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  ..............~You are cordially invited to a Tea Party~..............
I decided to have a tea party ............... in lieu of a pity party ............a much better choice, don't you think? You see, I'm really missing my daughter today - she lives all the way across the wide blue ocean...... in London ......... yes, as in England! So I decided to fix a "proper pot of tea" along with these delicious shortbread cookies (quite British) and have a party (or pah-ty as they would say in her corner of the world) ........... in her honor! I'd love for you to join me, at least virtually, in a celebration dedicated to all of our family members near and far!............ I miss you Cait!
I saw a recipe in Martha Stewart Living for Coconut Thumbprint Cookies with Salted Caramel, then I saw another one for Coconut Pecan Shortbread Cookies with Caramel Filling, hmmm, these two recipes got me going. I got a few ideas of my own -  next thing I knew, these cookies were evolving! I think you'll enjoy them; the cookie itself is crispy, buttery, coconut-y and not too sweet, the topping is caramely along with being sweet and salty. There's a touch of chocolate which is, well, it's just the créme de la créme! And if you're missing someone today, the way I am, these might be "just what the doctor ordered"!
One more thing - the salted caramel; unbelievably easy! Just run to the store, buy a bag of caramels, throw them in a pot with a bit of cream and if you're feeling a bit extravagant, like I was today, add vanilla bean - voila! That's it!
Coconut Shortbread w/ Vanilla Bean Salted Caramel
Ingredients:
½ cup shredded coconut
½ cup pecans
1 cup butter, room temperature
½ cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling out dough
½ teaspoon salt
44 small soft caramel candies (12 ounces), such as Kraft
5 tablespoons heavy cream
1 vanila bean, halved and seeds scraped out
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
sea salt, with large flakes, such as Maldon
Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350ËšF. Line three baking sheets with parchment paper. Place coconut and pecans on a baking sheet, and toast until both are golden brown, 5 to 7 minutes, stirring halfway through. Cool, then transfer to a the bowl of a food processor and process until finely chopped.
2. With an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add vanilla extract, flour, and salt; beat to combine. Stir in coconut and pecans.
3. Form the dough into a disk and wrap in plastic wrap. Transfer to refrigerator, and chill for 30 minutes. On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough ÂĽ" thick. Using a fluted pastry cutter, cut out as many rounds as possible. Re-roll dough as needed Place the rounds, spaced 1" apart, on the prepared baking sheets. Make indentations in the middle of each cookie by gently pressing with a bottle cap (I used the top of a Worcestershire bottle).
4. Bake until golden brown, about 15 minutes, rotating baking sheets halfway through baking time, if needed. Remove cookies from oven and immediately reinforce center indentation by pressing again with bottle cap. Transfer cookies to a wire rack, and let cool completely.
5. Place caramels and heavy cream in a small saucepan over low heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the caramels are melted and mixture is smooth, 4 to 6 minutes. Add vanilla beans. Spoon caramel into indentations in cookies, then drizzle back and forth across cookie with additional caramel.
6. Place chocolate chips in a small heavy duty zip lock bag. Place in microwave for 2 minutes on power level 5 (or 50 percent power). If chocolate is not melted after the 2 minutes, return to microwave for 10 second intervals until chocolate is completely melted. Snip off one lower corner of the bag (just an tiny snip) and drizzle chocolate back and forth over cookies (I did some with small dots of chocolate also). Sprinkle with sea salt while caramel and chocolate are still damp. Allow to dry overnight (or place in refrigerator for one hour) then store in an airtight container.
Notes:
This actually makes a lot more caramel sauce than you will need for the cookies. It would also be a delicious sauce for ice cream or other desserts.
Adapted from Martha Stewart Living
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I would give this recipe 5 stars if there was a way to rate it.
The coconut and pecan in the shortbread is wonderful. I wish there was a way to enhance the coconut flavor as it fades a little with all the topping. I made mine without the indentation and just drizzled caramel across the cookie, then put a few chocolate drips on, as you did in the illustration. They were delicious. Thanks for the recipe.
Thank you for the review, Tulsi!
Is there a way to make these without rolling them out? I have bad childhood memories of trying to roll out cookies, so I don't make things that need to be rolled out (I know, I know). Thanks.
Hi Lisa, I haven't tried these cookies without rolling so I can't guarantee the results. That being said, you could probably press the dough into a pan and then cut it in squares while it's warm.
Very yummy snack
http://www.foodydelight.com/
Yes, I will be there! 🙂 I love tea parties! 🙂
Hey Shortbread Sister,
Those cookies should help lift your spirits--at least for a little while. Yummy!
Beautiful presentation Chris - what a lovely tea set. I would eat your delightful coconut shortbread any time of day!
Beautiful presentation Chris - what a lovely tea set. I would eat your delightful coconut shortbread any time of day!
Beautiful presentation Chris - what a lovely tea set. I would eat your delightful coconut shortbread any time of day!
