spicy pb cookies (flour less)

Have you ever made peanut butter cookies with peanut flour? I didn't either, and I was pleasantly surprised at how tasty peanut flour is. Actually I prefer it over regular flour for many baking items: cakes, cookies, muffins, etc.. But then I heard that Trader Joe's isn't making the peanut flour anymore? Is this true? That was a quick fad. I have to find another good source for peanut flour. Anyone have recommendations?
Warning: these pb cookies are GOOD. I made about 12 cookies, ate 6, then ate 3 more, then finally someone else finished them off--all in a matter of hours. You've been warned.



I'm sure you recognize these cookies from another post? The first time I made these cookies (almost flour less pb cookies, everyone raved about them and they became the hit of the web). Now with these cookies, they are completely flour less, so those with gluten allergies can rejoice. And if you don't like the heat in the cookies, you can easily swap out the cayenne for coriander. The addition of coriander is wonderful, like a small flavor boost, that makes people go "hmm, what is that taste...I can't quite put my finger on it but I love it". I've made them both ways: with heat and with coriander; can't decide which I prefer I as I love them both. The peanut flavor is so deep and intense with the peanut flour.









spicy peanut butter cookies (flourless)
print recipe

1 cup all-natural chunky or all natural smooth peanut butter (not oily pb)
¾ cup dark brown sugar
¼ granulated sugar
1 large egg, room temp
1 ts baking soda
3 TB peanut flour
¾ - 1 ts cayenne OR ¾ ts (more or less) coriander
1 ts sea salt
Bittersweet chocolate chips, about ½ cup, optional

Cook notes:
This recipe makes a small batch (about 12-15), if you want more, just double all the ingredients. Please use your own judgment when using the amount of cayenne or coriander. I used bittersweet chocolate, but you could use milk or semi-sweet—keep in mind, I felt the cookies tasted off using milk chocolate. The cookies have to sit in fridge for at least an hour to come together; don’t let them sit in fridge overnight as they become very dry. This is a dry cookie, and will a tiny bit hard to roll. Also they are delicate and tend to break apart if you make them big. So try not to make the dough balls bigger than a tablespoon size. Using chocolate is optional. If you do use the chocolate chips, keep in mind I found it easiest to make a well in the cookie dough ball, place in a couple chips, and when done baking, take a chop stick or other pointy tool to swirl around the warm chocolate chips.

In a small bowl add the peanut flour, baking soda, cayenne, and salt and mix, set aside.
In a small bowl crack egg open and beat.
In a mixer or by hand, combine peanut butter and sugars until well combined.
Add egg to the cookie mixture, mix well.
Add in the flour mixture, by sprinkling it over the cookie dough, not just depositing it in one large dump. Mix till just combined.

Cover bowl and let it sit in fridge for about an hour. Do not let this sit overnight as the dough becomes very dry!
When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Roll into tablespoon (or smaller) sized balls and place on non-stick cookie sheets or greased cookie sheets. With your finger or end of spatula, make a small well in middle of cookie dough. This is where you will place a couple chocolate chips in. If you don’t want to add chocolate then just flatten dough ball a bit and using a fork make a cross-cross pattern, optional of course.

Bake for 10 minutes, until lightly browned. These cook up very fast, so I really wouldn’t go past the 10-12 minute mark.
Using the end of a chop stick or other fine pointy tip, swirl it around the chocolate chips to smooth out the warm chips. This should also get the chocolate a bit glossier too.
Cool on a baking sheet for a while.
The cookies are fragile and tend to break.
Should make about 12-15 cookies (small batch). If you want more, just double all the ingredients.

guest post: jill smokler of scary mommy

Today is a special day for me. One of my good friends Jill from Scary Mommy is our featured guest post. And as many of you already know Jill is almost set to release her first book: Scary Mommy. It will be available April 3, 2012!
Thrilled to pieces for her and like I've always said, "its about time" her writings about her daily adventures in parenting-does-not-have-to-be-perfect come to fruition and into a book. What I adore about this book is the fact that she included many confessionals from real people; showing that they, just like Jill (and her hubby) are not perfect at parenting. There is a part in this book that everyone can relate to.
Many of you may know Jill from her infamous blog scarymommy.com, where she writes all things motherhood: the good, the bad, and the scary. Sure it's honest with a huge dose of humor but it's honesty mixed in with reality and how she deals with the hard hits of motherhood. She's even developed an anonymous confessional for everyone to chime in on their horrid, happy and scary thoughts of parenthood: fears and all. Let's call it a wonderful way to relieve parenthood-stress anonymously and know that you are not alone when one of your worst fears arises....again and again and again.
How honest is Jill in her writings? Take a look at Chapter 4 titled: "are they really letting me take this thing home with me?" How many mothers can relate to that? Apparently millions, as Jills' website averages about 1.5 millions hits per month.



