOLATE CHIP BAR COOKIES

2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter at room temperature
1 cup plus 2 teaspoons of sugar
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
6 tablespoons bourbon
1 1/3 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Heat oven to 350.
In a bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt.
In a separate bowl, beat butter and sugars with an electric mixer until light and fluffy, scraping the bowl as necessary.
Add the egg and vanilla and beat on low speed to incorporate. On low speed, add the bourbon, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating for about 20 seconds after each addition, and scraping the bowl as necessary.
Gradually add the flour mixture, beating until well incorporated, then fold in the chocolate chips.
Press dough evenly into the bottom of a prepared baking dish, bake for about 20 minutes, until set on top and beginning to brown around the edges. Cool in pan for 10 to 15 minutes, before cutting into squares.
Enjoy!

Recipe adapted from The Arkansas Democrat Gazette, December 2013
www.arkansasonline.com/news/features/food/‎

DEEP CHOCOLATE POUND CAKES

2 1/4 cups cake flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup whole milk
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 cup honey
2 tablespoons boiling water
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

Heat oven to 350F.
Place paper muffin liners in a muffin tin.
Whisk flour, baking powder, salt and baking soda in a medium bowl. Whisk sour cream and milk together in a small bowl.
Sift cocoa powder into another small bowl. Whisk in honey and 2 tablespoons of boiling water until smooth. Cool completely.
Using an electric mixer, beat sugar and butter in another medium bowl, until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in eggs one at a time, occasionally scraping down sides of bowl. Beat in flour mixture alternately with sour cream mixture until just blended. Stir in the chocolate chips.
Divide batter among the muffin tins, bake until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 12 to 15 minutes.
Enjoy!

Recipe adapted from Bon Appetit October 2008
www.bonappetit.com/recipes‎

ALMOND WHITE CHOCOLATE COOKIES

I made these Almond White Chocolate cookies for my kids and their friends after school. I was busy in other parts of the house so I set the timer on the oven and then set the timer on my phone to go off a couple of minutes early. When the timer went off, I went back to the kitchen to take the cookies out of the oven, and to transfer the previous batch off the cookie sheet, to a rack to cool, but the cookies were already all gone off the cookie sheet! Thankfully there was a large bowl of cookie dough just waiting to be made into cookies and baked, that the kids also enjoyed.

ALMOND WHITE CHOCOLATE COOKIES

2 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter, softened
1 1/4 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons almond extract
2 cups white chocolate chips

Heat oven to 375F.
Mix flour, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl.
Beat butter and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add eggs and almond extract, mix well. Gradually beat in flour mixture on low speed, until well mixed. Stir in chocolate chips.
Drop by tablespoons about 1 inch apart onto cookie sheets.
Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Cool on baking sheets 1 minute. Remove to wire racks, cool completely.
Enjoy!

WHITE CHOCOLATE KEY LIME BARS

Friends invited us out to their dock on the lake, for a fabulous fish fry. I was so very excited - fish caught that very morning, prepared that afternoon, right beside the water that produced them - heavenly.
Served with the perfect accompanying sides and a good measure of companionable conversation, it could not have been a better time.
I offered to bring dessert, and thought these lovely tangy bars would round out the menu nicely - even though we were beyond satiated, we managed to fit in a bite and enjoyed a sweet ending to a sweet afternoon.

WHITE CHOCOLATE KEY LIME BARS

CRUST
2 cups gingersnap crumbs
2 tablespoons sugar
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Heat oven to 350F.
Combine all ingredients into a 9 by 13 baking dish lined with foil that extends 2 inches beyond the short end of the pan. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, remove from oven, then reduce oven temperature to 325F.

LIME FILLING
1 egg
4 egg yolks
2 (15 ounce) cans of sweetened condensed milk
1 cup of freshly squeezed key lime juice
1 teaspoon of freshly grated lime zest
pinch of salt

Whisk all the ingredients together in a medium bowl. Pour the filling over the prepared crust. Bake until the filling is almost set, about 20 to 22 minutes. Cool the bars completely in the pan set on a wire rack. Refrigerate the bars for at least 2 hours, until chilled.

WHITE CHOCOLATE TOPPING
1/4 cup whole milk
1/4 cup heavy cream
8 ounces of white chocolate, chopped

In a medium saucepan, bring the milk and cream to a gentle boil. Add the chopped chocolate and let stand for 30 seconds to melt the chocolate. Whisk the mixture until the chocolate is completely melted and the mixture is smooth. Set the topping aside to cool to room temperature for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until cool. Poor the cooled white chocolate topping over the chilled bars and spread into an even layer. Chill until topping is cold.
Garnish with toasted macadamia nuts and cut into bars.
Enjoy!

Recipe adapted from the Food Network
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/white-chocolate-key-lime-bars-recipe/index.html