Monday, June 10, 2013

Divinity Cookies


Makes 2 Dozen Cookies

1/2 cup shortening
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 egg white
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup walnuts, chopped

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Beat butter and shortening together until combined, then stir in powdered sugar and beat until creamy, about 2 minutes. Stir in egg white and vanilla and beat well. In a separate bowl, sift together flour, cream of tartar and baking soda. Slowly add to creamy mixture, mixing well until soft dough is formed. Stir in nuts. Roll dough into 1 1/2" balls and place on parchment paper lined baking sheet. Dip a the back of a spoon in water and then powdered sugar and flatten dough balls slightly. Bake for 11-13 minutes until slightly browned on the edges. Cool 10 minutes on the pan then move to wire rack to finish cooling. Sprinkle with additional powdered sugar if desired.




   When I was a little girl, my mom frequently made shopping trips to Publix supermarket, a store we kids loved because we could get a free cookie (up until age 12). Back in my day, you could pick ANY cookie from the bakery display cabinet. Nowadays, when I'm the one shopping at Publix with my own kiddos, they have a specific small case with cookies available to choose from for free for the kids--usually either a sugar cookie with sprinkles or chocolate chip. Sprinkles are my three year old's first choice, but my six year old and eleven year old go for the chocolate chip every time! 
   
   But, as I was saying, back in my day (a LONG time ago!) we could choose whatever kind we wanted. I remember my two favorite constant choices were Iced Oatmeal and Divinity. NEITHER of which are available anymore, not even for purchase! Such a shame! Divinity Cookies were these big, thick pillows of buttery, crumbly, nutty goodness. I have never seen them anywhere else, and once Publix stopped offering any choice of cookie for free, the Divinity disappeared along with it and I've never seen them there again and can't seem to locate them anywhere else either. Big sad face! I've done tons of googling, hoping to find a recipe that would suffice, but so far, I haven't had any luck getting an exact replica of my long-lost favorite, Publix divinity cookies.    

   This recipe is the closest that I've come so far. I've made it with just butter, just shortening, almond flavoring, pecans rather than walnuts...and this one is just the closest I think I'm gonna get until someone rescues me! :) I made these tonight and the kids and hubs raved over them and cleared out the first dozen in no time. So, even though I'm still searching for That Perfect Divinity Cookie, at least my family is excited! I must admit, they're pretty yummy and buttery and crumbly...they remind me a lot of Pecan Sandies. 

   Make sure you use walnuts (or whatever nut you go with) that are as fresh as possible--anytime you use a stale nut in baking, it flavors the entire cookie/cake/pie/bread, etc., with "staleness". Just not a happy thing. So always use as fresh as you can! Hope you like these cookies! If you ever come across another recipe for Divinity (not the candy...the cookie!), don't forget about me over here in my kitchen full of sunshine, wishing and hoping for the perfect one to drop in my lap! Happy Monday!



25 comments:

  1. My family is also on a quest to replicate the Divinity Cookies sold at Pike Place Market in Seattle...you should go just to have them. We're getting closer. I wonder if it's the same as the one you experienced.

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    1. Astoria's Home Bakery has them and they are by far better than the Pike Place Market ones!

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    2. I wonder if these are what I remember! White brittle yet fragile/soft, melt in your mouth cookie. very white with tiny nut bits.

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    3. @unknown we are looking for the same cookie. Best of luck to you, I'm still searching too.

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  3. I remember the divinity cookie from my youth. I found this recipe and tried them minus the nuts. I left the nuts out because I was really looking for texture. It is very close in flavor but when you say crumbly I say airy. I think the divinity cookies from my youth were less beaten to make them more crumbly or airy, much like you do with pie crust.

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  4. SAME BOAT:) a little bakery in Cashmere, WA makes them and they are colored too:) I always went for the pink ones! Thanks for sharing

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  5. I remember them too! Thank you for this recipe, going to try it out soon! My mother always let my brothers and I get some when we visited a bakery who sold them. I live in Vancouver, Washington and so will be trekking to Seattle, Cashmere and Astoria on a quest for the cookies I thought were lost forever. Glad to see that there are other cookie lovers with such good taste and willingness to share info on acquiring them.

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  6. I just discovered these divinity cookies at The Sugar Shack Bakery in Reedsport, Oregon. I had never tasted them before. I LOVE them and now I am also searching searching searching for the recipe to replicate them. They are so perfectly and completely white....I wonder if one of the original ingredients is corn starch.

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  7. I just visited the market and had the delicious cookies, reminded me of cookies from a bakery in Florida when I used to visit my grandparents on summer break. They were the best but the bakery closed. I have not been able to make or find any other place. I live about 3,000 miles from Seattle - would be great to have the receipe!! Keep me in the loop please. I will try this one and see how it works out. Thanks

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    1. Are you referring to Pike Place Market in Seattle?

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  8. The Cle Elum Washington Bakery has these and they are so so yummy.

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  9. I have found 2 recipes that LOOK right....I have not tried either, but both are made with cornstarch, which is what I thought it would have to be. Anyway....here are the 2 cookie recipes I have found that LOOK right. If you try the recipe, please let me know if either of them is right. I wonder about the butter....the divinity cookie I had was absolutely snow white. I also wonder about the eggs for the same reason..... and the divinity cookie I had also was not browned on the bottom.

    Here is the first: WHIPPED SHORTBREAD COOKIES https://www.aprettylifeinthesuburbs.com/vanilla-bean-whipped-shortbread-vanilla/

    And the second is a Puerto Rican recipe for Puto Seko https://www.globalgranary.life/2014/09/19/puto-seko-recipe/

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  10. We had some divinity cookies this last weekend in Cle Elum at the bakery in front of the Old Brick Bakery. Time to try making some.

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  11. There is a Dutch bakery in Marysville, Wa that makes them usually on Mondays.

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  12. I just PMd the Dutch Bakery in Marysville....they said that, yes, they do make Divinity Cookies. But not on Mondays.....that is their day off now. They said it's best to call them before coming in to make sure they have made them.

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    1. Can you please give me a way to get ahold of this bakery? I have been looking for these cookies or recipe for 6 years.

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  13. is this receipe above close to the cookies sold at Pikes Place in Seattle?

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  14. Here is the closest I have come. It's pretty close.

    2 cups sifted powdered sugar
    1 cup CRISCO (can use part or all lard)
    1 cup all purpose flour
    1 cup cornstarch
    1/4 teaspoon salt
    1/2 to 1 cup chopped walnuts

    drop by spoonsful on parchment paper lining a cookie sheet. Bake at 350* for about 8 minutes. You do not want the cookies to brown at all. Let them cool completely on the cookie tray.

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    2. I tried your recipe above and I just have a bowl full of powdered flour, sugar and cornstarch. Nothing is holding it together. Can you help? Is there an egg or liquid left off the recipe? Thank you

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  15. I used to get the best divinity cookies (both pure white and also chocolate divinity) at Fleenor's Store in Walla Walla back in the 70's. Have been searching for their recipe for years.

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  16. Fascinating to see so many commenters from WA or the Northwest looking for this same cookie I've been looking for from my childhood! I just had the Pike Place Market cookies for the first time this weekend, and it started me on this search again. Thanks to everyone, excited to try this recipe and the links. And search out some of these WA bakeries!

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    1. Any luck finding these cookies? I’ve been looking for years! We used to get them at Albertsons in Dallas and then found them at Pikes Place Market in Seattle. I even looked on Gold Belly to see if I could find them and have them shipped.

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