SRC: Coconut Chicken Soup

Well, the Secret Recipe Club is back! After taking the month of January off, I am excited to be back with the group to start our February reveals. This month, my blog assignment was Culinary Adventures with Camilla. Camilla has a fun blog with a ton of different recipes with influences from all over the world. 

Since she has so many different recipes, I wanted to try something that was a little bit out of my typical comfort zone. I looked for awhile at this recipe for kadu bouranee, but as it is winter, I went with my cravings and chose this recipe for coconut chicken soup. In her post, Camilla mentions that this is a recipe that she just put together quickly from the things that she had in her kitchen. I certainly had to buy a couple things as this is actually the first time I have ever actually made anything with swiss chard. 

The recipe here is really more of a guide as Camilla does not list ingredients. I used all the ingredients she suggests, but varied amounts based on what I had and to taste. I'll list my approximate measurements below but feel free to add or vary ingredients as you prefer. For the two of us, there was plenty of soup for dinner and several days of lunch, and as most soups do, this seemed to get better and better after storing it. A hit here, and I certainly have a great new (to me) blog to check out for ethnic dishes! 

(Printable Recipe)

Coconut Chicken Soup
Adapted from Culinary Adventures with Camilla

Ingredients: 
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1/2 cup fennel bulb, chopped
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
3 whole carrots, peeled and sliced 
1 pkg. swiss chard, leaves removed from stems and torn
3 cups baby spinach, torn
1 (14.5oz) can light coconut milk
2 cups water
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 - 1 tsp. cardamom
3 Tbsp. lemon juice (or juice from 1 lemon)
2 cups brown rice, cooked
2 Tbsp. soy sauce

Cook the brown rice according to package directions. Fluff and set aside. Boil water in a medium saucepan and add raw chicken. Boil until the chicken is cooked through. Shred with 2 forks or by mixing the hot chicken in the bowl of a stand mixer on low for about a minute. 

Heat the oil in a stockpot over medium heat. Add the fennel and garlic and saute until they begin to soften. Add the chicken, carrots, chard, spinach, cooked brown rice, coconut milk, water, and chicken broth. Season with spices, lemon juice, and soy sauce. Bring to a boil, turn down heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes until the greens are wilted and the vegetables are cooked through. Taste and adjust seasonings if needed.

Lemon Coconut Macaroons

It's December, so that must mean it is cookie time! How about some macaroons? The ones with 2 o's :)

Macarons have been on my list of things to make for some time, but I have never mustered up the guts to try them. It is my understanding that they have quite the reputation for being temperamental. I have a feeling that this kind, with coconut and 2 o's in the name, are a little simpler to make.

The recipe for these comes from The Sweet Melissa Baking Book.  I was a member of the Sweet Melissa Sundays baking club, however the ladies made this recipe before I joined. I made these on a whim one day while looking for a way to use up a partial bag of coconut, and I haven't regretted it. With a short ingredient list, the recipe couldn't be easier, and as long as you like coconut and lemon, I am confident you will enjoy these. I am thinking you could even pass them off as "snowballs" on a Christmas cookie plate. Enjoy!

(Printable Recipe)

Lemon Coconut Macaroons
From The Sweet Melissa Baking Book

Ingredients:
1 (14oz) bag sweetened coconut
zest and juice of 1 lemon
1 cup sugar
2 egg whites

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper (these will tend to stick if you skip this step).

In a large bowl, combine the coconut, lemon juice, and lemon zest and rub together with your hands. Stir in the sugar and mix to combine. Add the egg whites. Use your hands to mix until everything is coated and the egg whites are distributed evenly. 

Form the mixture into approximately 1-ounce balls with your hands or a cookie scoop. Place on the prepared cookie sheet and bake for 25-30 minutes or until the cookies are golden brown. Remove to a wire rack to cool completely. 

The cookie base will keep up to 1 week if you want to make the 'dough' ahead of time. The finished cookies will keep well in a container at room temperature for 3 days. For longer storage, place them in the refrigerator.

Club: Baked - Sawdust Pie

When Karen approached me about choosing a recipe for my host date of Club: Baked, she asked if I would be willing to pick a recipe out of the pie section of the book we're baking through, Baked Explorations. If you have been around my blog at all, you know that pies aren't exactly my area of expertise. I can count the number of pies I have ever made on one hand, and I don't even need all my fingers. That said, I approached my pick with a wide open viewpoint since most of the pies in the book would be something "new" in my mind.

So, what made me choose this sawdust pie? First, while it has quite a few ingredients, the recipe itself is relatively simple. Outside of the crust, it is just mix, pour, and bake. Second, the ingredients were things that we really like. Coconut has to be one of my husband's favorite ingredients in baked goods. Lastly, it was a unique recipe with unique ingredients. Who would have though of adding graham cracker crumbs in the filling of a pie?  While I don't have too many pies that I can speak to in my repertoire, this is certainly one that I have never heard of prior to this book.

