Did you know that Hershey's makes Milk Chocolate Macadamia Nut Kisses? I didn't either until I was coming back from my vacation in Hawaii. There they were...calling my name. I knew that there was a dessert to be enjoyed from this amazing little treat. I love macadamia nuts and this combination is delicious. When I showed my friend, Sharon, the bag of Hershey Kisses and my desire to bake some cookies with them, she said, "what about coconut?"
So, the entire plane ride home (6 hours then 5 hours) I kept thinking about a coconut cookie or something that would complement these macadamia nut kisses. I thought about a recipe I use for thumbprints called Danielle B's Goodies - Special Thumbprints. I thought this might be the best recipe to start with. I could add a bit of coconut without changing the texture or the overall taste of the cookie.
Last night my daughter, Danielle, was home as was Stephen, (my "A Year of Cookies" child) so they unwrapped the macadamia nut kisses while I grabbed the food processor and a bag of coconut. I knew I didn't want the coconut sticking out on the cookie and I also didn't want it to be a fine powder. A few quick pulses and it was perfect. I added the coconut to the basic shortbread dough and proceeded to make the new coconut shortbread cookies.
They smelled delicious coming from the oven. The cookie was sweet with a hint of coconut crunch. The chocolate kiss was loaded with a macadamia nut...PERFECT...chocolate, coconut and macadamia nuts, that island feel! And for my White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookie fans, you will like these, too!
At the bottom is a picture of the Milk Chocolate Macadamia Nut Kisses (blue bag!) along with a link to a site where you can purchase them if they are not available locally.
Enjoy and GO NUTS! GO COCONUTS!
Basic Dough:
1 cup of white sugar
2 cups of butter
2 teaspoons of vanilla
2 eggs
4 1/2 cups of flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 cup of sweetened coconut, place in a food processor and chop into small pieces.
2 bags of Hershey's Chocolate Kisses with Macadamia Nuts
Preparation:
Blend sugar and butter with a mixer until smooth, add the eggs and vanilla and beat until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Mix in flour and baking soda by hand until it forms a smooth dough. Add coconut and stir until incorporated.
Roll into balls (a rounded tablespoon) and indent with your thumb. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes or until dry and slightly golden on the bottom. The minute they come out of the oven, press a Hershey Kiss into the top of each cookie. I go back and push the slightly melted kiss into the cookie, that way I know it is secure.
Place on a cookie rack to cool and to allow the chocolate to set again. This recipe makes about 60 cookies and of course, we freeze a number of them to share with friends and family.
To purchase Hershey Milk Chocolate Macadamia Nut Kisses, try ABC Stores.
