Coconut Zucchini Bread

And...one last recipe from the weekend.  I had to do it.  I just couldn't let that zucchini go to waste.  Since G won't eat zucchini, I find myself making sweet treats for L and myself.  In my previous post, I mentioned that lemon reminds me of spring.  You know what else reminds me of spring....coconut.  So...I made Coconut Zucchini Bread.

Again, another really easy recipe.  I mixed together the flours, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg.

Then, I mixed the zucchini, coconut oil, sugars, yogurt, egg, and vanilla.  (side note:  the only item I had to buy for this recipe was the yogurt!)

I added the wet ingredients to the dry, and then stirred in the shredded coconut.

The loaf baked for about an hour and then I let it cool.

 

One word....YUM!



Healthy Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

Can you tell I was sick for a week and out of the kitchen???  By Thursday of last week I was just dying to start making stuff again and was in the mood for some healthy cookies.  There are many days I feel guilty about giving L store bought snacks, as one of the perks of being a stay at home mom is being able to bake and cook and make healthier, delicious things (and...don't worry...I'm not turning into Kourtney and becoming a label junkie and only feeding my family organic, gluten free food!!)  I thought this recipe would be a good one to try.  The only thing I didn't have were the Coach's Oats.  I had steel cut oats on hand so I decided to use them.  I should have just ran out and gotten old fashioned oats because these cookies weren't soft and chewy like the recipe promised.  They were harder.  But L is still loving them up!

I gathered up my ingredients...

...and then beat the oil, brown sugar, and egg.

Then, I added the rest of the stuff and beat until it was mixed.  Doesn't get much easier than that!!

I took my cookie scoop and scooped the dough out onto baking sheets.  I didn't get close to 24 cookies...maybe I made them too big!

Baked for 10 minutes and there you have it....healthier chocolate chip oatmeal cookies!!

As they were cooling, I was dealing with this mess...

And L somehow stole 3 cookies off the cooling rack and devoured them!! Little stinker!

Lemon Zucchini Bread

I am dying for Spring!  I am so over winter and ready for windows to be open, germs to be gone, and lots of outdoor playtime.  One thing that reminds me of Spring is anything lemon.  Feeling springy, I came across a recipe (that I apparently pinned multiple times) that sounded yummy-  Lemon Zucchini Bread.

I gathered up everything I needed....

...and mixed the flour, baking powder, and salt.

Then, I beat the eggs, mixed in the oil and sugar, followed by buttermilk, lemon juice, and lemon zest.

 

The zucchini then got folded in and mixed well.

Following this, I added the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mixed well.

I poured the mixture into a loaf pan, baked the loaf for about 40 minutes, and then took it out to cool.

While it was cooling, I made the glaze, which consisted of powdered sugar and lemon juice. 

Then I drizzled it on the loaf and let it set.

The bread was so moist and the lemon packed a nice punch.  Definitely got me in the mood for spring!

One of my biggest pet peeves is having to put a huge thing of buttermilk when I only need like a 1/3 of a cup.  Instead of wasting it, I poured it into my baby food trays and popped it into the freezer.  Now, the next time I need buttermilk, I have 2T. cubes that I just need to thaw out.  That should save some money at the store!

Darn you, Girl Scouts

Just when you thought the holiday binge eating was over, and you could get back to a healthy diet, bam....the Girl Scouts strike.  Being a sweets lover (and that is definitely an understatement) I just can not resist those Samoas (aka- Caramel Delights). 

I stumbled upon this recipe, immediately added the ingredients I didn't have to my shopping list, and made these Thursday.  Amaze-balls.  I haven't had time to blog about them because I've been too busy stuffing my face with them.  They were a little time consuming but SOOO worth it.

Cream together the sugar and butter.  I am convinced all great recipes start with this step!!

 Then add the egg and vanilla.

After you mix the flour and salt, you will get a doughy substance like this.  Put it on a parchment lined 9x13 baking pan...

...and squash it down with your fingers until it spreads out evenly over the pan.  Bake for 25 mins.

 While the cookie base is baking, take the coconut...

 ...and toast it.  I'm drooling :-)

 When the cookie base is done, let it cool.

Then, melt the caramel and milk in the microwave.  Make sure not to over cook and only zap it for 30 seconds at a time then stir.  Otherwise, you'll have a disaster.

Mix the caramel with the coconut

Then spread the mixture on top of the cookie base.  I put mine in the fridge at this point to harden.