As it reads in the book, the pie came together pretty quickly. Since I don't have a "go-to" pie crust recipe, I also made the crust recipe exactly as written in the book. I feel like the crust turned out pretty good, however I think I may have added just a little bit too much water. Still working on that perfect flaky pie crust. Add the filling and some whipped cream to the crust, the pie was great! I am not kidding when I say that my husband loved it! In the comments about the recipe on the blog page, several of the ladies were comparing it to a pecan pie, and I can definitely see the reference given the chopped pecans although I feel that the texture difference from the graham crackers and coconut give it just a little bit more. With this one now in my pie repertoire, I may be making pies more often. At the very least, it will be making its way to our Thanksgiving feast. 

Be sure to stop by the blog page to see pies from the other ladies. Thanks for baking along with me! 

(Printable Recipe)

Sawdust Pie 
Adapted from Baked Explorations  
Crust:
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. fine salt
1 cup (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter

Pie:
1/2 crust recipe
1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
1-1/4 cups unsweetened flaked coconut
1-1/4 cups pecans, coarsely chopped
21 graham crackers (I used 21 half sheets)
2 ounces high-quality white chocolate, coarsely chopped
1/2 tsp. salt
6 egg whites
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
whipped cream for serving
sliced bananas for serving (optional)

In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, sugar and salt together. In a measuring cup, stir 3/4 cup water with several ice cubes until it is very cold. 

Cut the cold butter into cubes and toss them in the flour mixture to coat. Put the mixture in the bowl of a food processor and pulse in short bursts until the butter pieces are the size of hazelnuts. Pulsing in 4-second bursts, slowly drizzle the ice water into the food processor through the feed tube. As soon as the dough comes together in a ball, stop adding water. Remove the dough from the food processor and divide it in half. Flatten each piece into a disk and wrap each disk first in parchment paper and then in plastic wrap. Refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour. The dough can be refrigerated for up to 3 days or frozen for up to 3 months. Thaw it in the refrigerator before proceeding with your recipe.

For the pie, dust a work surface with a sprinkling of flour. Roll out the dough ball into a 12-inch round. Transfer it to a pie dish and carefully work it into place, folding any overhang under and crimping the edge as you go. Wrap and refrigerate the crust for at least 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, use a wooden spoon to combine the sugars, coconut, pecans, graham crackers, white chocolate and salt. Add the egg whites and vanilla and stir until just combined - the egg whites should coat all the ingredients.

Transfer the filling to the prepared pie shell. Bake until filling is set to the touch, 30 to 40 minutes. Cool the pie for at least 1 hour before serving it warm, with whipped cream and sliced bananas, if you like.

Fruity Coconut Chicken Salad with Berry Poppy Seed Vinaigrette

Since September hit, I have been seeing a lot of fall-themed recipes across the blogs. Don't get me wrong, I still love pumpkin, apples, soups, and stews, but I am not quite ready to give up on summer. The weather has been gorgeous here the past week since we've dropped to right around or just below 100 degrees for a high. It's also been cooling off better at night - I actually saw a reading in the 70's in my car on the way to work the other morning (granted it was 5:30AM). I haven't been able to enjoy the weather on an outdoor run yet since I've been on call this week, but I assure you that I will be out there as soon as I can.

Since stone fruit and berries have still been on sale around here, I thought this salad was appropriate to share. The inspiration for this salad came from finding this berry poppy seed dressing on Our Best Bites. I am amongst the group that enjoys fruit in my salad, and I thought that the coconut chicken would pair well with the berries to make a great lighter meal. I didn't have any pineapple when I made these, but I think that this would make a great addition to the flavors here.

One note, I actually ended up using chicken tenders rather than chicken breasts as that is what I had stocked in the freezer. Chicken breasts would work just fine. You may need to adjust the ratios of coating, and just be sure to cook them to the appropriate temperature as gauged by a meat thermometer. The dressing does need to be made ahead of time, but it can certainly be made the night before to help speed up the cooking process when it is dinner time. Overall, we ended up really enjoying it, and it's definitely a recipe I will continue to make for as long as I can get my hands on good fresh fruit this fall :)

(Printable Recipe)

Fruity Coconut Chicken Salad with Berry Poppy Seed Viniagrette
Dressing recipe from Our Best Bites

Ingredients:
3-4 chicken tenderloins
4 Tbsp. unsweetend shredded coconut (can use sweetened if preferred)
1/4 cup whole wheat panko bread crumbs
pinch of salt
1 egg white
6 cups preferred salad greens (we love spinach, but a lettuce mix would work well too)
1-2 cups berries - blueberries, strawberries (sliced), raspberries, blackberries
1 nectarine, pitted and sliced
fresh pineapple, chopped (optional - I think this would be a great addition!)

Dressing:
1/2 cup white wine vinegar
1/2 cup honey
1-2 cloves garlic
1 Tbsp. grated onion
1 tsp. kosher salt or other coarse salt
10 cracks of freshly ground black pepper (1/4-1/2 tsp)
1 cup raspberries, blackberries, or strawberries
2/3 cup canola oil
1-1/2 tsp. poppy seeds

For the dressing, combine the vinegar, honey, garlic, onion, salt, pepper, and berries in a blender. Blend until smooth and then, with the blender running, add the oil in a steady stream. Turn off the blender and whisk in the poppy seeds. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving.

