Recently, my friend Susi made a VERY quick trip to Minnesota. She moved away almost two years ago – on the DAY of our tornado, no less. Great timing on her part, but we’ve missed her ever since. As has become tradition, we met up at Psycho Suzi’s for drinks, nibbles, and great conversation.

Breaking from “tradition”… this was the first time I’d been back to that restaurant since I regained my ability to tolerate gluten. Though the menu had now VASTLY opened up to me, I ended up ordering the same thing I usually ordered – the “Backfire” dip. While the dip itself is listed as gluten free, the normal accompaniment – baguette – is decidedly NOT… and I always had to order mine with corn chips. This time, I was looking forward to trying my old favorite in the way it was intended, and it did not disappoint! That night, I decided that the time had come to start making it at home. The dip is just far too good to reserve for the times when we’re willing to brave the loud, sensory-overload environment at the restaurant. I bought the ingredients the next morning, banged out a recipe, and … Wow. I had decided to make my version creamier and cheesier than the source material, and added white wine and provolone. The end result is nothing short of spectacular. Definitely the best artichoke dip I’ve ever had!

This makes a fair amount of dip, so it’s great for parties. If you – like us – only have a couple of people to feed, never fear – it reheats well, and it’s just way too addictive to go to waste. You will plow through a batch in no time!

Jalepeno Artichoke Dip
Inspired by Psycho Suzi‘s “Backfire” Dip

2 cans artichoke hearts (Artichoke size doesn’t matter), drained and chopped
1 red bell pepper, seeded and roughly chopped
3 jalapeno peppers, finely chopped*
1 Tbsp olive oil
3 garlic cloves, pressed or finely minced
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 1/2 bricks (8 oz each) cream cheese, softened
1 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, divided
8 oz provolone cheese, shredded
1 tsp fresh lemon zest
1/2 tsp pepper
salt to taste

Heat broiler to high.

In a large saucepan over medium high heat, cook artichoke hearts, peppers, olive oil, and garlic together for a few minutes, until peppers soften a little. Add white wine, cook for another minute.

Carefully mix in softened cream cheese, stirring gently until smooth and well incorporated. Continue heating, stirring frequently, until cheese starts to bubble.

Add in 1 cup of the Parmesan, all of the provolone, as well as the lemon zest and pepper. Stir constantly, until all cheese is melted and smooth. Season with salt, to taste.

Transfer mixture to an oven safe glass baking dish, such as Pyrex – we used a large Pyrex loaf pan. Sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup of parmesan cheese.

Broil for a few minutes, until the top of the dip is as browned as you’d like it. Serve hot, with sliced crusty baguette or veggies. Serving corn chips with it is a great option to keep it gluten free, if needed!

* You can remove the seeds and ribs if you’d like a more mild dip – we left it all in.

As you may know, I was diagnosed with a gluten allergy a few years ago. Not Celiac, mind you, just an inflammatory thing, secondary to my autoimmune hypothyoid. Big fun, made my life miserable, gave me fibromyalgia… and then everything cleared up once I went gluten free.

At the time, my Dr offered me a slight bit of hope: Go off gluten for a 2-3 years, things MAY heal themselves, and the allergy could clear up. MAYBE.

Flash forward a year and a half. I’d been really good, and only caved once, early on. (Got so violently ill, I swore off gluten for the rest of my sentence!). One day, I made a batch of bagels for my husband that looked and smelled SO good, I caved.

I rationalized that it had been long enough. I mean, I tend to heal ridiculously fast, so odds were good, right? I rationalized that eating a bagel would be done “in the name of SCIENCE!”, and how would I know how things were progressing, if I didn’t test it?

I rationalized that any fallout from it would be worth it. I mean really, those suckers were loaded with toasted caraway!

I ate one, with no problem. I savored it, angels sang, my world became more colorful in that instant, it was breathtaking.

So, I ate 3 more. Well… more like inhaled. I figured hey, if I am going to get sick, I am going to make it really worth my while! If I’m going to do the time… Well, I didn’t get sick. No pain, no fibro, absolutely no lingering evidence of the hell that gluten put me through just a couple years ago. WOO HOO! I’ve been on the most ridiculously hedonistic gluten bender ever since. Bagels! Baguettes! A real doughnut! Loads of bread. Oh yes, the goddess of gluten is back in full effect! For my gluten free readers, don’t worry! I still love and understand you, and I will continue to develop and post delicious gluten free recipes. If nothing else, I am fully aware that I am likely to redevelop the allergy at some point (ESPECIALLY at the rate I’m going, wheeee!), and plan to be prepared! For the rest of you, today I’d love to share one of the very first things I baked after being sprung from my gluten free jail: Buffalo Chicken Rolls. I developed this recipe a few years ago, and have been dreaming of it ever since! So ridiculously good. Enjoy!

