Oh Yes He Did Make Purple Cookies!

June 6, 2012 at 9:00 am · Filed under Mostly true, Random Thoughts, Stories, the good old days ·Tagged Charles L. Mashburn, fresh fruit cookies, Hawaiian Drop cookies, homemade jam, pineapple cookies, purple cookies, writer, Yum

And, I’ll have you know, there was no food coloring involved! These are genuine blackberry cookies, made using an old family recipe called Hawaiian Drop Cookies. The original recipe calls for pineapple as the main ingredient, but anyone who knows me, knows I’m not one to stick to the original recipe.

Naturally, being a cherry lover, the first variation I tried was substituting cherries for the pineapple; I used canned pie cherries the first few times, then recently tried fresh cherries. OMAGOODNESS! BAM; nailed it!

Since then, it’s gotten kind of crazy, because it seems there is no end to the variety of fruit that can be used to make cookies using the original Hawaiian Drop Cookie recipe.

All this experimenting started when we began making homemade jam. When we finish making a batch of jam, we invariably have fruit left over, so I began trying to think of something creative to do with the excess fruit. The cherry cookies came first, then it kind of spun out of control—in a very tasty way—from there.

Apricot is out of this world! Strawberry is awesome! And blackberry might be the best one yet! I must qualify that last statement however, because to date, each batch of jam and cookies I’ve made have all been deemed—by yours truly—as the best ever!

Anyway, here’s a picture of the purple cookies, and the recipe for Hawaiian Drop Cookies is below it. Just substitute fresh the chopped fresh fruit of your choice for the pineapple! You’re welcome!

 

Hawaiian Drop Cookies

 

2 cups flour                                       ½ tsp almond extract

2 tsp baking powder                       1 egg

2/3 cup shortening                           8 oz. crushed pineapple (do not drain)

1 ¼ cup sugar                                   ½ cup shredded coconut

½ tsp vanilla

Cream together shortening and sugar. Add egg, vanilla, and almond extract. Mix well.

Mix flour and baking soda together, then add to the shortening/sugar mixture, along with the pineapple and coconut. Blend well. Drop onto ungreased cookie sheet and bake for 18-22 minutes at 325°. (Though the original recipe calls for an ungreased pan, I use a little cooking spray when using fresh fruit.)

If you use fresh chopped fruit, you might need to add some liquid. The batter should not be firm, but not runny either. I like things a bit tart, so I add lemon juice, but water or fruit juice will work, too.

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