Beautiful presentation Chris - what a lovely tea set. I would eat your delightful coconut shortbread any time of day!
Deliziosi!
Complimenti per le tue interessanti ricette!
Ciao dall'Italia!
Chris, you are so talented. Those look beautiful and I bet they taste it too. I can't wait to try.
It's so hard to have family far away. Thank goodness you have your blog to share 🙂
Thanks for letting us all in on your tea party Chris! The cookies look scrumptious. I hope they made you feel a little better. x
Thanks Mary! That's a compliment (about the shortbread) coming from a true Brit!
Ginny, I really should be ashamed of myself, I have nothing to complain about, as I am so blessed to get to see my daughter 4 or 5 times a year - they come home twice a year and I head to London 2-3 times a year. But you're right, there is nothing like skin and real hugs!
You have taken shortbread to a WHOLE new level!! your picture and setting are SO beautiful - really special post:)
Mary x
What a divinely decadent tea party!!! Please pass me second and third helpings...so good. This is sad about your daughter, how often do you get to see each other? What about the computer camera or Skype, too? Still not the same as hugs...
Wow, very impressive looking cookies!
I feel for you, since my whole family lives in Germany. It is hard to have your loved ones so far away.
This is so sweet! I know what it feels like to be far away from family. These cookies would cheer anyone up!
OMG!! These cookies are gorgeous. And salted caramel is everywhere now, I think its high time I tasted it! Love these cookies, will try them soon.Cookies are my favorite kind of after dinner desserts, you don't end up eating as many calories a piece of cake or pie, and once you make batch they last at least for a week. So I am on a cookie baking mood these days 🙂
You've made a beautiful virtual tea to share with your daughter. It is hard when they are away from home. I still have separation anxiety and my girls have been gone from home longer than I care to admit.I hope you have a great weekend. Blessings...Mary
These look delish! Thank you so much for your recent comment on my blog. It was very sweet hope you come back soon!
Blessings, Joanne
My daughter, son-in-law and three grandchildren live in my same town which is such a blessing, I know!
Your tea party is lovely and the cookies are making me swoon;-) I feel for you missing your daughter, the virtual tea party is a wonderful way to connect;-)
Patti, Thanks so much for stopping by and taking the time to leave a comment, I appreciate that so much! And thanks for your kind words about the blog - I enjoy cooking so much and realize it is a gift from the good Lord, nothing I have the rights to, so I feel like it would be wrong not to share it with others.
Oh, and no problem with pinning recipes to Pinterest - I think Pinterest is a fabulous creation, such a great way to keep things organized!
First of all, you have the most awesome blog. I only discovered it about 3 weeks ago, and I don't even know how I got here, but I am so glad I did. Your recipes are fabulous to the hilt!! I am constantly "pinning" them to my Pinterest page. (I hope that is okay with you...I've recently heard about bloggers who are not happy about having their stuff pinned, equating it to stealing from them. So let me know if it's a problem, and I will remove the pins.)
Also, I am beyond close to my daughter (22 years old), and we do tons together, so I can only imagine how difficult it is to have your sweet girl on a whole other continent.
Blessings,
Patti
What a lovely post! It really belongs in "Victoria" magazine! I'm so glad you found a way to cheer yourself - and the rest of us - up!
Oh come on!!!! Look at those cookies, I cant believe how professional perfect they look!!!
I love them Chris, have a wonderful weekend!
These remind me of a Samoas clone I tried last year. They were delish! Beautiful pics, as usual.
Wow, these cookies have it all and they are so pretty too! I know how hard it is to have a dear daughter who lives far away. We keep in touch every day and I'm so grateful for that, but there is nothing like being able to see her often. I know a cup of afternoon tea and a cookie will cheer me up.
Wow! Chirs! I love these scrumptious shortbreads! Have a nice week end!
hi chris, they look splendid!! i would probably lick off the caramel first and i'm very sure that your daughter would love to eat this too!! beautiful presentation!
I'm so sorry you're missing your daughter and that she lives so far away. I am so glad that you got to see your grandchildren though. I never did get to meet my grandmother (she was in Belgium).
Oh, those cookies look amazing. I love shortbread above all other kinds and caramel even more. I'll just take mine without the chocolate drizzle. 🙂
I saw a recipe yesterday for coconut shortbread and thought of you with your shortbread recipe. I thought they sounded great. I love short read cookies and coconut so these sound like the perfect marriage. yours look especially pretty drizzled with the caramel.
I am putting these on my to make list. Your presentation is exquisite! Three of our five children are out of state and my heart knows the feeling of missing them. Even though they are in the states to my heart, they are far away.
Wow, once again 🙂 These are really beautiful!
What LOVELY cookies, perfect for boosting your spirits! Hope you feel much more chipper now. 🙂
You are to sweet! I love how you setup a little tea party. I'm sorry you miss your daughter, I miss my Mom. She lives 3000 miles a way from and I'm lucky if I see her once a year.
The cookies look fantstic and there so pretty!!