There's also a "Scary Mommy Society" forum for other “scary mommies,” blogging newcomers, and parenting and non-parenting people alike with something important to share in a community setting. With it's huge popularity there is an 8-week waiting list. But don't let that stop you.
I was lucky enough to steal some time from Jill during her hectic schedule (did you know that she wrote this book in a matter of a couple months? Crazy publisher deadlines! And she has three children? She's crazy, full of energy, honest about her parenting decisions/roles, and I love her that way. I asked her to answer a few questions for me and her fans--let's just get to the good stuff.



I know that you are a very busy mom of three children, you had to write a book in was it 2-3 months? How on earth did you stay focused when it came time to write? I ask this because sometimes when you plan out the writing it’s a lot harder to focus!

Basically, I just didn't sleep. Plus, I was a complete bitch to everyone in my real life. Writing is not something that comes all that naturally to me, so I'd just have to ride the wave when I felt inspired, and get the rest of my life done when there was a lull in my creativity. But, I highly recommend not writing a book in a few short months. It was all far from ideal.

I, and I’m sure all your fans, just love how open and honest you are in your writings. Are there times where you wish you wouldn’t have said something or wanted to take it back ?

I'm sure there are times that my mother wishes I wasn't so honest, but for me, there's no point in writing if I can't do it honestly. It is a little strange thinking that my kids' teachers read about my vibrator, so instead of censoring myself, I just don't think about who's reading. If I did, I'd never write a thing.

You know I’m a foodie, and I know you are too, so I gotta ask: what are your favorite foods?
Are there any dishes that you’re known for?

I could live on Thai food. Thai iced tea, spring rolls, satay, curry, noodles... all of it. It's my absolute favorite food in the universe. Just thinking about it makes me drool (thanks, Dawn.) I do love cooking, although I am one of the world's worst bakers. I've perfected my caramelized onion pizza over the years and it's pretty kick ass. If I'm cooking for a group, Chicken Marbella is usually the way I go and my favorite dessert to make is a Kaluah dip from my husband's family. It has three unimpressive ingredients, but is ridiculously delicious. Plus, it gives you a nice buzz if you eat enough of it. Win/win.

Have you done any public speaking yet? I know for me speaking in front of a crowd is a bit scary. Do you have any fears on public speaking?

I've done some. I don't love it, but I actually enjoy it more than public listening. If I'm in an audience, I want to fall asleep. At least if I'm speaking, I know I won't snore.

In your poem post, that mirrors the book “Go the F**K to Sleep", you say its inspiration from your hubby. I know your husband is used a lot in your writings. I admire his thick skin, but I admire that you aren’t afraid to speak about it. Don’t you wish more people were as open and honest as you are in their writings about married life?

Jeff is a really, really good sport in a way that I could never, ever be. And, no, I don't. I need to be unique, somehow!

If you and your hubby could go on vacation (kid free), anywhere, for free, where would it be and why?

Since we're talking fantasy land here, Moorea, which is an island off of Tahiti. We went there on our honeymoon and it was the most gorgeous place I've ever been. The beaches, the smell of flowers everywhere, the food... The distance and cost will keep us away for as long as I can imagine, but I would love to go back. It was heavenly.

I know there are a lot of people out there that admire you and your zest/zing for “honest blogging”. I’ve gotten a couple people ask me to ask you what advice would you give someone who wants to take up blogging about their crazy life?

For the first three years of blogging, I saw little reward. I always treated it like a job, but until recently, it just didn't pay. (Not that the pay now is anything to shout from the rooftops, but at least it's something.) So, until the last year, I had to remind myself that if it wasn't fun, it wasn't worth it. That would be my advice to someone looking to start a blog: Have fun. For most people, this won't become a career, so just enjoy it. If it ever becomes a chore or a stress, it's time to reevaluate.

Do you see yourself (and we hope to see this as well) in a sitcom on TV? Chronicles’ of Scary Mommy?

