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Saturday, May 5, 2012

Chocolate, Coconut, Almond Gobs

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I know these look awfully similar to the Irish Coffee Gobs with Bailey's Filling that I made a few months ago, but look a bit closer and you'll see a little something poking out of the sides. That, my friends, is toasted coconut, and these are the Chocolate, Coconut, Almond Gobs. Same cookbook, different flavor profile, reminiscent of one of my favorite candy bars: Almond Joy!
I now have 2 Gob flavors made, only 50 more to go if I have any intentions of working my way through the entire book. The star of these was definitely the filling--cream cheese laced with amaretto and then topped with toasted coconuts and slivered almonds! The cookies, on the other hand, weren't as good as the Irish Coffee ones. I think I may have left them in the oven a tad too long, as they were a touch drier than I would have preferred. However, once paired with the filling, this was hardly noticeable.

I once again found myself with an overabundance of gobs. We shared them with Ryan's family, our community group, and finally pawned the rest off on Ryan's coworkers...no one seemed too disappointed to help take them off of our hands! (Note--I also tried freezing the fully baked gobs in their sandwich form. They froze (individually wrapped in saran wrap and then placed in an airtight container) and then thawed beautifully, making them a great option for a make-ahead dessert!

Two Years Ago: Fresh Peach Muffins

Chocolate, Coconut, Almond Gobs
from the Gobba Gobba Hey Cookbook


Ingredients:
for the cookies-
-4 cups all-purpose flour
-1/2 cup cocoa powder
-1/2 tsp baking powder
-1 1/2 tsp baking soda
-1 tsp salt
-2 cups sugar, sifted
-8 tbsp unsalted butter, softened, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
-2 eggs, separated, at room temperature
-1 tsp vanilla extract
-1 cup buttermilk, at room temperature
-2 tbsp sour cream

for the filling-
-8 tbsp unsalted butter, softened, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
-12 tbsp cream cheese, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
-2-3 tbsp Amaretto (or almond extract)
-1-2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
-2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
-1 cup coconut, toasted
-1/2 cup slivered almonds

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350F and line 3 baking sheets with parchment paper. In a large bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Whisk together the dry ingredients to evenly distribute.
2. In another bowl, cream the butter and sugar with an electric mixture. Add the egg yolks, mixing on medium. Add the egg whites and vanilla, and mix again (batter will be thick). Alternate adding the dry ingredients and the buttermilk to the egg mixture, mixing on medium speed after each addition. Add the sour cream and mix (if batter is too thick, add additional buttermilk, 1 tbsp at a time, and mixing until batter is smooth).
3. Using a tablespoon or a pastry bag (I used a pastry bag), drop 1 1/2 inch rounds of batter onto the prepared cookie sheets, with about 1 inch between each round. Bake for about 8 minutes, until the gob domes have risen. Transfer the gobs to a wire rack to cool.
4. Once the gobs are cool, prepare the filling. Cream together the butter and cream cheese with a mixer on medium speed until smooth. Add 2 tbsp of amaretto, 1 tbsp of lemon juice, and the confectioners' sugar, beating on medium-high until well combined. Taste and add another tbsp of lemon juice or amaretto if desired.
5. To frost the gobs, add 1 tbsp of filling to the flat (bottom) side of a cookie. Sprinkle with almonds and coconut before topping with the second cookie. Refrigerate gobs for 30 min to 1 hour until set. Wrap each cookie in plastic wrap and store in the fridge in an airtight container for 7-10 days (or freeze).