I stopped at Trader Joe’s in Portland, Maine yesterday on my way back to Massachusetts and found this:
It’s seriously amazing and I can’t keep my fingers out of the jar. It must be the gingerbread but it tastes just like the holidays to me. Though I’m a HUGE fan of Biscoff spread, I think this takes the cake.
That’s all.
Now go run and get some!
It will come as no surprise that coconut is one of my favorite ingredients. I think it is delicious in both sweet and savory foods – I actually may even prefer it in savory – but these are an exception. The coconut, along with the chocolate and almond, marry well to make some of the most fantastic cookies I’ve ever made.
Almond Joy Doughy Cookies
makes about 3 dozen cookies
Ingredients:
With a mixer, beat together almond butter, sugars, butter and extracts.
In a separate bowl, mix together baking powder, baking soda, salt and flours.
Add dry mixture to mixer bowl a little at a time. Beat until fully incorporated. Repeat until dry mixture is fully mixed with wet ingredients.
Dough may seem a little mealy. Add in almond milk 1/4 c. at a time until a dough forms.
Once dough is formed, stir in chocolate chips and coconut.
Refrigerate dough for about 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 350.
Scoop using a tablespoon measuring spoon and place on ungreased cookie sheet (or you can use a sheet lined with parchment). Leave about a half inch between cookies because they will spread a little.
Bake for 10-12 minutes. Not a minute longer. This is the key to keeping them super soft!
Let cool for a few minutes on cookie sheet before transferring to cooling racks.
Try not to eat them all while transferring to cookie sheet to cooling rack.
Drizzle with melted chocolate if you wish. This will make them more “almond joy” like. But you don’t have to – they are great just the way they are.
On Friday night for dinner I had 1/2 a leftover chile relleno and 4 of these.
Yes, I said 4.
Don’t look at me like that.
Now do you see why?
These are itty-bitty and perfect for popping in your mouth one after another.
I made them using this, a birthday gift (thanks Ben & Amanda!)
Banana Coconut Donuts very slight adapted from Bakingdom
for 3 dozen mini-donuts
Ingredients:
Mash bananas and add in buttermilk and vanilla. Stir and set aside. In another bowl combine flour, baking soda and baking powder, set aside. In another bowl, beat together coconut spread and sugar until fluffy. Add egg, mix until combined. Add some of the flour mixture to the coconut spread/sugar mixture until combined, add some of the banana mixture. Alternate adding flour and banana mixtures until it’s all combined. Gently stir in coconut at end.
Place mixture in a ziploc bag (cup the end off) and pipe into preheated donut maker*. Cook until golden in color, about 7 minutes.
*Alternately preheat oven to 350, pipe donut mixture into well-greased donut pan. Cook for about 10 minutes or until golden in color.
Glaze
Ingredients:
Combine sugar and milk and whisk until thoroughly mixed. Add food coloring. Dip donuts in glaze as soon as they are cool enough to handle (but still warm). Add sprinkles.
Enjoy.
Hopefully some of you stuck around…
I know I’ve been absent but I haven’t done a lot of cooking lately. Unless making soup on Sunday and eating it until Thursday, counts. Between traveling to Maine for one of my best friend’s weddings, school projects and laziness, there hasn’t been much to share with you.
But I feel that might be changing. I hope so anyway. Life seems to have slowed down a bit. (As if I’m saying that going into the holiday season!!)
So anyway. This bread. I will NOT be making it again. Why? Because I cannot stop eating it.
Okay, so I lied, I most definitely will be making it again. It’s addictive and it PULLS APART! It’s just begging for me to take “one more piece” before I walk away from it.
I hope it lasts the weekend.
Actually I don’t because then I can make more.
Okay, so this photo is heinous. I have some explaining to do. In the recipe (to follow) for the frosting, you will see that I used coconut oil. My intentions here was to create a bread with a glaze rather than frosting. And I was successful, as you will see, so consider this a “before” picture if you will.
I couldn’t resist pulling a piece off while it was still warm… and eating it while I still had my camera in my hand. I may or may not have dipped this piece in the extra glaze.
This is the aforementioned “after” photo. As you can see, the “glaze” is now (mostly) clear. If it’s any indication to the deliciousness of this bread, know that the reason this picture is cropped like-so is because 1/3 of the loaf is already gone. Truth.
Make. This. Now.
Cinnamon Pull-Apart Bread
Ingredients:
For filling:
For glaze:
1. In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add the oats, whole wheat flour, brown sugar, coconut spread, chia egg, salt and 1 c AP flour. Beat on medium speed until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough (dough will be sticky).
2. Turn onto a lightly floured surface. Knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to coat the top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about an hour.
3. Punch dough down. Toll into an 18-in. x 12-in. rectangle. Spread with coconut spread. Combine sugar and cinnamon; sprinkle over dough to within 1/2 in. of edges.
4. Cut into 36 (approximate) 3-in. x 2-in. rectangles. Make 2 stacks of 18 (approximate) rectangles. Place, cut sides up, in a greased 9-in x 5-in. load pan. Cover and let rise until doubled, about an hour. Bake at 375 for 25 minutes or until golden brown. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan. Make glaze and drizzle over warm bread.
Serves one I mean, 12. Enjoy!