It's definitely something I've fantasized about! It's a huge long shot, but the fact that I wrote a book is proof that you never know where life will lead. :)

Thank you Jill! How can you not love her? Mazel Jill and Jeff!

Jill is gearing up for book signing appearances. To learn more her tour date click here and to pre-order her book click here.

Lastly, I was super-duper lucky enough to have Jill use one of my favorite recipes
for a few of her upcoming book parties. To find out what it is head on over to Scary Mommy.

Congrats to the winners of the book "Baking Basics & Beyond" Sara #16 and Lisa #45. You won. Look for an email from me soon to get your address! Congrats!

blueberry-cream cheese fritters

My last batch of fritters I received a few emails from people telling me they love and want to make their own donuts at home, but are a little afraid of deep frying. To quote one of the people "the whole frying thing scares me a bit, so I'll pass..." Yikes I thought. I can understand that it scares you a bit, with the heat of the oil, the fear of burning, soggy/greasy donuts, or worse yet a fire. But if you keep a few things in mind, and play them into practice, you will have a better sense of confidence. First, have a good, sturdy, well made pot for deep frying. I've seen some people use cast iron for frying, and while that might be fine for frying chicken, I'm just not comfortable with it for donuts. Donuts, fritters tend to bubble up a bit and should have high walls of a deep stockpot. You need a high sided pot, or thick/high stockpot is what I use. Or if you have a le creuset pot all the better, those are great or conducting the heat uniformly. Second, invest in a thermometer. You'd be amazed at how many times you'll use if for other baking/cooking adventures, like candy, caramels, french fries, chicken, etc... Third, never use high heat for frying; always use medium heat. I've seen so many people start off thinking they need high heat to "get it nice and hot" No no! That's the worst thing you could do. Go medium and slow, and you'll get there. And lastly, no need to fill the pot up with oil. I'd say 3-5 inches of oil is fine for frying donuts/fritters; a bit less for chicken, wings, egg rolls, potatoes, etc... I've seen way too many people put in about 7 inches or more of oil just for frying donuts! You need to do that if you're frying commercially or for a commercial deep fryer.

blueberry-cream cheese fritters
print recipe

2 cups AP (all purpose) flour
½ cup white sugar
2 ¼ ts baking powder
1 ¼ ts salt
1 ts cinnamon
2 large eggs
¾ cup whole milk
1 ts pure vanilla extract
3 TB melted butter, cooled a bit
½ - ¾ cup fresh blueberries

glaze
2 cups confectioners’ sugar
1/4 ts salt
1/4 cup half & half (more/less depending on how thick/thin you like glaze; I like mine thick)
4 ounces of cream cheese, room temp

Cook Notes: You are working with hot oil. Never ever walk away from the stove when deep frying. To keep the fritters crunchy, you may want to drizzle the glaze over the fritters instead of dunking. If the fritters get too much glaze they will get soggy. Some blueberries will pop out when frying. To make sure your oil is the perfect temp for frying, use a thermometer. A temp of 360-375 is ideal for donuts/fritters. Always test a small fritter to see if oil is ready. Do not overcrowd pan with fritters, they brings the heat way down and will result in oily fritters.

In large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt.
In a separate bowl, mix the eggs with milk and vanilla extract, then add in cooled melted butter; mix until just combined—do not overmix!
Fold in the dry with the wet ingredients; only mix till just combined. Lumps are good. If you overmix you will have tough chewy fritters—that’s a no no. Next fold in the blueberries.

Heat about 3-4 inches of canola oil over medium to medium-low heat (it takes time to heat up).
When it gets hot, drop a little drop of batter into the oil to see if oil is ready; if it sizzles immediately and rises to the top, the oil is ready; if it burns quickly, turn down the heat.
Drop oversized tablespoons of batter (using a small to medium size ice cream scoop, or use two spoons to roll out the scoops of batter) into the hot oil. Only do about 3 -4 fritters at a time. If you want flatter fritters, use two chopsticks to spread out the batter immediately after you put into oil. They cook fast about 1 ½ - 2 minutes per side or if you want extra crispy about 2 ½ - 3 minutes per side—if that? Make sure to flip them.
Remove and drain on a paper towels or brown paper bags. Let these cool a bit before the glaze bath.