Buffalo Chicken Rolls

(Makes 6 giant buns)

1 1/2 cups warm – not hot! – water*
4 tsp yeast
1 Tbsp sugar
3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp salt

2 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 small onion, finely chopped
2-3 stalks celery, finely chopped
2 tsp vegetable oil
3 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
1/2 cup (or more, to taste) hot sauce

2 cups finely shredded colby jack cheese

* For a more complex and adult flavor, use a 12 oz bottle of beer in place of the water (We used a light tasting home brewed corn beer). Pour beer into a microwave safe bowl, heat til warm (not hot).

Stir yeast and sugar into warm water, allow to stand for 10 minutes – it should get very bubbly.

In a large mixing bowl, combine flour and salt. Pour in yeast mixture, stir well to combine. Dump dough out onto a floured surface, knead until soft and elastic, 5-10 minutes.
(OR: mix it in a stand mixer with a dough hook for 5 minutes or so!)

Once dough is fully kneaded, place in a greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and allow to rise for one hour, or until doubled in size.

While the dough is rising, make your filling:

Freeze chicken breasts just long enough to firm them up a bit, maybe 10-15 minutes. Trim, chop into very small cubes.

In a large pan, saute onion and celery in vegetable oil, until vegetables are soft and translucent. Add chicken, garlic, and hot sauce, continue cooking until chicken is fully cooked. Set aside, allow to cool to room temperature.

Once dough has doubled in size and chicken mixture has cooled, roll dough out on a floured surface. Aim to make it a large rectangle, say 15 x 20″ or so.

Scatter half of the cheese across the rolled dough, avoiding the very edge of the rectangle.

Evenly scatter the chicken filling over the cheese, avoiding the edge of the dough.

Scatter the remaining cheese over the chicken mixture, once again avoiding the edge of the dough.

Starting with one of the shorter edges, tightly roll the dough up.

Generously grease or spray a 9x 13″ baking pan.

Using a very sharp knife, slice the roll into 6 even rounds. I recommend wiping your knife down between each slice, to keep them looking clean and pretty.

Carefully place each roll into the pan, spacing them evenly.

Cover pan with plastic wrap, allow to rise one more time – about 45 minutes. While waiting for the buns to rise, heat oven to 375F.

(This is what they looked like after the final rise!)

Once final rise is over, pop the pan in the oven and bake for 35-40 minutes, or until golden brown and perfect.

Allow to cool for a few minutes, if you’re patient. Serve hot, preferably with a drizzle of ranch dressing! (Hey, the whole idea was themed around cinnamon buns, may as well continue that thought in serving them!)

Spring is on its way, but there is still time to take advantage of “soup season”! This recipe – from my upcoming corn cookbook – won’t disappoint: it’s thick, warm, rich, and satisfying! Hearty Corn and Black Bean Soup 2 large onions, chopped 1 lb bacon, chopped 2 lbs dry black beans 12 1/2 cups chicken stock 1-2 bottles of a light tasting beer, such as Corona 6 ears fresh corn, husks removed. Juice and zest of 2 limes 6 ribs celery, chopped 3 green bell peppers, chopped 2 red bell peppers, chopped 1 yellow bell pepper, chopped 3 jalapeno peppers, finely chopped 6 cloves garlic, pressed or minced 2 tsp ground cumin 1 tsp salt 1 tsp pepper

In a large, heavy pot, saute onions and bacon until bacon is cooked but not crispy. Add black beans, chicken stock, and beer, bring to a boil. Once mixture comes to a boil, stir it once, cover it with a lid, and remove from heat. Allow to sit for 1 hour.

Once an hour has passed, bring pot to a boil once more. Reduce heat, simmer for one hour, stirring frequently.

Using a sharp knife, carefully cut kernels off the ears of corn, add to a pot along with lime juice/zest, celery, peppers, garlic, and seasonings. Continue to simmer for another 20 minutes, or until beans and all vegetables are tender, and soup is THICK.

