baking for family | Ate by Ate

It’s a cookie party in the Ate by Ate kitchen! You all know how much I love baking cookies (and how much I love eating them!), but these days, I love baking them even more than usual because it gives me a renewed sense of joy and purpose: I bake cookies to make my grandma and grandpa happy. I’m lucky to still have my grandpa. A number of years ago my grandpa had kidney failure and because of the nurses and doctors who saved him that day, he was given many more years of life. And cookies!

Here’s the story: when I started baking a few years ago, I would bake extras for my grandparents when I knew I was seeing them that day. I’d bake little tea muffins or cupcakes without frosting, put them in a tupperware container, and carry them with me in the car like a prized possession. I eventually began baking cookies with a venegeance and little by little, muffins and cupcakes were squeezed out in favour of cookies. And my grandparents loved them.

My grandpa loved them so much he ended up bringing one or two with him every time he went to the hospital for his dialysis appointments. For anyone who has a family member, loved one, or friend who visits the hospital on a regular basis, you know just how draining it can be. My cookies not only gave him the little sugar boost he needed after his appointments (which would make him feel a bit weak and tired afterward), but they also gave him a little part of me and my joy. So now, I bake more cookies so my grandpa has something happy and yummy to enjoy during those dreary hospital visits.

This past weekend, I saw my grandma and grandpa for Chinese New Year and I gave them a fresh batch of new cookies to enjoy because I knew it would make them happy. My grandpa pulled me aside and said to me, in Chinese, “when Debra is here, grandpa feels rich”. On top of the happiness I feel when I bake, this is all the validation I need to keep doing what I’m doing.

Recipe for Lemon Coconut Almond Cookies (yields 4 dozen cookies)

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup quick-cooking or old-fashioned rolled oats
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2½ sticks unsalted butter (10 ounces), at room temperature
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg, at room temperature
1 large egg yolk, at room temperature
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 tablespoon lemon extract
zest from 1 lemon
juice from 1/2 a lemon
2 cups unsweetened shredded or desiccated coconut
2 cups sliced almonds

Directions

Preheat the oven to 325°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper (*Deb’s Note: Depending on how big you make your cookie dough balls, you’ll need to reuse your cookie sheets a few times. My oven runs hot, so I actually don’t bother putting anything on the bottom rack and only use the top rack, placing 2 baking sheets vertically side by side).
In a medium bowl, mix the flour with the oats, baking powder, baking soda, and salt (*Deb’s Note: I didn’t use the mixer for this step, I just used a large spoon to mix everything together).
Beat the butter and both sugars at medium speed until creamy. Add the egg followed by the egg yolk, vanilla extract, lemon extract, and lemon juice, beating well between additions and scraping down the side of the bowl as necessary.
Beat in the dry ingredients, then add the lemon zest, shredded coconut, and sliced almonds, folding them into the cookie dough mixture (*Deb’s Note: alternatively, you can roll your cookie dough balls in the coconut if you want after the next step).
Using your hands, grab handfuls of cookie dough and shape into balls, about 1 inch in diameter.
Place cookie dough balls onto the baking sheets, 2 inches apart. Bake 12-15 minutes, until the cookies begin to brown at the edges. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets, then transfer them to a rack to cool completely (*Deb’s Note: I placed 15 on each baking sheet, but it all depends on how big your want you cookies. If you roll them into bigger balls, only place 12 on each sheet. Mine took about 14 minutes in the oven).