For the glaze:
In a small saucepan, heat the half and half with the cream cheese over low heat. Stir until all melted. Then transfer to a bowl and whisk in the powdered sugar and slat. Mix well using a whisk. I had lumps in my glaze and just used a whisk (for a while and got rid of them). Then quickly dunk each fritter and let them rest on wire rack with cookie sheet on bottom to catch drippings. Or you can easily just drizzle the glaze over the fritters if you want a lighter glaze and want the fritters to stay crispy. Don’t let the fritters sit too long in the glaze as they will get soggy.
Makes about 12-15 fitters depending on size you make them.

friday links PLUS giveaway!

Let's just dive right in shall we?

I just love when I get emails from PR companies or publishers that want to share the launch or re-launch of a FABULOUS baking book. This one Baking Basics and Beyond by Pat Sinclair is a keeper. Very helpful little baking book. It has kicked up recipes inside. Like savory blue cheesecake, banana bars with brown sugar frosting... Luckily they were nice enough to give away 2 books!
This is the new edition of Baking Basics and Beyond by Pat Sinclair. It's a down-to-earth, reader-friendly baking guide is updated with beautiful full color photos throughout. According to Pat Sinclair, "If a little kneading is good, is a lot of kneading better? Not for biscuits, as I learned the first time I made them. I discovered that biscuits are tender and flaky only if I follow two key baking techniques--cutting in shortening and gentle kneading. I've learned many more secrets like these over decades of baking professionally for companies such as Pillsbury and Land O'Lakes." Included are many traditional and old-fashioned American favorites such as Buttery Crescent Dinner Rolls, Dark Chocolate Cake with Praline Filling and Cranberry Nut Tartlets. Most of the recipes are easy and recognizable, if not extremely familiar. Some of the recipes, such as Turtle Cheesecake Pie, are variations of classics but with a little twist that makes them unique.
Baking Basics and Beyond differs from other books on baking because it concentrates on basic techniques and simple directions. No prior experience is necessary.
Although Sinclair has a master's degree in Foods, much of her baking experience came at home. She began baking in elementary school by learning how to bake from her mother, especially how to make a pie crust.




Reprinted with permission from Baking Basics and Beyond, by Pat Sinclair, Agate Surrey, December 2011.

All you have to do to enter is leave ONE comment telling me what your favorite baking-guided cookbook is/was.
I'll do the drawing Friday March 2, 2012 and announce the TWO winners.

FROM AROUND THE WEB:

Did you know you can turn your ice dispenser into a candy dispenser? Can you imagine?


Did you hear? Ben & Jerry's is coming out with Greek Style Frozen yogurt! And it's NOT boring--it has stuff in it--lots of stuff! Goodbye boring ass strawberry and vanilla frozen yogurt!


I saw this on Pinterest and it had no link. Would love to know where to buy this. Anyone know? Cute right? Found it. Thank you reader for sending me the link. Apparently she isn't taking orders anymore?


My latest obsession is this site called freecabinporn.com. It's NOT what you think. It's all about absolutely gorgeous and breathtaking photos of various cozy cabins from around the world.

Are you getting enough magnesium? I wasn't, but am now. It's a powerhouse mineral.

Are you an avid knitter or crotcher? However you spell the latter. If you are, you need to check out this group called raverly.com. It's like a candy store for knitters, complete with patterns, tips, boards, photos, links, etc... It's like the modern take on knitting.

Tell me this is not a joke. . An app that let's you walk and type, AND let's you see in front you while walking? Was this developed because of all those people who texted while walking and fell into a sewer or pool? The Type & Walk App. For realz peeps.

Prevention magazine says you can shrink a size in 14 days. Hmmm. What do you think?

Have you ever made your own almond flour/meal? I've wanted to for a while, to make a good batch of classic macarons. It's also a staple for those gluten free kitchens. Here's a fabulous tutorial to make your own almond meal at home.

Can I be totally honest? I've never ever thought to make baked potatoes in a crock pot. I just learned about this from this blog. I feel like an idiot -- why didn't I think of this years ago?. Excellent tip and time saver!


Anyone tried using a dryer sheet for collecting dust on the floors or baseboards? This article says it works. I'm tempted to try it. Have you?


I must have this coat and this dog. How did the photographer keep a straight face and not giggle the whole time? You can actually buy this on Etsy.

