Tag Archives: coconut

Toasted Coconut Thumbprint Cookies with Salted Caramel

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I cannot tell a lie.  This recipe comes from the queen, Martha Stewart.  It has been floating around on pinterest for a while now and I’ve always looked at it and thought, “hmmm, maybe I’ll try those.”  Then one day, my fabulous friend, Stacey, showed up at my door with a plate full of these in her hands!  They are so yummy.  And so worth the little bit of extra effort it take s to make them.  I served them at an event my mom and I catered in San Francisco the other night and they were a huge hit!

Toasted coconut Thumbprint Cookies with Salted Caramel

  • 3 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
  • 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • Table salt
  • 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
  • 12 ounces sweetened flaked coconut
  • 44 small soft caramel candies (12 ounces), such as Kraft
  • 6 tablespoons heavy cream
  • Large, flaky sea salt, such as Maldon
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Beat together butter and sugar with a mixer on medium speed until pale and fluffy, then beat in vanilla. With mixer on low, gradually add flour and 1/2 teaspoon table salt, and beat to combine.Press dough together in plastic wrap, then roll into 1 1/4-inch balls.

    ( I skipped that last part and just used my small cookie scoop to create the dough balls, straight out of the mixing bowl, it worked just fine.  I’m all about finding an easier way.  I also scooped all my balls into a separate mixing bowl so that once the dipping began, I wouldn’t have to be trying to scoop balls again.  See picture below)

    Dip each ball in beaten egg, and roll in coconut.

    Place balls on parchment-lined baking sheets, and press an indentation into each with your thumb.

    Bake for 10 minutes, then remove sheets from oven, and re-press indentations.

    Bake cookies until golden, 9 to 10 minutes more. Let cool on wire racks.

  2. Place caramels and heavy cream in a small saucepan over low heat. Cook, stirring constantly, until the caramels are melted and mixture is smooth, 4 to 6 minutes.Spoon into indentations in cookies, and sprinkle with sea salt.

    Rewarm caramel if it hardens before all cookies are filled.

    ENJOY!

Magic Bars

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I had the best time this past weekend. Me and a couple of girlfriends drove up to beautiful Sedona, Arizona and spent the weekend. We had gourmet meals, went shopping, received massages at the hotel Spa, and oh, there was that half marathon we ran. We leisurely made our way back to the real world on Sunday afternoon, but stopped for a quick lunch at Nordstrom’s Cafe on the way home. Coincidentally, we all ordered the Magic Bar for dessert! I feel like this is one of those desserts that is an oldie, but a goodie! My husband loves them, I love them, it is a win win. If you’ve never had one, you have been missing out. They are gooey and sweet and irresistible. In case you don’t have a good tried and true Magic Bar recipe, this is the one!

Magic Bars

  • 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
  • 1 stick butter, melted
  • 1 cup chopped walnuts (or pecans)
  • 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • 1 cup butterscotch chips
  • 1 1/2 cups sweetened coconut flakes
  • 1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a small mixing bowl combine graham cracker crumbs and melted butter. Press graham cracker mixture into the bottom of a 9×13 pan. Poor the sweetened condensed milk over the graham cracker crust. Then sprinkle walnuts, chocolate chips, butterscotch chips and coconut flakes on top. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown on top. Let cool at least 20 minutes and then cut into squares.

Homemade Luna Bars

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For anyone who knows me, Emily, I like to run. I am not fast or competitive or amazing at it, I just like it. And everytime before I go running I undoubtedly eat a Luna Bar. It is the perfect pre-run/pre-exercise snack. Have you had one? They are super fab and designed just for women. There is not a lot of sugar in them and lots of protein. I haven’t decided if I like the Chocolate Dipped Coconut or White Chocolate Peppermint Bark the best. Since I love the Luna Bars so much I decided to try my hand at making them! This is the Chocolate Dipped Coconut version. And also for anyone who knows me, I am not a health nut. I may be the opposite, in fact. BUT, specifically for this recipe and to keep up with the good nutrition of  the Luna Bar, I used organic or high protein products. I think I just may like the homemade Chocolate Dipped Coconut bars better homemade. Try them, then go exercise off those Double Peanut Butter Blossoms you just made!!

Homemade Luna Bars

  • 3 3/4 cups Rice Crispies cereal (I used a brown rice store brand)
  • 2 Tablespoon almond butter
  • 5 Tablespoons sweetened coconut flakes
  • 4 Tablespoon coconut oil
  • 4 Tablespoon agave nectar (found in the same place as sugars and artificial sweeteners)
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 (12 ounce) bag of semisweet chocolate chips

Put Rice Crispies in a large mixing bowl. In a small bowl, mix your almond butter, vanilla extract, coconut, coconut oil, agave nectar, and salt. Melt in the microwave (30-60 seconds) or on the stove. Pour the mixture over the cereal and and stir. Make sure to coat all the crispies and smash them with the back of your spoon or fork. Add more crispies if the mixture seems too liquidy and more liquid (coconut oil or almond butter) if it’s not sticking together.Line a square or rectangle pan (I used a 9×9 pan) with wax paper and spread the mixture evenly. Place a sheet of wax paper on top of the mixture and use the bottom of a glass to press the mixture down as firmly as you can. Stick it in the freezer. While your pan is in the freezer, melt your chocolate. I put the chips in a microwaveable bowl and melt on 30 second intervals, stirring after each time. After 30 minutes, bring the bars out of the freezer and coat the top with the melted chocolate. Stick the bars back in the freezer for another 30 minutes. Remove the bars from the pan and slice into about 12 rectangles. Wrap each individual bar in aluminum foil. Keep frozen until your are ready to use!

Linking up at : Lady Behind the Curtain

Day 7 of LJB Cookie Week… Coconut Lemon Snowflake Cookies

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These yummy little gems came to us just this season.  We tried this recipe and fell in love!  We love that they are a rolled cookie; doesn’t the snowflake shape just make it so festive?  And we love the texture of the coconut paired with the tang of the lemon.  Delish!!!

 

Coconut Lemon Snowflake Cookies

 

  • 2 ½ cups flour
  • ½ teaspoon baking powder
  • ¾ teaspoon salt
  • 2 sticks , plus 5 Tablespoons butter at room temperature
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 2 eggs at room temperature
  • 1 teaspoon coconut extract
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla
  • 2 2/3 cups powdered sugar
  • 4 Tablespoon half and half
  • 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
  • 2 teaspoons lemon zest
  • white sparkling sugar, for decoration
  • 1 cup shredded coconut

Using an electric mixer, cream 11 Tablespoons butter and sugar until fluffy, about 3 minutes.  Add eggs, and extracts, scraping the bowl and beat for 2 minutes.  Mix in the dry ingredients.

Divide the dough evenly between to pieces of plastic wrap.  Shape into 2 disks, seal and refrigerate for 2 hours.

Meanwhile, using an electric mixer, beat the remaining 10 tablespoons butter, salt, powdered sugar, half and half, lemon juice and lemon zest.  Beat on high for 2 minutes, until fluffy.  Cover and chill the filling.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

When dough is ready, roll out on floured surface to 1/8” thick, and cut with snowflake cookie cutter.  Transfer to parchment lined cookies sheet.  Sprinkle each cookie with sparkling sugar and bake for 8 minutes.

Transfer to cooling rack and let cool.  Spread the bottom each cookie with 1 teaspoon of the filling.  Use your finger to press the coconut onto one side of the sandwich then add another cookie to create entire sandwich.

Chill 30 minutes to set filling.