For the chicken, preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Spray a baking dish with nonstick spray. Combine the coconut, panko, and salt; place in a shallow dish. Add egg white to another shallow dish. Dip the chicken in the egg white, then coat in the coconut mixture.  Bake for 30 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.

Divide the salad greens and fruit between 2 plates. If desired, slice the chicken and add on top of the salad. Dress individual plates with the dressing. There will be extra dressing. It should keep in the refrigerator for 5-7 days. Enjoy!

Yield: 2 dinner-sized salads

Slow Cooker Coconut Chicken Curry

We are back! If you noticed the absence of my posts last week, the hubby and I were able to get away to Antigua to jointly celebrate our anniversary and graduations (his was last year). We had a great time, and it was nice to spend some time relaxing! While we were away, summer definitely arrived in Arizona! Our temperatures have been north of 110 for the past two days, and even though I love baking, you couldn't pay me to turn my oven on today :)

Because I knew these hot days were coming, I was on the lookout this spring for great dinner recipes that wouldn't involve heating up the house. Anything involving only cooking pasta/grains for a short time on the stove, the slow cooker, or the grill was game. This recipe is originally from Salt and Paprika, although I followed Kristin's adaptions on Iowa Girl Eats. I love curries but don't make them at home very often, so I was excited to give this one a whirl.

The recipe came together great! If you follow Kristin's adaptations, you'll end up with enough "sauce" for two recipes which is a double bonus for busy days. The biggest struggle I had with this recipe was finding the Garam Marsala! With the recent popularity of Indian dishes, I feel like this mixture shouldn't be that hard to find, especially where we live. Nevertheless, we had to go to 3 different grocery stores before we finally found it in the bulk spices at the local market. If you also have trouble locating some, it is something that can be made at home too. My only change to Kristin's method was to increase the cornstarch mixture. My hubby has a thing for thicker sauces in dishes like this. He wants the sauce to coat the meat/veggies not sink into his rice, so I tend to go a little heavier on the cornstarch than is called for in most recipes. Completely personal preference.

I served this with basmati rice and whole wheat homemade naan (recipe to come soon), and it made for a great, non house-heating meal. I know I'm already looking forward to using the other half of the sauce currently living in our freezer! Enjoy!

(Printable Recipe)

Slow Cooker Coconut Chicken Curry
Originally from Salt and Paprika, adaptions from Iowa Girl Eats

Ingredients:
1/2 large onion
1 small green bell pepper, seeded and quartered
2 garlic cloves
1 small can tomato paste
1 can (14.5 oz) light coconut milk
1-1/2 tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. curry powder
1 Tbsp. Garam Marsala
1 lb. chicken breasts, cut into big chunks
salt and pepper
1 Tbsp. water
1 Tbsp. cornstarch (May add more if desired. Just mix it in a little water before adding)
basmati rice, prepared according to package directions
naan, warmed

Place bell pepper and onion into a food processor. Process until finely chopped. Add in garlic cloves, tomato paste, coconut milk, salt, curry powder, and Garam Marsala and process until smooth. Divide the sauce in half (for me, half was just a little less than 2 cups). Place half the sauce into a freezable container and freeze to make this dish again at another time. 

Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Combine with the remaining sauce and cook in a crockpot on low for 4 hours. After 4 hours, dissolve water and cornstarch together and add to the crockpot. Keep the lid cracked and cook on high for another 10-15 minutes. You can also transfer the sauce to a saucepan and simmer on the stove top over medium heat for 3-5 minutes if desired.

Serve with prepared rice and naan. If desired, the naan can be warmed by wrapping in foil and placed in the oven on broil for a few minutes. Enjoy!

Double Coconut M&M Cookies

I have been on a bit of a self-proclaimed cookie-roll this spring. I LOVE making cookies if you can't tell from the stack of cookie recipes in my archives, but I've branched out a little more this spring to include ones that go a little beyond your standard line-up of chocolate chip, peanut butter, snickerdoodles, and sugar cookies. In mixing it up a little, I have ran across some great recipes including these and these that I know we'll make again and again.

These cookies were actually an idea that I had brewing for awhile coming from a mix of things including a coconut-chocolate chip cookie recipe in Cooking Light, the new coconut m&m's and my husband's love of all things coconut. Ever have one of those recipes that you make and then wonder why you waited so long. That was these. I had really wanted to make them for St. Patrick's Day given the green color of the M&M's, but I obviously missed that one :) 

As a note, I found a couple of large bags of the coconut M&M's that were out around Easter. I'm not sure if they typically sell the large bags or not, but you could easily buy a couple of the single-serving bags to make up enough M&M's for the cookies. The coconut M&M's are a bit larger than the standard milk chocolate ones, so I gave them a rough chop before I added them to the dough. I feel like I am always saying that recipes were good, but these were. I snuck some into a tupperware container that I was returning to a friend. They later asked for the recipe, so these weren't just a hit at our house :) Enjoy!