Serve hot, topped with cheddar cheese, sour cream, and /or crumbled bacon.

Note: water or chicken broth can be substituted for the beer, if so desired.

You know, for being married to someone who’s allergic to gluten, my husband still manages to be utterly spoiled in the breads department.

The other day, I decided to treat him to a batch of my homemade bagels. It’s been a while, I definitely haven’t made them since the tornado, so it’s probably been over two years. Wow!

From the smell of these, right from the raw dough making through to the finished product… I would think that they were very much worth the wait. Hell, I seriously debated whether I should just snarf one and accept the week or two of serious fibromyalgia that THAT would mean, to me. I didn’t… but OH so close! So close. Also, there are three of them left in the kitchen right now, and my husband is away at work… oh, willpower!

Anyway. Bagel making is a little bit of effort, but *nothing* beats fresh, homemade bagels. These are traditional bagels – chewy, dense, and wonderful. As we’re big fans of the cheddar / jalapeno / beer, I created this recipe to encompass those flavors. Sigh. I miss bagels… Says my husband: “They’re SO good; no bagel from a store can compete with an oven fresh bagel bursting with flavor and that amazing texture.” Anyway, I’m gonna go ahead and post this recipe, so I can move on to something else… maybe distract myself from the thought of those golden rounds of heaven on the kitchen counter. Enjoy!

Jalapeno Cheddar Beer Bagels

(Makes 6 giant bagels, or 10-12 regular bagels)

1 12 oz bottle of beer. (We used a light tasting home brewed corn beer)
4 tsp yeast
3 Tbsp sugar
3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp salt
6 oz cheddar cheese, cut into small cubes
2-3 jalapenos, seeded and chopped into small pieces.
1 egg

Pour beer into a microwave safe bowl, heat til warm (not hot). Stir in yeast and sugar, allow to stand for 10 minutes – it should get very bubbly.

In a large mixing bowl, combine flour and salt. Pour in yeast mixture, stir well to combine.

Dump dough out onto a floured surface, knead until soft and elastic, 5-10 minutes. Once dough is fully kneaded, add in cheese and jalapenos, knead to distribute. Place dough in a greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and allow to rise for one hour, or until doubled in size.

Once dough has doubled, punch it down, and divide it out. We divided the mixture into 6 equally sized balls, for LARGE bagels – but you can make them smaller by dividing into 8 or 12 equal sized pieces.

Preheat oven to 350F, and bring a large pot of water to a boil, while you form the bagels.

There are two main ways of forming bagels – with roll each lump of dough into a thick “snake” and secure the ends together, or roll each lump into a smooth ball before poking a finger though. Once you have a hole made, stretch the ring of dough our a bit to enlarge the hole. Personally, I prefer the latter.

Once you have all of your bagels formed, set them on a baking sheet to rise for another 10 minutes.

Turn heat down a little, allowing water to simmer rather than boil. 2 or 3 at a time, drop your bagels into the simmering water, allow to cook for 1 minute, then flip each and allow to cook for another minute. Drain well, place on a greased cookie sheet.

Whisk egg together with 1 Tbsp of water, brush over the tops and sides of each bagel. Bake for 35-37 minutes (small) or 40-45 mins (large), until golden brown.

Yum.

Recently, I was craving beef Stroganoff – and was a bit horrified when Porter told me that he’d never had it made from scratch. Yep, when you say “Stroganoff” to my husband, he would think “Hamburger Helper”. Eek!

Stroganoff was one of those things that I cooked fairly often when I was a bit younger and living alone. It’s one of those dishes that I’d just throw together, without a lot of thought as to measurements. THIS time, I made sure to measure as I went, so I could share the recipe with all of you!

Oh, and yeah… made this version gluten free!

Beef Stroganoff 1 1/2 lbs beef sirloin 2 Tbsp Olive oil 1 medium onion, thinly sliced 1 lb baby bella mushrooms, sliced 2 cups beef broth 3 cloves garlic, pressed 1 tsp Dijon mustard 1/4 cup corn starch 1/2 cup white wine 1/2 cup sour cream 1 Tbsp dried parsley Freeze sirloin for about 10 minutes, just long enough to make it easy to slice. Cut chilled beef into very thin slices. Heat olive oil in a large pan, add beef and cook until well browned. Add onions and mushrooms to the pan, cook for about 3 minutes. Add broth, garlic, and Dijon mustard to the pan, stirring well to distribute.