Once firm, cut up into bars.  The parchment paper make it so much easier to get the bars out.

Next you melt the chocolate.  Again, zap for 30 seconds then stir.  Repeat.  You don't want burnt chocolate...trust me!

Take your bars and dip the bottom into the chocolate so the bottom is covered.  Put on a baking sheet lined with wax or parchment.

Once all the bases are done, put the remaining chocolate in a plastic bag.  I find if you put the bag in a glass and then pull the top of the bag down the edges, it makes it much easier to fill the bag.

Then snip off a corner (not too much or you will have thick, globby, albeit delicious chocolate like below).  If you want pretty piped chocolate, just snip a tiny bit off.  Then pipe away.  Put back in the fridge to harden.  Then eat your masterpiece!!!

I love you Girl Scouts!!!

Samoas Bars

from Crepes of Wrath

1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup butter, softened
1 large egg
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
3 cups shredded coconut
12-oz chewy caramels
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons milk
20 oz. chocolate chips

Make cookie base. Preheat oven to 350F. Cream together butter and sugar. Next beat in eggs and vanilla. Mix in flour and salt until just combined. The mixture will be pretty crumble. That’s okay! Press it into a baking dish (I used a jelly roll pan lined with parchment paper and pressed it into about half the pan, but you can probably just use a 9×13). Bake about 20-25 minutes or until the edges are golden brown. Allow to cool.

Next make the topping. Start by toasting your coconut. Turn the oven on to 300F and lay coconut on a baking sheet. Turning occasionally toast about 10 minutes, once golden, remove from oven and set aside to cool.

Next melt the caramels in the microwave. First unwrap the caramels and put them in a large bowl with the milk and 1/4 tsp salt, microwave about 3-4 minutes, stirring every 30 seconds until evenly melted. Add the coconut to the melted caramel and stir to combine. Once combined, spread coconut/caramel topping onto shortbread base. This is easier if you spray your spatula with pam or grease it. Allow to cool completely (I refrigerated it a bit).

Remove bars from pan (this is easy to do if you used parchment paper). On a cutting board, using a large chef knife, carefully cut the bars into the desired shape. Melt chocolate in the microwave (remember to stir every 30 seconds). Dip cookie base into chocolate (or spread on with a spoon if your bottom is too crumbly), place on fresh wax/parchment paper. Put the remaining melted chocolate in a ziploc bag and cut off a tip so you get a tiny piping bag. Pipe lines of chocolate on each one. Refrigerate a little bit so chocolate hardens then serve!

Coconut Banana Bread

This morning, Landon and I had some friends over to play.  I had a craving for some sort of a sweet bread, so, when I came across this recipe, I knew it was a no-brainer as it combined two of my favorite criteria....healthy and coconut.  I had most of the ingredients on hand already and it was super easy to whip together.

First, I rounded up all my ingredients.  I think the only ones I had to buy were skim milk and greek yogurt!!

 Then, mixed the dry ingredients together...

Then mashed up the bananas with a fork and mixed with the brown sugar and vanilla...

 Then, added the egg whites and mixed...

 Then, added the oil and mixed... (do you see a pattern forming?!?!)

 Then, added the flour mixture in three batches and mixed between additions...

 

 Then, added the greek yogurt, orange juice, and milk, and mixed.

 And finally, added some coconut, and mixed.

Once everything was combined, I poured it into an 8.5" loaf pan (recipe called for 9x5" but I just used what I had) and sprinkled the remaining coconut on top.

After an hour of baking and cooling, I sliced this baby up and volia....coconut banana bread.

With Spring just around the corner (hopefully...I know we still have a few months to go, but, a girl can hope, right?!?!) you will be seeing a lot of coconut recipes popping up since I have a slight obsession for the flaky sweet :-)

Coconut Banana Bread (from fitsugar.com)
Ingredients

1 ¾ cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1¼ teaspoon baking soda
3 Large ripe bananas, mashed
½ cup + 2 tablespoons sweetened flaked coconut
½ tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
½ cup of brown sugar
3 egg whites
2 tablespoons skim milk
¼ cup fat free plain Greek yogurt
¼ cup orange juice

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Mix flour, baking powder, baking soda together in mixing bowl.
3. In separate large mixing bowl combine mashed bananas, brown sugar, and vanilla. Add egg whites and mix together until smooth. Next add oil. Then, slowly add in flour and combine until moist. Next add Greek yogurt and orange juice. (Depending on the consistency you can add two tablespoons of skim milk. If you like your bread more dense —omit the milk — but if you like it more airy or lighter you can add it.) Lastly add ½ cup of coconut and mix together.
4. Pour into greased 9×5 inch loaf pan. Sprinkle two tablespoons of coconut on top.
5. Bake for 50-60 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean and the bread is golden brown.