(Printable Recipe)

Double Coconut M&M Cookies
Adapted from Cooking Light

Ingredients:
1 cup shredded sweetened coconut
1 cup (4.5 oz) all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/8 tsp. salt
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 large egg
1 cup coconut M&M's (white pkg), roughly chopped

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Arrange coconut in a single layer on a baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 7 minutes or until lightly toasted, stirring once. Set aside to cool.

Weigh or lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl; stir with a whisk until blended. Place sugar and butter in a large bowl. Beat with a mixer on medium speed until well blended. Beat in the vanilla and the egg. Add flour mixture, beating at low speed until just combined. Stir in toasted coconut and crush M&M's.

Roll the dough into balls and place on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray or a silicone mat. Press down on the dough balls lightly to flatten. Bake for 10 minutes or until cookies just begin to brown. Remove from the pan and cool completely on wire racks.

I am linking these to Sweet Tooth Friday.

Chewy Coconut-Lime Sugar Cookies

We have quite the ongoing cookie debate at our house. See I am amongst the chewy cookie lovers. I have even been known to purposely underbake my cookies just a little bit to keep that doughy texture in the middle. My husband likes his crispy with biscotti being a type of cookie that he really enjoys. Typically I end up compromising by making some chewy and some crispy cookies when I bake a batch, but these cookies landed squarely in my camp. Sugar cookies are one of those varieties that HAVE to be chewy :)

In reality, this is a recipe I found in Cook's Illustrated that was developed to create the perfect chewy texture for a sugar cookie. The ingredients are a little different from your typical cookie line-up including cream cheese and vegetable oil. I was intrigued and decided to make this version of the cookies to please my coconut-loving husband. 

The promise of a cookie with a soft, chewy center and a crackly-crisp top was spot-on. To me, the coconut-lime version made them seem really summery. Even my crispy-cookie husband enjoyed these, and I know that both the normal version and coconut-lime version are cookies that I will be keeping in my arsenal for quite some time. Enjoy!

(Printable Recipe)

Chewy Coconut-Lime Sugar Cookies
From Nov/Dec 2010 Cook's Illustrated

Ingredients:
2-1/4 cups (11-1/4 oz) unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 cup sweetened shredded coconut 

1/2 tsp. table salt
1-1/2 cups (10-1/2 oz) sugar, plus 1/3 cup for rolling
2 oz. cream cheese, cut into 8 pieces 
1 tsp. finely grated lime zest
6 Tbsp. (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, melted and still warm
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 large egg
1 Tbsp. milk
1 Tbsp. lime juice

Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 large rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper. Whisk flour, baking soda, baking powder, coconut, and salt together in a medium bowl. Set aside.

Place 1-1/2 cups sugar, cream cheese, and lime zest in a large bowl. Place remaining 1/3 cup sugar in shallow baking dish or pie plate and set aside. Pour warm butter over sugar and cream cheese and whisk to combine (some small lumps of cream cheese will remain but will smooth out later). Whisk in oil until incorporated. Add egg, milk, and lime juice; continue to whisk until smooth. Add flour mixture and mix with rubber spatula until soft homogeneous dough forms. 

The final dough will be slightly softer than most cookie dough. For the best results, handle the dough as briefly as possible when shaping the cookies. Overworking the dough will result in flatter cookies. Divide dough into 24 equal pieces, about 2 tablespoons each. Using hands, roll dough into balls. Working in batches, roll balls in reserved sugar to coat and evenly space on prepared baking sheet, 12 dough balls per sheet. Using the bottom of a drinking glass, flatten dough balls until 2 inches in diameter. Sprinkle tops evenly with 4 teaspoons sugar, remaining in shallow dish (2 teaspoons per cookie sheet), discard any remaining sugar. 

Bake, 1 tray at a time, until edges are set and just beginning to brown, 11 to 13 minutes, rotating the tray after 7 minutes. Cool cookies on baking sheets for 5 minutes. Using wide metal spatula, transfer cookies to wire rack and cool to room temperature. 

I am linking these to Sweet Tooth Fridays
Sweets for Saturday and Melt in Your Mouth Mondays:


 

April Cookie Carnival: Toasted Coconut Shortbread with Pineapple Topping

It's been a few days since I promised my last strawberry ice cream recipe, but I promise it is still in the plans! Since today is actually the first day of May, my calculations indicate that I have ran out of time to post my goodies from the April Cookie Carnival. We've had quite a busy week culminating with running the Arizona location of the muddy Warrior Dash today. If you are waiting for the ice cream, I promise it will make it up here in a couple of days after I finally get all the dirt cleaned off my body and running clothes! :)

We had some friends over yesterday for the first barbecue in our newly finished backyard, and these cookies turned out to be the dessert hit of the party! This is particularly impressive in my book because the other option was a no-fail caramel brownie :) I have to admit that the coconut-pineapple combination in these proved to be pretty awesome!