Whisk together corn starch and white wine until smooth. Add corn starch mixture to the pan, along with sour cream and parsley, simmer till thickened.

Serve over rice, gluten free noodles of choice, or egg noodles (if you don’t need it to be gluten free).

In this household, nothing says “love” like soft, chewy bread products! So, for this Valentine’s Day, I give you my beer pretzels recipe. While this recipe can definitely be used to form more traditional pretzel shapes as well – of course! – I find it to be a lot of fun to get a bit seasonal with it. What better to go with beer pretzels, than jalapeno jack melty cheese dip? This accompanying recipe works up quickly and easily, and really satisfies. Comfort food at its finest, when paired with a fresh from the oven pretzel!

Heart Shaped Beer Pretzels

1 1/2 cups warm beer
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1 package active dry yeast (about 2 1/4 tsp)
5 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
4 ounces unsalted butter, melted
Olive oil

3 quarts water
3/4 cup baking soda

2 eggs
1 tbsp cold water
Coarse sea salt

Combine warm beer with brown sugar, stir until sugar is almost dissolved. Add yeast, stirring until incorporated. Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Set aside in a warm place for 10 minutes, or until foamy.

In a large bowl, combine flour and salt. Add melted butter, stirring until well distributed. Pour in yeast/beer mixture, stirring until well combined. Turn dough out onto a clean surface, knead for a couple of minutes. Dough should be soft and smooth.

Pour about 1 Tbsp of olive oil into a large, clean metal or glass bowl. Add freshly kneaded dough to the bowl, turning to coat with the oil. Cover with plastic wrap, set aside in a warm spot to rise for an hour or two, until doubled.

Once the dough has doubled in size:

Pinch off a fist-sized chunk of dough, roll it into a thick “snake”, form into a heart shape, and pinch ends to seal:

Repeat with remaining dough.

Preheat oven to 375F. Bring water to a boil in a large pot. Add baking soda, stir until combined.

Boil the pretzels, a few at a time, for about a minute. Gently stir as they boil, to ensure that the entire surface of each is in contact with the water at some point. Use a slotted spoon to transfer each popper to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and/or lightly coated with cooking spray. (you’ll need 2 baking sheets)

Whisk together eggs and water, brush this mixture across the tops of the pretzels. Generously sprinkle the tops with coarse sea salt. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until golden brown. Allow to cool for a minute or two before eating. Enjoy!

Jalapeno Jack Dip

1 cup milk
12 oz shredded jalapeno jack cheese
2 tbsp corn starch
Salt and pepper

Heat milk in a medium saucepan. In a separate bowl, toss cheese with corn starch.

Add about half of the cheese to the pot, stirring until melted in. Add the rest, continue stirring until everything is melted and smooth. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Serve hot!

The holiday season may be over, but some of us aren’t ready to forfeit our sweet tooth to the new years resolutions just yet! This mousse is light, airy, fruity… and feels a little celebratory. Great for entertaining, special occasions (Valentine’s Day!)… or any day, really. Also, this recipe isn’t horrible as far as desserts go. It’s not a TON of sugar, it’s gluten free… it has fruit, dairy, and hey, the eggs count as protein, right? Good enough! This recipe is for a traditional mousse, which utilizes fresh, raw egg whites. While this is perfectly safe for the vast majority of the population, pregnant women, the elderly, and immune compromised individuals may want to opt out of this recipe

Traditional Raspberry Mousse

1 cup Raspberry puree *
1/3 cup Sugar
3 tsp Unflavored gelatin powder
1/3 cup water
2 Large egg whites
1 cup Heavy cream

Combine raspberry puree and sugar together in a large bowl, set aside.

In a small bowl, sprinkle gelatin over water and allow to soak for 5 minutes. Transfer bowl to microwave, heat in 10 second increments until gelatin dissolves into the liqueur. Pour into fruit puree mixture, stir until well incorporated, then set aside while preparing the rest of the ingredients.

In a separate bowl (stand mixer, ideally!), whip egg whites until stiff peaks form. Carefully fold into chilled fruit mixture, stirring until combined.

Whip cream until stiff peaks form, then carefully fold in to the fruit mixture, stirring until combined. Pour into 6-8 serving glasses, chill until set, about 2 hours.

* If you have access to pre made fruit puree, that is easiest.

