Big Island Candies offers cookies worth the calories

Big Island Candies has added three very different items to its lineup of sweet ideas.

First up: taro shortbread cookies, plain and dipped in white sugar frosting. The taro gets a boost from purple sweet potato, the combo producing a distinctive sweet- savory morsel ($13.50 for a box of nine).

Not for the faint of heart are chocolate- chili cookies flavored with Hawaiian chili peppers to create some real bite ($15.75 for 12 cookies in a sturdy tube).

Rounding out the trio are the more delicate Furikake Palm Leaves, a pleasing blend of buttery French-style palmiers with Japanese dried nori ($6.50 for a bag of eight).

The shortbread is available at the Big Island Candies shop at Ala Moana Center; the other two are exclusive to the Hilo store.

The two cookies can be ordered via bigislandcandies.com.

DON’T MOCK THIS IDEA

Free to responsible drinkers: an online guide to the making of 13 alcohol-free cocktails, designed for designated drivers and anyone else who could do without the booze as the July Fourth holiday approaches.

DTRIC Insurance and the Hawaii Restaurant Association are partners in the effort to keep the roads safe by offering party-worthy alternatives to liquor.

DTRIC says nearly half of all traffic deaths in Hawaii can be traced to drivers under the influence.

Restaurant Association members submitted mocktail recipes and a dozen were selected. They come from BLT Market, Hard Rock Cafe, Herringbone Waikiki, Hula Grill Waikiki, Jamba Juice, MAC 24/7, the Mauna Kea Beach Hotel’s Copper Terrace, Nomu, StripSteak, Tiki’s Bar & Grill, Tropics Ale House and Yauatcha.

Bai Brands, maker of Bai Bubbles and a co-sponsor of the project, threw in a 13th.

Options range from Herringbone’s Lychee Lilikoi Breeze, with fruit juices and banana puree, to Tiki’s Funky Monkey, a banana-chocolate milkshake.

Go to DTRIC.com/Mocktails to download a copy of the recipe booklet.

A similar collection, published in 2015 by DTRIC and the state Department of Transportation, is also available.

Another sponsor of the current booklet is Mothers Against Drunk Driving.

Here’s a simple selection to try, as a taste of what’s in the booklet.

MAUKA REFRESHER

By Hula Grill Waikiki

• 6 ounces (3/4 cup) sparkling water
• 1 ounce (2 tablespoons) guava juice
• 1 ounce (2 tablespoons) fresh lemonade

Fill a tall glass with ice. Add sparkling water and juices; stir. Garnish with a mint spring and a wedge of lemon.

Nutrition information unavailable.