Boredom=Hunger... no no no!!!

How wrong is this? I am bored so I am thinking about things to make in the kitchen. I am NOT HUNGRY in the least bit. But.... some home made cookies seem to be just the cure for my boredom. In Hawaii there is a guava cookie and it is simply delightful. I (not being able to get back to the islands recently, and also not being able to find them on any web site) decided I would concoct my own version. Unfortunately, for my diet, I totally nailed it!!!!

Sitting here now, I find myself unenthusiastic in regards to any self-restraint. I know that getting up and going for a walk, is the superior idea-BUT THAT’S NOT GOING TO HAPPEN! It’s almost 5:00pm and it is still in the 90’s. So we will get through this weak spell together and I will tell you (and give you the recipe) about the tender little pink tropical cookie.
Guavas are found in tropical places, like the Philippines. They range in color from white to yellow to dark purple. The fruit is ripe and ready to eat when the flower end smells sweet, also it should be relatively firm, but yield to gentle pressure when held in the palm of your hand and squeezed. This has nothing to do with our cookie…it’s just a little piece of diet-knowledge ; ) We will be using guava paste, which is available in the “Latin” section of your grocery store or you can order it on line from Goya (www.goya.com). The first time I saw it, I thought of membrillo. Membrillo is popular in Spain and comes from the Quince fruit. They serve it with Manchego cheese and Marcona almonds (again – NOTHING to do with the cookie). Paste is made from both the Quince and the Guava by a tedious process of chopping, boiling, straining, adding sugar and all sorts of other steps – but I just buy mine. Anyway the end result is like a jello consistency that had too much gelatin added. It comes in a round tin, and looks really cool. It is not the pretty reddish color I had imagined it would be, more like a muddy orange color. After you open the tin, you want to take a butter knife and cut the paste into cubes. Leave about a third of the cubes in the tin, put the rest in a bowl.
Heat your oven to 375 degrees F.
In a small bowl: Stir together
2 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp baking powder
¼ cup chopped pistachio nuts

In a large bowl: Cream together
1 cup of (room temp) butter
1 cup white sugar
½ cup dark brown sugar
1 tsp. Vanilla extract
2/3 tin of guava paste

Mix dry ingredients into the wet and add 3-4 Tblsp. of heavy cream to moisten the dough (should not be wet – just soft). At this point WE CHEAT and add 5-6 drops red food coloring and mix until the color is pink and even. I just love the cookie to be this color because this is the color they are in Hawaii!

With your hand roll out little cookie balls (about a Tblsp.) and place on a cookie sheet (parchment paper on the cookie sheet is the best way to remove the cookies later). Get the guava in the tin and cut the cubes in half, take the half-cube and smash about a third into the raw cookie.
Bake for 8-10 minutes (longer if you like them crispy) until they are slightly golden. Let them cool for 2 minutes on a metal rack …
YEA RIGHT !!!! That’s what I do (NEVER) hahaha
Enjoy the little yummies and let me know what you think!Until the next slow, boring afternoon!