** Feel free to substitute a liqueur of choice. This mousse is particularly great with Cambord or Cointreau in place of the water.

Looking for an easy, elegant dessert to serve on New Year’s Eve? Look no further!

Poaching is a great way to use fruit when it’s either off-season and less than perfect, or just a bit under ripe. The fruit is cooked in a flavorful liquid – usually wine – that is sweetened with sugar and/or honey, and flavored with any number of ingredients. This cooking process sweetens and softens the fruit, so you’re actually quite a bit better off starting with firm and under-ripe! This is a great base recipe, but feel free to experiment with it. You’ll find flavor combinations to try at the end of the recipe- or just run wild with your own imagination! Poached fruit is great when served as slices on top of cheesecakes (or other desserts), on ice cream… served in halves or as whole fruit. A whole poached pear, perched in a martini glass and drizzled with a little chocolate is a statement kind of dessert! This recipe is from my first cookbook, The Spirited Baker.

Poached Pears

4 Large, firm pears
3 cups fruity red wine (We used Winehaven’s “Sangria” for this)
Sugar 3/4 – 1 cup 175-250 ml
Flavoring items of choice *

Peel the pears, leaving the stems on – it’s prettier that way.

In a medium saucepan, combine your wine with sugar, bring to a boil. Cook, stirring until all sugar is dissolved. Turn the heat down to low, add flavoring items of choice. At this point, it’s a good idea to taste the syrup to make sure that the liquid is sweet enough for your taste.

Add the pears to the pot. If they float, laying a small, heat proof dish on top to weigh them down works well. Cover the pot and allow the fruit to cook through to desired softness – this may happen in 10 minutes, it may take 40-60 minutes. Just poke it every once in awhile to see how it’s doing.

Once pears cooked through, remove from heat and allow to cool to room temperature. Once cool, move to fridge to chill for at least an hour.

When ready to serve, remove pears from poaching liquid. To make a sauce to serve with the pears, return the poaching liquid to the stove top, simmer until reduced in volume and thickened.

* Flavoring items of choice: Vanilla beans (cut in half, lengthwise), whole cloves, zest/juice of citrus fruits, tea bags, cinnamon sticks, mint leaves, rosemary… whatever you feel like using! I recommend not using too many different flavors – I like to let the flavor of the fruit shine through. For this recipe, we used one vanilla bean, and the peels of two clementine oranges.

* Liquid variations: Wine – red, white, rose, champagne, mead – any type that you like drinking. Favorite spirits, such as rum, whisky, and brandy can also be used. Fruit juice or water can be added for extra flavor, or to cut too-strong flavors.

Interested in boozy culinary experiments? You’ll LOVE my first cookbook, The Spirited Baker! Combining liqueurs with more traditional baking ingredients can yield spectacular results.Try Mango Mojito Upside Down Cake, Candy Apple Flan, Jalapeno Beer Peanut Brittle, Lynchburg Lemonade Cupcakes, Pina Colada Rum Cake, Strawberry Daiquiri Chiffon Pie, and so much more. To further add to your creative possibilities, the first chapter teaches how to infuse spirits to make both basic and cream liqueurs, as well as home made flavor extracts! This book contains over 160 easy to make recipes, with variation suggestions to help create hundreds more! Order your hard copy here, or digital edition here.

Apple crisp was the dish that I was first known for, back when I was a kid. I substituted my favorite granola cereal for the rolled oats that most recipes called for… and a favorite was born! As an adult, I’m a big fan of the combination of apples, cinnamon, brown sugar, and apple brandy – as you may have noticed by now. (Mmmm Brandied Apple Upside Down Cake!) The Apple Brandy gives a little extra something to this dish, an added warmth and complexity. It tastes like the holidays!. This apple crisp is the perfect way to end a crisp, cool day of apple picking with your special someone. Apple Crisp was definitely one of the things that immediately came to mind, when I found out about my gluten allergy – so of course, I had to make a GF version. This won’t be for everyone – I realize that some people have issues with oats – but it’ll hit the spot for those who CAN have oats.

Also, bonus: Because the topping is oats based anyway, NON-gf people not only don’t take it as “GF”, but find it tastes better than with regular flour!