While the end result was worth it, I struggled a little with the recipe. After pulsing the dough in my food processor, there was no way it was going to hold together enough to form a cohesive ball of dough. Did anyone else have trouble with crumbly dough? I tried to avoid it, but ended up needing to add 2-3 tsp. milk to the dough to get it to hold together. After this, it cooperated much better. My other complaint is that my yield was much lower than the recipe indicated. I used a coffee cup to cut my circles and ended up with a total of 12 spheres. I don't feel that my coffee cup was that big, so they must have used a really small cookie cutter to end up with 12 sandwich cookies in the test recipe. Since I wanted to have 10-12 servings of each dessert option for people to choose from, we ended up eating them open-sided and added the topping immediately before eating our individual servings. Despite my troubles, I feel like I could now make these rather quickly in the future. I will certainly keep them in mind because they were really enjoyed by our guests! Enjoy! 

(Printable Recipe)

Toasted Coconut Shortbread with Pineapple Topping
Adapted from Anna Olson's recipe on Food Network Canada

Ingredients:
Shortbread:
1/2 cup sweetened coconut, finely shred
1 cup and 2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter, unsalted, room temperature
2-3 tsp. milk, if needed

Pineapple Cream Topping:
1/2 cup (4 oz) cream cheese, room temperature
1/3 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 cup crushed pineapple, drained
2/3 cup whipping cream, whipped to soft peaks

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spread coconut on a baking tray and toast for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown, stirring once. Watch it closely so it does not burn. Set aside and allow to cool to room temperature.

Combine flour, sugar, and salt in a food processor. Add butter in pieces and pulse just until dough is crumbly. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and sprinkle toasted coconut over the dough. Work it into the dough until the dough comes together. May add milk as needed to bring the dough together. Dust work surface again and roll out dough into a rectangle about 1/8-inch thick, and cut into circles using a 3-inch glass or round cookie cutter. Use a spatula to lift cookies onto a parchment-lined baking tray and bake for 10-12 minutes, just until the edges of the cookies begin to brown. Cool cookies on the pan for 5 minutes before removing the cookies to wire racks to cool completely. 

For the pineapple topping, beat whipped cream with an electronic mixer until soft peaks have formed. Set aside. Beat cream cheese until soft and fluffy. Beat in icing sugar and vanilla. Stir in pineapple and fold in whipping cream. Chill until ready to serve. To plate, place a cookie on a plate and spoon or pipe about 2 tablespoons of pineapple cream onto the cookie. 

Coconut Cream Pie

Usually it takes me a little longer to process my recipes for a post, but I can't wait any longer to share this recipe with you. I finally made a pie. That's right a PIE. From scratch. And, it was a good one too. Granted it was only a 1-crust pie, but baby steps... I'll get a double-crusted pie under my belt soon enough.  

My husband talked me into making this beauty as soon as he saw it in the March issue of Cooking Light. I think it's really just because he loves all things coconut. However in reality, I've set a goal for myself to make 5 recipes from each of my cooking magazines each month, so he claims he was just helping me towards my goal. The recipe calls for a store-bought pie crust, but I wanted to make my own. I decided that if I was going to make a pie that I was just going to jump in and make all aspects of it.  I settled on using a recipe that I'll print below that I found saved in my email. I have had it saved for awhile and no longer know to whom it belongs, so if it's yours, let me know and I'll give you credit. I'm not totally happy with it, but I think it may be more user error that the recipe. I think the crust ended up being a little bit "too wet," and it strangely grew bubbles in places when I baked it. Any more experienced pie bakers out there know why this happened? You can kind of see the areas that bubbled below. With the exception of the bubbling issue, the crust tasted great!

The Cooking Light coconut cream pie is different in that there is not actually any shredded coconut in the finished pie (if you leave off the garnished toasted coconut on top). You seep the coconut and a vanilla bean with some milk and half-and-half and then strain the coconut pieces out to save on total fat and calorie content. The picture of the milk-coconut mixture is above. I think this is a great idea because the filling still ends up tasting wonderfully like coconut, and you may be able to sneak it by those who don't like coconut solely due to the texture. Since we're both coconut lovers here, I'm guessing we may be seeing this pie again sometime in our future. Maybe Easter dessert? Enjoy!

I'm linking this to Sweets for Saturday. Check out all the goodies there!

(Printable Recipe)

Coconut Cream Pie
Adapted from Cooking Light, March 2011

Ingredients:
Pie Crust:
2 c. all-purpose flour, plus extra for dusting
1/2 c. cake flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. sugar
1/2 c. (1 stick) unsalted butter, cold and cubed
1/2 c. vegetable shortening, cold and cubed
6 Tbsp. very cold water
1-1/2 teaspoons cider vinegar (to keep the crust flaky)

Filling:
2 c. 1% low-fat milk
1 c. half-and-half
1-1/2 c. flaked sweetened coconut
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
2/3 c. sugar
1/3 c. cornstarch
1/4 tsp. salt
4 large egg yolks
2 Tbsp. butter

Italian Meringue:
3 large egg whites, room temperature
1/2 tsp. cream of tartar
1/2 c. sugar
1/4 c. water
1/4 c. flaked sweetened coconut, toasted

