German Chocolate Cake Cookies

My most favorite cake in the world is German Chocolate Cake. I love all that delicious coco-nuttiness. My husband always makes it for me on my birthday and even though I could eat it every day, I only eat it on my birthday; partly because well it just wouldn't help my waist line if I ate it every day. The other reason we don't have it all that often is because to finish a triple layer cake I would have to eat it every day! Now with these cookies I can make it more often and throw the extras in the freezer to snack on when I deserve a treat.

German Chocolate Cake Cookie

adapted from Smells Like Home

3 1/2 C flour

1 1/2 C cocoa powder

1 T baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 C Smart Balance margarine

2 C sugar

1/2 C egg substitute

2 C buttermilk - room temperature

2 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper. Sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside. Cream margarine and sugar. Mix in  egg beaters. Add buttermilk and vanilla and mix well. Gradually beat in dry ingredients, scraping bowl often. Using a cookie scoop or tablespoon place dough onto parchment leaving room around each cookie for some spreading. Bake for 8 minutes until tops are soft and dry to the touch. Cool slightly in the pan and then remove and finish cooling cookies on wire racks. Makes about 5 1/2 doz. cookies using a 1 T. cookie scoop.

Frosting

slightly adapted from Hershey's Make It Chocolate!

1 can sweetened condensed milk

3 egg yolks, beaten

1/2 C Smart Balance margarine

1 tsp. vanilla

1 1/3 C coconut

1 C chopped pecans

In 2-qt. saucepan combine condensed milk, egg yolks and margarine. Cook stirring constantly over medium heat until mixture is thickened and bubbly (about 10 minutes). Remove from heat and stir in vanilla, coconut and pecans. Cool and spread on cooled cookies. If you find the cookies too soft and the frosting difficult to spread, pop them in the freezer for a few minutes and then frost.

You could easily turn these into whoopie pies by using the frosting as a filling between two cookies...now that sounds like a mini German Chocolate Cake to me!

Note: If you aren't like me and don't have to watch your cholesterol you can use butter in place of Smart Balance and eggs in place of egg substitute. I have no affiliation with Smart Balance. I just like it for baking. Now go eat cookies!