Gluten Free Brandied Apple Crisp

1 cup Sugar
1 cup GF Oat Flour
3 cups GF Granola*
1 cup Butter, melted
7-8 Large, tart apples
1/3 cup Apple brandy
1/2 cup Brown sugar, packed
1/2 tsp Cinnamon
1/2 cup Walnuts or almonds, optional

Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C). Grease a 9″ square baking dish, set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine sugar, flour, and granola. Add melted butter, stir until well incorporated. Everything should be wet, but crumbly.

Peel (if you want – I don’t usually), core, and chop the apples. Toss apple chunks with the apple

brandy. Separately, combine brown sugar, cinnamon, and nuts – if using. Add to the bowl of apples, toss until apples are evenly coated.

Spread apple mixture evenly over the bottom of the baking dish. Top with an even layer of the granola mixture, patting down lightly. Bake for 35-45 minutes, or until topping is lightly browned, and apples are tender. Serve with ice cream or whipped cream.

* If you prefer, rolled oats can be substituted for the same amount of granola.

Flavor Ideas:

- While I love this with apple brandy.. try rum, whisky, or whatever else you like. Non-cream liqueurs work best.

- For a non alcoholic version, swap apple juice or apple cider

- Add sweetened dried cranberries instead of – or in addition to – the nuts.

- For a “Candy Apple” crisp, use sour apple schnapps for the flavoring, add a layer of ½ – 1 cup chopped Kraft caramels on top of the apple layer, before coating with the streusel topping.

Interested in boozy culinary experiments? You’ll LOVE my first cookbook, The Spirited Baker! Combining liqueurs with more traditional baking ingredients can yield spectacular results.Try Mango Mojito Upside Down Cake, Candy Apple Flan, Jalapeno Beer Peanut Brittle, Lynchburg Lemonade Cupcakes, Pina Colada Rum Cake, Strawberry Daiquiri Chiffon Pie, and so much more. To further add to your creative possibilities, the first chapter teaches how to infuse spirits to make both basic and cream liqueurs, as well as home made flavor extracts! This book contains over 160 easy to make recipes, with variation suggestions to help create hundreds more! Order your hard copy here, or digital edition here.

Growing up, haystack cookies (or, as we referred to them… “worm cookies”!) were a common offering at special occasions. Around the holidays, these were served right alongside other staple favorites, such as Confetti Bars and my beloved Noelles. Like Noelles, it’s another childhood favorite that I saw fit to mess with: While the original was great, the addition of cream liqueur takes it to a whole new level. Not so much in a *literally* intoxicating way, mind you – but the cream liqueur brings with it a complexity of flavor that the childhood favorite was lacking. These are particularly fabulous with the “Baja” line of cream tequila liqueurs. I love it with Baja Rosa (Strawberry) and Baja Luna (Black Raspberry), but try it with any cream liqueur – Irish cream, Castries peanut creme, Godiva…yum! These are easy, fast, no-bake.. and OH so addictive! Don’t want the kids to miss out? Simply swap milk for the cream liqueur, and add 1 tsp of vanilla extract.

Boozy Chocolate Haystack Cookies

3 cups Rolled Oats
1 cup Coconut
2 cups Sugar
1/2 cup Cream liqueur of choice
1/2 cup Butter
1/2 cup Cocoa

In a large bowl, combine oats and coconut, set aside. Prepare 2 cookie sheets – or a counter top – with parchment or waxed paper.

Combine sugar, liqueur, butter, and cocoa together in a medium saucepan. Heat to a boil, stirring constantly. Allow to boil for 2 minutes, remove from heat.

Pour hot mixture over coconut and oats, stir to coat everything evenly. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto prepared pans or counter top, allow to cool fully – cookies will harden and “set up” as they cool. Store in an airtight container – these will keep a long time, assuming they go uneaten that long!

Makes at least 24 cookies

Interested in boozy culinary experiments? You’ll LOVE my first cookbook, The Spirited Baker! Combining liqueurs with more traditional baking ingredients can yield spectacular results.Try Mango Mojito Upside Down Cake, Candy Apple Flan, Jalapeno Beer Peanut Brittle, Lynchburg Lemonade Cupcakes, Pina Colada Rum Cake, Strawberry Daiquiri Chiffon Pie, and so much more. To further add to your creative possibilities, the first chapter teaches how to infuse spirits to make both basic and cream liqueurs, as well as home made flavor extracts! This book contains over 160 easy to make recipes, with variation suggestions to help create hundreds more! Order your hard copy here, or digital edition here.