Coconut Tuile Cones, because Lady Writers Deserve Fancy Desserts

You heard me right--being a Lady Writer confers certain privileges, and all I can say is if you're a Lady Writer and you're NOT getting a fancy dessert every once in a while, agitate for change. Even if all you have to do is change your mind.

Coconut Tuile Cones is the second to last recipe in the Cookies, Bars and Confections chapter of The Gourmet Cookbook, but I won't be closing it out any time soon since the LAST recipe is Gingerbread Snowflakes. Can't really rush that one, sorry!

Tuiles (French for "tiles"--meant to resemble curved roof tiles) are fun to bake and shape--if you have the right equipment. I'm not sure this recipe gives enough guidance to the uninitiated, so allow me to say a few things: these cookies can be sticky (so use a Sil-Pat--forget buttering your baking sheet) and it's almost impossible to quickly shape two cookies right out of the oven so you might as well resign yourself to baking these one at a time. Come on, you can check FB compulsively in between, like you know you do anyway.

Another modification I made--I didn't wait for the batter to cool--it was much easier to shape when warm. And I flattened it with a measuring cup sprayed w/ non-stick cooking spray (any light layer of oil would do).

These are minor points though--the batter spreads and melts so it really flattens itself during baking.

You'll have to fiddle around with the timing, because the grace period of Perfectly Cooked is really short and speeds towards Burnt with every 5 second interval beyond. I settled on 5:40 minutes, and let my tuiles cool for 1:40 instead of 2 mins for slightly more pliability. Your oven will be different--the first tuile out will tell you how to proceed (kind of like the First Pancake Off the Griddle).

And then there's the shaping part! Don't worry, this is fun and you'll screw at least one up but you can eat it so really it's a win-win. You drape them around a crumpled foil cone. Yes, you'll feel like an elementary school student. Yes, you'll get the hang of it.

And then! The eating with ice cream part! These are not cones you can walk down the street with, admiring the shrubbery, licking your ice cream with confidence you won't drip any on your shirt. Nope, these are filled with holes, totally leaky and best eaten with your favorite ice cream on a plate. I take NO RESPONSIBILITY for your dry cleaning bills.

Lady Writers seem to love these! At least mine did--try them out on yours.