Place flours, salt, and sugar into the food processor. Pulse 2 times to incorporate the dry ingredients. Add butter and pulse 4 times. Add shortening and pulse 3 times. Add cider vinegar and start to pulse as you slowly pour in the water (you may not need it all). Continue pulsing until ingredients are just incorporated. Do not over mix. Turn the ingredients onto a hard surface that has been lightly dusted with flour. Flatten gently with the balm of your hand and shape the dough into a circle. Using a knife, cut the dough into 2 pieces. Wrap one in plastic wrap and chill until firm (at least 30 minutes). Wrap the other tightly in plastic wrap and place in a freezer-style ziploc bag. Freeze for another use.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Roll out dough and place into a 9-inch pie plate coated with cooking spray. Fold edges under; flute. Line dough with foil; arrange pie weights or dried beans on foil. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove weights and foil and bake for an additional 10 minutes or until golden. Cool completely on a wire rack.

Combine milk and half-and-half in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add 1-1/2 c. coconut. Scrape seeds from vanilla bean; stir seeds and pod into milk mixture. Bring milk mixture to a simmer; immediately remove from heat. Cover and let stand for 15 minutes. Strain through a fine-meshed sieve squeezing down on the coconut to release all the liquid. Discard solids. Combine 2/3 c. sugar, cornstarch, salt, and egg yolks in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk. Gradually add milk mixture to egg yolk mixture stirring constantly. Return milk mixture to pan; bring to a boil, whisking constantly (it will start to thicken before it boils). Remove from heat. Add butter; whisk until smooth. Place pan in a large ice-filled bowl for 6 minutes, stirring to cool. Pour into prepared crust. Cover and chill at least 1 hour. 

Place 3 egg whites and cream of tartar in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at high speed until soft peaks form. Combine 1/2 cup of sugar and 1/4 cup of water in a small saucepan; bring to a boil. Cook, without stirring, until a candy thermometer reaches 250 degrees F. Pour hot sugar syrup in a thin stream over egg whites, beating at high speed until thick. Spread meringue over pie. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. 

Before serving, place 1/4 cup coconut in a small skillet and cook over medium heat to desired brownness. Cool and sprinkle over the pie. 

Butterscotch Brownies

Does anyone else have a "go-to" recipe stash. Sure, I probably have hundreds of to-make recipes saved blogs, websites, magazines, and cookbooks, but I also have a stash of a few recipes that I turn to when I need to know exactly how things are going to turn out. You know, those recipes that you have that you've made so many times that you could probably estimate down to the minute how long it's going to take from start to finish. Yeah, this is one of those recipes =)

These bar cookies are one of my favorite desserts from my childhood. They actually came from my grandmother and were also one of my mom's favorite cookies when she was growing up. Back then my grandma made them into individual cookies.  However, somewhere along the way my mom turned them into a bar cookie recipe, and I like them in that form. The crust along the outside of the pan is my favorite part. 

The cookies are unique in that they start by cooking the butter and sugar together on the stovetop to give the base of the cookies a deeper butterscotch flavor. The picture above is about what the butter-sugar mixture will look like when its cool. Waiting for the mixture too cool before you add the eggs may be the only bad thing about the recipe (not that I speak from experience or anything). After that, the rest of the recipe is a breeze. The dough can end up quite thick at the end, but just gently pat it into your pan, bake, and enjoy!

(Printable Recipe)

Butterscotch Brownies
From Mom

Ingredients:
1/2 c. butter
1 c. brown sugar
1 c. white sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
2 c. flour
1/4 tsp. salt
2 tsp. baking powder
1 c. shredded, sweetened coconut

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x13 inch pan and set aside.

In a medium saucepan, cook butter and sugar over low heat until bubbly. Cool until slightly warm (so that you don't end up cooking the eggs by accident). Add eggs one at a time, mixing thoroughly after each one. Add vanilla and mix. Stir in flour and coconut. The dough will be thick. Gently pat into the prepared pan. 

Bake for 25 minutes or until the bars just start to brown around the edges. Allow the bars to cool slightly, but cut into bars before they reach room temperature. Enjoy!

SMS: Coconut Pecan Frosting on Brownie Bites

This week's SMS was hosted by Eliana at A Chica Bakes and she chose Coconut Pecan Frosting. In case you are wondering, this is that wonderful ooey gooey frosting that is traditionally found on German chocolate cakes. Interestingly, the book doesn't contain a German chocolate cake recipe, and for the first time since I've been a member, our weekly recipe mandated some creativity unless, of course, you wanted to make the frosting and just eat it with a spoon (and I briefly considered this...)

I knew that I really wanted to participate this week because I love most things coconut, but I had the worst mental block about how to use it. The only thing I could think of was German chocolate cake. Finally this afternoon, I called my mom, and we brainstormed for awhile. She thought that it should be served with something chocolate, so I finally settled on brownie bites. Not too different than chocolate cake but just different enough =) I ended up using Melissa's brownie recipe that we made with the group back in July as I had great success with it back then.