Optional: throw in ½ cup of walnuts to batter to help keep you satisfied all morning. Another option: substitute ½ cup of regular flour with whole wheat flour

Gettin' Figgy With It

I came across a recipe for Fig Foldovers in the February 2013 edition of Parents Magazine and knew these were a must make based on my family's love for this delectable soft cookie.  I'm not going to lie, they did take a bit longer to make than I thought they would, but, in the end it was so worth it.

First, I gathered all my ingredients for the bars (missing from photo is salt).

Then, I took my figs, cut off the stems, and placed them (a few at a time) into my mini food processor to chop them up.

 

After that, I put the figs, brown sugar, zest, and OJ into a saucepan and brought it to a boil, then simmered until most of the liquid was evaporated.

 

Once that was done, I took it off the stove to cool a bit before putting it back in my mini food processor and making the mixture nice and smooth.

Then it was time to make the dough.  I creamed butter in my mixer and then added granulated sugar.

Next came the eggs and sugar.

Then I combined flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt in a bowl, and beat it into the butter mixture on low.

Once my blob of dough formed, I divided it up into four smaller balls.

Then rolled it out between two pieces of parchment paper.

After that, I gently peeled off the top layer of parchment and spread 1/4 of the fig mixture down the middle of the dough.

I discovered that folding the dough over was much easier if you just folded the bottom parchment along with it and gently pressed it down then peeled it back.

 

Then, I cut the dough into 10 pieces (the recipe said 12 but I wanted them to be more of a normal cookie size).  Since I can't roll out a perfect rectangle, some were bigger than others.

After cutting, I placed the bars onto a parchment lined cookie sheet and baked at 350 degrees for 15 minutes (adding a few minutes on the end for one tray to get a little more golden on the bottom).

While they were baking, I made the glaze, which consisted of powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla.

 

It was a little stiff for my liking, so I added a smidge more milk.

Voila, runny, drizzleable (is that a word??)  icing.

When the bars were done, I transferred them to a wire rack to cool off a bit.

MMMM....looks so yummy!

Then drizzled them with the glaze.

 

My #1 critic thoroughly enjoyed them!!!!

Although, since I was distracted in the kitchen, this is what happened to my living room.  Ah, boys!

And FYI- these are not the figs you want to use for this recipe.  Be sure to get the Mission Figs (I found them at Wegman's).  G has been enjoying snacking on these though, so they weren't a waste.

Hope you enjoy making these.  Although a bit laborious, they are SOOO worth it!

Fig Foldovers (from Parents Magazine, February 2013)
Active Time- 25 mins
Total Time- 1 hour
Makes- 48 bars

8oz dried Mission figs, stems removed, chopped (1.5 cups)
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp finely shredded orange zest
1 cup orange juice
1 cup salted butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 1/4 tsp vanilla extract, divided
3 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
A dash of salt
1/2 cup powdered sugar
2-3 tsp of milk

In a saucepan, bring figs, brown sugar, zest, and juice to a boil, lower heat.  Simmer, uncovered, for 15 minutes or until nearly all of the liquid has evaporated, stirring occasionally.  Remove from heat and let cool.  Mix in a food processor or a blender until smooth.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a bowl, beat butter on medium to high speed for 30 seconds.  Add granulated sugar, beat until combined.  Beat in eggs and 1 tsp of the vanilla.  In a bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt.  Beat into butter mixture on low speed.

Divide dough into 4 pieces.  Roll each between parchment paper into a 12x5" rectangle.  Spread 1/4 cup fig mixture down the middle of each rectangle.  Fold rectangles in half lengthwise over filling; seal edges with the tines of a fork.  Cut crosswise into 12 slices.  Place 2 inches apart on parchment on a cookie sheet.  Bake 15 minutes, or until lightly browned.  Remove; cool on rack. 

Stir together powdered sugar, remaining vanilla, and milk; drizzle over bars.  Allow to set.