Monthly Archives: March 2011

Finding that Apple command symbol

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I have always wanted to be able to type the ⌘ symbol for various reasons, including writing tutorials, but I have not know how to access it through my keyboard. A few, general, related notes:

  1. There is a nice wright up including some history on the Command Key, ⌘ on wikipedia.
  2. How Apple Keyboards Lost a Logo and Windows PCs Gained One
  3. PopChar is an application which helps users find obscure characters.
    PopChar

    PopChar is a utility for helping users find the Characters they are looking for

    This functionality is built in to OS X with Character Viewer, though it is likely that PopChar extends the user experience in some way.
    CharacterViewer-with-highlight

    OS X Character Viewer

    Shiftkey-in-characterViewer

    Shift Key in Character Viewer

  4. This discussion on the Apple Forums talks about a way to put these symbols in Pages’ auto correction so that Pages will auto correct a set of characters typed to the symbol desired. I have seen this used in MS Word too.
  5. A table of Unicode characters corresponding to Macintosh keyboard symbols, as they commonly appear in menus.

    6. The Next two Links are more detailed but like the above.

  6. Special Key Symbols
  7. Apple Keyboard Symbols

    8. Marginally relevant:

  8. Multi-stroke Key Bindings
  9. Keystroke mapping explained by SIL’s NRSI.

It is unicode point 2318 (the html hex code is ⌘ ) and so you can find it in the character palette under:

  • Code Tables>Unicode>2300>2318

    • or you can go into

  • All Characters>Symbols>Technical Symbols

.

Apple ⌘ symbol

Apple ⌘ symbol

There are a few other ways to get at it, but that should do it for you.

On OS X, if you switch your keyboard to Unicode Hex Input, then holding down opt allows you to type the four digits for a unicode symbol and get the ⌘ (2318).

The Alt/Option Symbol has also been elusive. It can be fount at Unicode point 2325. U+2325.

Alt Key U+2325

Alt Key U+2325

Unicode and Hex Keyboard symbols
⌘ – ⌘ – ⌘ – the Command Key symbol
⌥ – ⌥ – ⌥ – the Option Key symbol
⇧ – ⇧ – ⇧ – the Shift Key (really just an outline up-arrow, not Mac-specific)

⇥ – ⇥ – ⇥ – the Tab Key symbol
⏎ – ⏎ – ⏎ – the Return Key symbol
⌫ – ⌫ – ⌫ – the Delete Key symbol

Girl Scout Samoas

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Girl Scout Samoas are my second favorite Girl Scout Cookie (GSC). But the price is outrageous and they use High Fructose Corn Syrup. I think I would rather eat a brownie. So I though it time that Becky and I figure out a recipe we like. So, here are a few we’ll try when we get back to the States:

Recipe: Girl Scout Samoa Cookies (Copycat)

Ingredients

  1. 6 tablespoons butter
  2. 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  3. 1/2 cup light corn syrup
  4. 1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk
  5. 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
  6. 4 cups toasted coconut
  7. 1 cup chocolate chips

Instructions

  1. Place each shortbread cookie in cup of a greased muffin tin.
  2. In 2-quart saucepan over medium-low heat, combine butter, sugar and corn syrup.
  3. Heat to a full boil, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon.
  4. Boil 3 minutes, stirring constantly.
  5. Slowly pour in sweetened condensed milk, stirring constantly.
  6. Continue cooking over low heat until candy thermometer reaches 220-228ºF degrees.
  7. Remove from heat.
  8. Stir in vanilla.
  9. Beat until creamy.
  10. Immediately stir in toasted coconut and mix well.
  11. Spoon mixture by teaspoonfuls over shortbread cookies.
  12. Cool completely.
  13. Remove cooled cookies from muffin tin onto waxed paper.
  14. Melt chocolate chips and drizzle thinly in stripes over cookies and let chocolate harden at room temperature.
  15. Store in airtight container.

Quick Notes

24 -30 shortbread cookies (I used Lauryn Clark’s copycat recipe for the Girl Scout shortbread cookies, just cut them out so that they look right.)