All this hype these days about clean eating for whole body detox; so many theories on it, so many ways to detox each promising to be the right one. NPR recent article about clean eating detox stated one particular VALID point: "The body is constantly filtering the toxins in alcohol, food and medicines, not storing them," Boston dietitian Maria Adams tells The Salt. "So they're not going to build up. I think the reason people feel better on a cleanse is probably just they're losing weight and are less bloated."
Interesting article, and scary the amount money of that crazy GOOP detox program costs: over $400!


Let's go from detox to mini burgers! Since Oscar night is right around the corner, Wolfgang Puck has a lot of his recipes appearing on the web. And here is one of them using Wagyu beef and a perfect remoulade sauce.

James Beard 2012 Awards Semi finalists. Here here! Glad to see Joanne Chang is on there (from flour bakery in boston).

Real Caveman Diet--there was fruit! If you read this article, you'll see there was real proof the cavemen (and women) ate fruit. Recently they found pieces of dates on a 40,000-year-old Neanderthal. Very interesting read.


Photographer Rachel Hulin captures AMAZING photos of her baby in mid flight in various ways. It's just amazing. How did she do that?


News Boy cap for cats! I need this in my life.......right?

Want a quick and easy Banh Mi meatball rice bowl? All the flavors of bahn mi in a meatball in a rice bowl. FABULOUS.


My neighbors have some of the most gorgeous and friendly chickens I've ever seen. They don't come out much due to coyotes in our area, but when they do I make sure to hang with them for a bit. Here is a video I shot of my favorite rooster kicking it. He loves the camera (no, this was not edited, just perfect timing).

Flickr has a great set of "dogs underwater" photos.

Did you see the concept of this blog? Wild.

That's it. Have a fabulous weekend kids! Don't forget to enter the cookbook giveaway (above).

wordless wednesday (artichoke melts)

print recipe

homemade chai ice cream with spicy pecans

Wanting to make chai ice cream on the spur of the moment and realizing you have no chai tea? Easy peasy! All you need is black tea leaves or even english breakfast tea leaves, along with a few spices, let it seep for a while in a warm milk bath, and eventually you have the beginnings of your ice cream custard. Happy happy!
Why the spicy pecans? Well, for one, my love of spicy pecans (which helps keep Trader Joe's in business btw), and secondly, chai is already gently sweet, so a spicy pecan helps to balance out the sweetness a bit, as well as a hint of texture. I mean who doesn't love texture in ice cream? I don't think I could ever be one of those "smooth" ice cream lovers (unless it's gelato)-- I mean all those calories and no texture, no chocolate/nut/candy surprises to bite into. Sad.
Could you use walnuts? Sure. Peanuts? Why not? Almonds? Indeed, but use those smokehouse almonds and see that magical flavor come about.





chai ice cream with spicy pecans
print recipe

14 ounces of sweetened condensed mik
1 cup whole milk

6-8 regular size black tea bags or the equivalent in loose leaves (if you use chai tea then you might not need the spices—taste test as you go)
¾ cup white sugar
5 large egg yolks
Dash or two fresh ground black pepper
¼ ts salt
1 cup half & half
1 cup heavy cream, room temp
½ cup – ¾ cup of chopped spicy pecans (optional but wonderful)

Spices to use:
(these may not be needed if you use chai tea bags)
I used, a couple pinches of: cloves, cinnamon and fresh ginger.
You can also use a couple pinches of: cardamom, allspice.

Cook notes: I got the spicy pecans from trader joes. You can easily use walnuts, pistachios or even peanuts. You can also make your own candied walnuts too. When the custard is done steeping, do a quick taste test and see what it needs. Some people have different takes/tastes when it comes to chai tea.

IN a large saucepan, bring the milk and condensed milk to an almost boil. Take off heat then add in the tea bags, your spices, and salt. Mix quickly then cover with lid, and let steep at least 1 hour.
Meanwhile, in a mixing bowl, mix the sugar with the five egg yolks, and salt until well combined.
Using a fine mesh strainer, strain the leaves from milk; (not needed if you used tea bags).
Return mixture back to pot and add in the half & half; bring to a simmer.
Take your egg mixture and slowly, a few tablespoons to begin with, then gradually ¼ cup at a time, add in the hot mixture. Do not add in all at once as you will cook the eggs. Once the mixture is nicely tempered, pour mixture back into the pot and heat on low heat. Whisk for a while until mixture is slightly thickened. DO NOT BOIL!
Once a thickness has developed, remove from heat, strain into a bowl, and cool.
Stir in the room temp. heavy cream.
Cover and refrigerate until cold or overnight.
When ready to churn in ice cream maker, churn according to the ice cream manufacturer directions. At the last 2-3 minutes of churning add in your ½ cup (or more if desired) of spicy pecans.