As for the frosting, it was just as gooey and delicious as it should be. It really was a pretty simple recipe. The only thing I wondered about was how long I really should cook it until it looked "thickened." I ended up cooking it until it coated my spoon, and it turned out great. I was a little disappointed in my brownies this time around. They rose up really high while they were cooking and had almost a little "air bubble" in them. They still taste great, so I just filled the air pocket with the frosting and called it good. Not sure why they raised up so much since they didn't do that last time? 

A big thanks to Eliana for hosting this week! Be sure to stop by the SMS blogroll today to see everyone's creations. I know I'm looking forward to see how everyone used their frosting! 

SMS: Chocolate Orange Macaroons

This week's SMS was hosted by Ellen of Blue Tree Green Heart. I don't have a lot of experience with making coconut macaroons, and I was glad to see this recipe seemed pretty simple. Five ingredients, one of them being coconut, what's not to love?

Overall I think they came out pretty well. Mine seemed to spread quite a bit while they baked but I'm attributing this to the lack of a cookie scoop. I just tried to pack them into a little ball as well as I could with my hands. Check out the picture below. They almost look like an oatmeal cookie if you don't look close enough to see the coconut :-) The other problem that I encountered was that they stuck like crazy to the aluminum foil. I had to stick the entire pan in the fridge, macaroons and all before I could get them peeled of the foil. I'm not sure if spraying the foil with cooking spray would help or not, but I would definitely try out the parchment paper next time.

I saved a couple for myself and took the rest of the batch to my brother. He's here in town doing research at the medical center for the summer and is living with several other college-aged boys. I haven't heard anything directly from him, but after talking to my mother on the phone tonight, I guess she heard about them. Sounds like they enjoyed them :-) 

Check out Ellen's blog for the recipe or pick up the Sweet Melissa Baking Book instead for tons of other great recipes! 

Andes Peppermint Crunch Chunkies

I've been quite late getting my Christmas recipes up, but I wanted to add these to the mix before it got too much later :-)  As far as I'm concerned, peppermint season extends through the winter anyway, and these could be great Valentine's Day cookies because of the colors.

The recipe comes from the back of the Andes Peppermint Crunch Baking Chip bag. This isn't the first time that I've made these cookies. I made them first 2 years ago but couldn't make them last year as I couldn't find the chips. I was a little disappointed because we made them a couple of times that first year because we really enjoyed them. The stores always seem to have the chocolate variety, but the peppermint chips seem to be a little harder to find.

Anyway, we were wondering through the grocery store sometime around Thanksgiving and I snatched these up as soon as I saw them. It actually turned out to be a good thing that I had them because I was able to use the chips to try out my new Christmas present from the hubby - a Bright Red KitchenAid!!  Getting that as my Christmas gift was a pretty good surprise, and yes, I had to break it in the first night I had it :-)

So yay for the chips and yay for the KitchenAid. If you can find these around the holidays, I would definately recommend picking up a bag. You may never know when you'll  have to try out a new mixer :-)

(Printable Recipe)

Andes Peppermint Crunch Chunkies

From Andes Peppermint Crunch Baking Chip Bag

Ingredients:

2 sticks unsalted butter, softened

1 c. brown sugar, packed

1/3 c. granulated sugar

1 lg. egg

2 tsp. vanilla

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1-3/4 c. all-purpose flour

1 c. old-fashioned oats

1 c. sweetened grated coconut

1-1/2 c. Andes Peppermint Crunch Baking Chips

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Using an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugars until fluffy (about 3 minutes). Beat in egg and vanilla extract. On low speed, add baking soda, salt, and then flour. Mix completely. Stir in oats, coconut, and Andes Peppermint Crunch Baking Chips.

Form approximately 1-Tbsp. worth of dough into a rounded ball. Place each ball of dough 2-inches apart on a prepared cookie sheet. Press down lightly. Sprinkle some of the remaining chips on top of each cookie if desired. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until just light brown on the edges. Do not overbake. Remove from cookie sheet and let cool on a wire rack.

Yield: approximately 60, 1-1/2" cookies

Macaroon Kisses

Finally the post for the cookies that everyone has been asking me about. I originally picked this recipe out from tasteofhome.com because my husband LOVES coconut. They looked like something that would be right down his alley, and they would also add something different to our traditional Christmas cookie spread.

Fast forward several exams, a rushed trip home, and a snow storm later, I was making these cookies in my mom's kitchen with the kisses and coconut that I had shoved in my purse on the way out the door. I was THAT determined to make them. Thankfully, they turned out to be worth the extra effort. My brother, dad, and husband were gobbling them down as fast as I made them!

I'm not entirely sure why the cookies are called "macaroons." The ingredient list more closely resembles a traditional cookie recipe, and the recipe calls for an egg yolk rather than egg whites. Anyway... if you like coconut, these are great. Even hot out of the oven (when my dad likes cookies the best). Speaking of that, mine did need several minutes out of the oven to set up. The cookies are quite crumbly while warm. That and the chocolate kisses will get soft, but nothing a few mintues out in the garage in this weather won't fix (it was -13 degrees F when we woke up this morning)!!!  Enjoy!