Variations

Substitutions: 1/2 cup sugar + 2 tbsp water = 1/2 cup light corn syrup; 1/2 cup honey = 1/2 cup light corn syrup

Meal type: dessert

Culinary tradition: USA (General)

Recipe: Girl Scout Samoa Cookies

Ingredients

  1. 6 tblsp butter shopping list
  2. 1/2 cup sugar shopping list
  3. 1/2 cup Karo light corn syrup shopping list
  4. 1/2 of a 14 ounce can Eagle Brand sweetened condensed milk shopping list
  5. 1/2 tsp vanilla extract shopping list
  6. 4 cups toasted coconut shopping list
  7. 1 cup semi-sweet or milk chocolate chips

Instructions

  1. In a 2 quart saucepan over medium-low heat, combine butter, sugar and corn syrup.
  2. Heat to a full boil, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon. Boil for 3 minutes, stirring constantly.
  3. Slowly pour in Eagle Brand milk, stirring constantly. Continue cooking over low heat until candy thermometer reaches 220-228 degrees.
  4. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Beat until creamy. Immediately stir in toasted coconut and mix well.
  5. Spoon by tablespoonfuls into circular mounds onto buttered wax paper. Flatten slightly. With the end of a wooden spoon, poke a small round hole into the center of each cookie.
  6. Cool completely.
  7. Melt the chocolate chips and drizzle thinly in stripes over cookies. Let chocolate harden at room temperature. Store in a airtight container.
  8. To toast coconut: Spread coconut on a baking sheet and toast in a preheated 350 degree oven, stirring occasionally until lightly browned, 5 to 6 minutes.

Meal type: dessert

Culinary tradition: USA (General)

Recipe: Caramel de-Lites

Summary: Homemade Girl Scout Cookies: Samoas

Ingredients

    Cookies

  1. 1 cup butter, soft
  2. 1/2 cup sugar
  3. 2 cups all purpose flour
  4. 1/4 tsp baking powder
  5. 1/2 tsp salt
  6. 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  7. up to 2 tbsp milk

    8. Topping

  8. 3 cups shredded coconut (sweetened or unsweetened)
  9. 12-oz good-quality chewy caramels
  10. 1/4 tsp salt
  11. 3 tbsp milk
  12. 8 oz. dark or semisweet chocolate (chocolate chips are ok)

Instructions

    Cookies

  1. Preheat oven to 350F.
  2. In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar. Mix in flour, baking powder and salt at a low speed, followed by the vanilla and milk, adding in the milk as needed to make the dough come together without being sticky (it’s possible you might not need to add milk at all). The dough should come together into a soft, not-too-sticky ball. Add in a bit of extra flour if your dough is very sticky.
  3. Roll the dough (working in two or three batches) out between pieces of wax paper to about 1/4-inch thickness (or slightly less) and use a 1 1/2-inch cookie cutter to make rounds. Place on a parchment lined baking sheet and use a knife, or the end of a wide straw, to cut a smaller center hole. Repeat with remaining dough. Alternatively, use scant tablespoons of dough and press into an even layer in a mini donut pan to form the rounds.
  4. Bake cookies for 10-12 minutes, until bottoms are lightly browned and cookies are set. If using a mini donut pan, bake for only about 10 minutes, until edges are light gold.
  5. Cool for a few minutes on the baking sheet then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

    6. Topping

  6. Preheat oven to 300. Spread coconut evenly on a parchment-lined baking sheet (preferably one with sides) and toast 20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes, until coconut is golden. Cool on baking sheet, stirring occasionally. Set aside.
  7. Unwrap the caramels and place in a large microwave-safe bowl with milk and salt. Cook on high for 3-4 minutes, stopping to stir a few times to help the caramel melt. When smooth, fold in toasted coconut with a spatula.
  8. Using the spatula or a small offset spatula, spread topping on cooled cookies, using about 2-3 tsp per cookie. Reheat caramel for a few seconds in the microwave if it gets too firm to work with.
  9. While topping sets up, melt chocolate in a small bowl. Heat on high in the microwave in 45 second intervals, stirring thoroughly to prevent scorching. Dip the base of each cookie into the chocolate and place on a clean piece of parchment paper. Transfer all remaining chocolate (or melt a bit of additional chocolate, if necessary) into a piping bag or a ziplock bag with the corner snipped off and drizzle finished cookies with chocolate.
  10. Let chocolate set completely before storing in an airtight container.

Quick Notes

Makes about 3 1/2-4 dozen cookies.

Variations

Samoas Bars

Meal type: dessert

Culinary tradition: USA (General)