Coconut Craquelins Food

COCONUT CRAQUELINS

Steps:

• Dice the butter and blend it with the flour until the mixture is the texture of fine meal. Blend in the 1/2 cup sugar and the salt. Add the coconut and the egg, folding the dough over itself several times until it is homogeneous.
• Divide it in half, and form two rolls, each 1 inch in diameter. Wrap them in plastic, and refrigerate for three hours or overnight.
• After the dough has chilled, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Brush the rolls lightly with water, roll them in the remaining sugar and slice on a slant 1/4 inch thick. Place them on the baking sheet, and bake 15 to 17 minutes, until they are golden on the bottom.
• Turn the cookies over, and turn the oven off. Leave the cookies in the oven another 10 minutes. Remove and cool on a rack.

COCONUT CARAMELS

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350 degrees. Spread the coconut flakes in an even layer on a rimmed baking sheet, and toast until light golden brown, 5 to 8 minutes.
• Brush an 8-inch baking dish generously with coconut oil or coat with cooking spray. Sprinkle about 3 to 4 tablespoons of toasted coconut in an even layer on the bottom of the pan, and set aside.
• In a medium heavy saucepan, combine the coconut cream, sugar, corn syrup and sea salt. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Boil, stirring frequently especially toward the end, until a candy thermometer reaches 250 degrees and caramel is a light golden brown and thickened, about 20 to 30 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the ginger and cardamom.
• Pour the caramel into the prepared pan. Once the caramel stops bubbling and the surface forms a thin skin, about 3 minutes, sprinkle another 4 tablespoons toasted coconut across the surface. Allow to cool at room temperature and set completely, about 2 hours.
• Run a spatula around the sides of the baking dish, loosen and lift the caramel, and move onto a board or clean surface.
• Slice the caramel into 8 (1-inch-wide) strips, then across into 1/2-inch pieces, so you have about 72 caramels. Roll the sides of each piece in more toasted coconut. Wrap as individual sweets using 4- to 5-inch squares of parchment, wax paper, or cellophane, or use store-bought candy wrappers, twisting the ends to seal. Store at room temperature in a cool dry place. Caramels will keep stored at room temp for up to 7 days or frozen after wrapping for up to 1 month.