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!



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