the best sweet & salty chocolate bark

Quite a title to live up to right? I know. But trust me on this one? I've made a lot of barks in my life and I tell you this one is the best hands down. It's not just me who claims this. I gave a sample of this to a few people who said the same thing.
Why does it taste so good? I'm certain it's the combo of the peanut butter, honey, butter and chocolate. That alone is a creamy good taste--and you could actually just make that alone and it would be fabulous. But I added in toasted coconut (for texture), salty pretzels (for salt), and pecans (for extra crunch).
I know I've said this before to you, but if you make one bark, this is it.

the best sweet & salty chocolate bark
print recipe

the base:
1/2 cup peanut butter (smooth or chunky)
1/3 cup + 1 TB local honey
1/4 cup unsalted butter
¾ cup milk or semi-sweet chocolate chips or chunks

the add ins:
1/2 cup toasted coconut
½ cup salty pretzels, rough chop
½ cup salty pecans (any kind of salty nut)

Cook notes:
You can add in anything you want to this. But keep the add ins to 3-4, as you don’t want too many add ins or it won’t set up right. I found using a thin pretzel works best than a thick one. I think using potato chips would be fabulous for this. Have all your add ins at the ready; you want to add them in fast when the chocolate base is all melted.

Get all your add ins at the ready and lined up ready to go. If you want uniform bars instead of bark, use an 8 X 8 square pan and really grease it up and line with parchment paper. If you want bark, then line a jelly roll pan with parchment paper.
Melt butter, peanut butter and honey in a pot over medium to low heat, stirring constantly.
Add in the chocolate chips and keep stirring—takes a while for everything to incorporate and you want to melt the chocolate slowly (almost like tempering). When all is melted, remove from stove.
Pour in all your add ins, mix well, and immediately transfer to the jelly roll pan or square pan. Using a spatula flatten out bark mixture. Don’t spread it too thin! Let cool at room temperature about 2 hours. When bark has set up, use a sharp knife to cut into chunks.

double dip glazed chocolate donut muffins

You know those old fashioned cake-like donuts be it chocolate or vanilla that have that 'almost' crispy, sweet milky like glaze on top? Yeah I love that, and I think I've found the closest glaze recipe to it.
After playing around with various glazes I found one that really works well and most importantly, dries/hardens up just right. You know if you're gonna make a donut, you need a good glaze. It's really all about the glaze for me ? Why go through all that work for a crappy glaze?
If you do make these, please heed my advice and use mini muffin tins or use mini donut tins. The regular size muffins work good, but to be honest there is just too much muffin to glaze ratio; it's just not even enough--even with the double dipping. Too much muffin and the muffins are a tad dry, but I'm certain if I did these again and used a mini muffin tin or mini donut tin, reduce the baking time they would be spot on.

Now isn't that better and easier than all that yeast, waiting for the dough to rise, cutting dough, rise again, deep fry, etc...?
I thought so.

double dip chocolate glazed doughnut muffins
print recipe

Muffins:
1/4 cup + 3 TB unsalted butter, room temp
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup + 1/3 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup dutch cocoa powder
1 ½ ts baking powder
1/4 ts baking soda
1 ts cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon salt
½ ts pure vanilla extract
½ cup whole milk
½ cup buttermilk

Glaze:
4 TB butter; melted
1 cup + 3 TB confectioners’ sugar; sifted
A giant pinch of salt
3/4 teaspoon vanilla
2 TB hot water