(Printable Recipe)

Macaroon Kisses - Adapted from Taste of Home

1/3 c. butter, softened

3 oz. 1/3-less fat cream cheese, softened

3/4 c. sugar

1 egg yolk

2 tsp. almond extract

1-1/2 c. all purpose flour

2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

5 cups flaked coconut, divided

48 milk chocolate kisses

In a large bowl, cream the butter, cream cheese, and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg yolk and extract. Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well. Stir in 3 cups coconut. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour (I skipped this).

Roll into 1-inch balls and roll in the remaining coconut. Place 2-inches apart on ungreased baking sheets. Flatten balls of dough slightly with fingers.

Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned. Immediate press a chocolate kiss into the center of each cookie. Cool on pan for 2-3 minutes or until chocolate is softened. Remove to wire rack to cool completely.

Cinnamon and Molasses Granola

The test is done! Woo hoo! I am so glad that I can finally relax a little more and enjoy an evening at home with the hubby! This is a granola recipe that I found here on allrecipes.com. I like this recipe because it uses things that you typically have around the house. So many granola recipes call for flaxseed and wheat germ. I just can't justify buying something that is farily expensive like that for only 1 recipe that I might make once and awhile. I'll stick with my oats. In addition to that, I also am not the biggest fan of nuts in my food, so this recipe was right up my alley.

The original recipe also calls for raisins. I left them out for personal preference (I'm sounding farily picky...) but have substituted dried cranberries with great success. This is definately more of a "crumbly" type granola. There aren't any large chunks in the finished product. I have played with the proportions of sauce to oats a little bit, and I suppose you could up the sauce:oat ratio more if you like more chunks in your granola. As is, this one works for us. The hubby likes to use it as an ice cream topping, and I like it in my yogurt as well as plain. It makes a pretty good study food for brain power :-) Enjoy!

(Printable Recipe)

Cinnamon and Molasses Granola

4 c. oats (I've used both old-fashioned and quick oats)

1 c. sweetened, shredded coconut

1/3 c. packed brown sugar

1/3 c. honey

1/4 c. canola oil

1 Tbsp. molasses

1 tsp. cinnamon

1-1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1 c. raisins or dried cranberries (optional)

In a large bowl, combine oats and coconut. Set aside. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

In a saucepan, combine brown sugar, oil, honey, and cinnamon; bring to a boil. Remove from the heat and stir in vanilla. Pour over oat mixture; stir to coat. Spread in a shallow baking pan. Bake for about 15 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes until coconut looks toasted. Cool. Add raisins or dried cranberries if desired. Store in an airtight container.

September Cookie Carnival: Black Bottom Coconut Bars

After taking the month of August off, I was excited to have another cookie of the month! September's Cookie Carnival recipe again comes from Martha Stewart. You can find a copy of the recipe here. This is another recipe that I probably wouldn't have picked out on my own, so the group is doing it's job to get me to try new recipes!

I didn't encounter any problems with these bars. In fact, I put them together while studying one night. The "black bottom" part is basically a simple brownie reicpe with a coconut macaroonish topping. They go together quite well! My husband would attain to this as we probably ate half the pan the first night. They kept well for several days, but I would have to say that I enjoyed them most still warm out of the oven! Do make sure to check on them through the baking time. Mine were definately done baking at the 25 minute time (when baking the bars with the coconut topping), but as I've said before, I'm fairly sure the apartment oven cooks a little on the warm side! Enjoy!

Black Bottom Coconut Bars - from Martha Stewart

1/2 c. unsalted butter

1/2 c. sugar

1/4 tsp. salt (I omitted this since I had salted butter)

1 large egg

1/4 c. unsweetened cocoa powder

1/4 c. all-purpose flour

For coconut topping:

2 large eggs

3/4 c. sugar

1/2 tsp. vanilla

1 c. all-purpose flour

1/2 pkg (8 oz) sweetend, shredded coconut (1/2 c. reserved for sprinkling)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a 9-inch baking pan with aluminum foil, leaving a slight overhang. Spray bottom and sides of aluminum foil in the pan with non-stick spray.

For the chocolate base, place butter in a microwave-safe bowl and melt in microwave. Add sugar and salt; whisk to combine. Whisk in egg, then cocoa and flour until smooth. Spread batter in prepared pan. Bake until sides just begin to pull away from edges of the pan, 10-15 minutes (do not overbake). Let cool slightly while preparing coconut topping. Keep oven on for topping.

For coconut topping, whisk eggs with sugar and vanilla in a medium bowl. Gently mix in flour and coconut (except 1/2 c. reserved for topping). Drop mounds of mixture over chocolate base; spread and pat in gently and evenly with moistened fingers. Sprinkle with 1/2 c. reserved coconut. Bake until golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with moist crumbs attached, 25-30 minutes. Cool completely in pan. Lift from pan using foil overhangs, peel off foil, and cut into 24 bars. Store in an airtight container 3-4 days.