Cook notes:
The next time I make these muffins I highly recommend using mini muffin tins or mini donut pans. I just think there was too much cake and not enough glaze. These would be perfect as donut bites, thus being able to glaze the mini donut all around. Also, keep in mind that these bake very fast. So please check them at the 10 minute mark! And watch the baking times if you do use mini muffin/donut tins.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
IN a bowl, mix the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt; set aside.
In a glass or cup, mix the whole milk with the buttermilk; set aside.
Line 12 muffin cups with muffin liners or spray with nonstick cooking spray.
In the bowl of a stand mixer or by hand, cream the butter, vegetable oil, and sugars till smooth.
Add in the eggs, vanilla extract, and mix well.
Stir half the flour into the wet/butter mixture, stir, then add half the milk mixture, then add in the remaining flour mixture, stir, and finally the remaining milk mixture.
Using an ice cream scoop, scoop the batter into cups, filling the cups to the “almost” top.
Bake muffins until the tops are slightly springy to the touch, 13-16 minutes; rotating halfway through baking time.
If using mini muffins pans, bake 10-12 minutes; definitely check at the 10 minute mark.
Cool muffins for about 15 minutes before glazing.
For the glaze: in a shallow bowl mix the melted butter, confectioners’ sugar, vanilla and water; whisk until nice and smooth. Dip the muffin tops in glaze and let cool and harden on wire racks.
For double dipping: reheat glaze in microwave for 20 seconds (or shorter) and re-glaze again.
The glaze takes a couple hours to harden up—worth the wait though!
Should make: 12-14 regular muffins or 24 mini

toasted coconut-cream cheese bars

Remember as a kid when you made your first batch of chocolate chip cookies from scratch? How hard you worked and how amazing they tasted? Then remember when you found out you could make them into bar form? How cool and fancy that sounded to make them into bar form? Oh I sure do. Then I finally figured out the bar form is a lot easier; just throw it in a pan, no scooping or forming. Then came the add in's, the chopped up candy bars, nuts, etc...and you still thought how cool is that? Thinking I'm going to add in something that nobody else has ever added in before? Then you found out everyone was actually adding in peanut butter cups all the time, and you were so bummed.

These coconut bars reminded me of those past days. Long ago I did a cookie post (coconut cream cheese cookies) about 2 years ago, that is still, today, one of the most searched for recipes via google. It's kind of nice knowing there are that many coconut lovers out there. I've always wanted to re-create those cookies somehow, someway, and only came up with these bars. Not exactly the same recipe, this one is more of a crispy crumb cake with a cookie taste. Just as good though.
Lately I've been craving coconut; I do almost every winter.

Curious as to what is in coconut that my body craves, I did a little research and found a coconut research center. LOL How very cool. It seems legit; I did do some fact-checking to confirm their sayings. Apparently coconut is very useful for almost all things related to healthy gut, kills bacteria that cause ulcers, throat infections, urinary tract infections, gum disease and cavities, pneumonia, and gonorrhea, and other diseases. Helps in the absorption of calcium and magnesium, is good for utilizing the blood glucose...the list goes on and on. Read here for all the facts.

And for those of you who (like me) love real coconut to nosh on. Try these little gems. Inside are real pieces of coconut, not processed. Dipped in dark chocolate. Really good. I found them at my local natural health food store. I think Whole Foods carries them too.



toasted coconut-cream cheese bars
print recipe

dough:
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
¼ cup (or more if desired) shredded coconut (not toasted)
½ ts sea salt
1 large egg
1 ts pure vanilla extract

cream cheese filling
8 ounces cream cheese, room temp
1 large egg yolk
½ cup toasted coconut
Pinch of salt

Cook notes: This bakes up very fast, so please check it at the 30 minute mark. These are very crispy bars. I’ve said that you need half the dough for the bottom and the other half for the top (crumb topping) but you may need a little more dough for the bottom than just half. It might be a nice addition to add some toasted pecans or walnuts to the cream cheese mixture.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Grease up a 8 or 9-inch square baking pan with butter. If you feel safer using parchment paper, then go ahead and butter up your pan then line with parchment paper.
In a medium bowl mix the cream cheese, egg yolk, toasted coconut and salt until well combined; set aside. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, and salt.
With a pastry cutter, fork or your hands, cut up butter and mix in with the flour mixture until you have large coarse-like crumbs. No need to over work.
In a small bowl, beat the egg and vanilla extract. Add this into the flour mixture and mix until it all just comes together.
Divide dough in half. Take one half and place in pan. Wet your fingers to smooth out the dough and make sure to get all the corners.
Take the cream cheese mixture and place over the dough. Keep the cream cheese mixture at least ½ inch away from the edges; this way nothing will seep out as it bakes.

Take the other half of the dough and crumble on the top, do not pat down. Just crumble as you would a crumb cake. Take the untoasted coconut and sprinkle over top (optional but wonderful).
Bake until topping is deep golden brown; which should be about 30 - 45 minutes.
Let cool completely in pan. Run a sharp knife around edges to help loosen it up. Then using a spatula to help you lift it out, place on cutting board and finish slicing.
Should make about 10-12 small bars.