Hallo, and Coconut Encrusted French Toast

Aaaaaaand we're back! I've had a few friends try to talk me into getting the food blog back up and running, but for a while, I had approximately three jobs and was planning a move to Germany and then adjusting to said move. So, it's been a bit busy. But now, I've adjusted to my new life and and my terrible attempts at the German language and not getting lost in Berlin all day, errrrrryday.

There are definitely some adjustments that I've had to make—with different ingredients and measurements and other factors. For instance, cream cheese is lighter here and doesn't make as dense and thick of a cheesecake. Additionally, you can't find the brown sugar that we know and love (people always think I'm talking about turbinado sugar which is not even close) in the bigger grocery markets, but you can find it in some Asian markets. How am I supposed to make chocolate chip cookies without brown sugar?!? Also, the granulated sugar is beet sugar, not cane sugar. These are only a few examples, and I'm sure I'll talk about more of them over time. So, this blog will be about new recipes, and different things I'm learning from living in a "new to me" place and also food love from my travels.

On to the goods...

As a freelancer, I have the luxury of working from home. Which means sometimes I make a fancy breakfast for myself because, I do what I want! American-style breakfasts aren't readily available and I needed some french toast. So I did a search through the recipes that I've clipped over the years and found this one from Two Peas & Their Pod. I obviously had to make some adjustments due to using what I had on hand—also, note that the coconut or "kokos" you can find here is different than the sweetened flaked coconut you can find in the states, which the original recipe calls for.

Coconut Encrusted French Toast

Batter:
3 eggs
3/4 cup coconut milk
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 cup coconut flakes (we only have this kind here)
6 slices of whole-grain, nutty bread

Maple butter:

1/2 cup maple syrup

1/4 cup butter

Coconut yogurt sauce:

1/4 cup coconut milk

1/2 cup yogurt

1/8 teaspoon cinnamon

pinch of ground nutmeg

Blueberries for serving

Directions:
1. In a shallow dish, whisk together the eggs, coconut milk, vanilla extract, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Place the shredded coconut on a plate. Dip both sides of each slice of bread into the egg mixture and poke holes in bread so it absorbs some of the batter. Dip both sides of the coated bread into the shredded coconut. Drizzle a little egg mixture on top of the coconut to make it stick to the bread.

2. Meanwhile, heat a large non-stick frying pan or a griddle to medium to medium-high heat. Cook the slices of bread until golden brown on one side and then turn and cook the other side.

3. Serve with maple butter, coconut yogurt sauce, and blueberries. (I also suggest fresh ginger or "ingwer" tea and poached eggs on the side—breakfast is the best/most important meal of the day, so get it proper!)

re-post: wheat germ chocolate chip cookies

I realize I've done a few re-posts lately, and I hope that's not harshing on anyone's gig (I know that's a ridiculous phrase, however, someone said it to my friend once, and I thought it was amazing and therefore immediately added it to my vocabulary). I just like to refer to my favorites now and then, and think they deserve a double spotlight for their ability to stand the test of time. I originally posted this recipe without a picture so I added that, and I wanted to re-write some of the instructions, exactly as I make them, instead of showing what the original recipe was and how I changed it. I had changed it so much that when I'd refer back, I would occasionally miss a step. So here it is, exactly how I make them. These are pretty healthy for a cookie and definitely one of my all time favorite and most requested cookies. 

3/4 cup old fashioned whole rolled oats
3/4 cup whole-wheat flour

1/4 cup almond meal
1/2 cup ground flax seeds
1/2 cup raw wheat germ
1/2 cup sweetened coconut flakes (chopped finely)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 cup butter, softened
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons honey
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped very finely chopped pecans

(Makes approximately 30 cookies)

Preheat oven to 400°. Grease cookie sheets or line with a Silpat.

Mix oats, flour and almond meal, in a medium bowl. Add baking soda, salt, cinnamon and whisk until mixed in. Whisk in wheat germ, flax, coconut and chopped pecans.

Beat butter in a large bowl with an electric mixer until fluffy. Add granulated sugar, brown sugar, honey, egg and vanilla; beat until smooth and creamy. Add the dry ingredients, beating on low speed until just combined. Stir in chocolate chips. Chill the dough in a refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. The dough should be semi-firm before proceeding with next step.

Use a cookie scoop to scoop out dough and arrange, at least 1 inch apart, onto the prepared baking sheets. Bake cookies, until firm around the edges and barely golden on top, about 9 minutes. Remove baking sheets from the oven immediately and cool the cookies for 2 minutes, then transfer to wire racks with a spatula to cool. 

NOTES: I think the cookies actually taste the best the next day. Also, the dough can be prepared in advance and kept in the refrigerator, tightly covered for up to a week. 

Blackberry Crisp

I made a New Year's resolution, which I never do, cause I just don't like setting myself up for failure. But, I have been thinking about doing this for a while, and I don't think it will be too crazy, so... New Year's Resolution 2012: try one new recipe a week. It could be any kind of recipe, dessert, snack, dinner, beverage, anything really. Since I sometimes (usually) get stuck in my Favorites Zone, I thought this would be a good exercise for me. (Probably the only exercise I'll get this year, let's be real.) Since blackberries were on sale at the store, I thought I'd make something new with them. When I was on vacation, 2.0 (remember my SIL) make a yummy Blackberry Crumble and I've been wanting to eat it every day since. I didn't have time to ask her for her recipe, so I looked up some options, and nothing totally worked for my time frame, so I used the base of one, with a modified topping from my Great Grandma's Apple Crisp recipe. So, I count this as new, and very, very delicious.

Blackberry Cobbler

Base:
4 cups fresh blackberries (about 18 ounces)
1/4 cup sugar
2 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Topping:
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup sugar
2/3 cup flour
1/3 cup oats
1/4 cup coconut
1/2 cup butter
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg

Directions:
Grease an 8x8 pan; preheat oven to 375. Stir blackberries, 1/4 cup sugar, 2 1/2 tablespoons flour, and the lemon juice in a bowl; set aside. Combine the ingredients for the topping well and pour on top of the blackberry mixture. Bake for 25-30 minutes until golden on top, and the blackberry juice is bubbling.

Oatmeal Cake with Pears

It's comfort food season, and pear season—which, in my opinion—go hand in hand. I had some pears that I wanted to use up and I was trying to think of the best way to do so. I remembered my sister-in-law's (and her mom's) famous and amazing Oatmeal Cake. They have always done it in a bundt pan, but I figured I'd try this cake with pears on the bottom, in a 9x13 pan. It was magical! Seriously, this is one of my favorite cakes ever. It has so many of my favorite elements, cinnamon, oatmeal, coconut, pecans, caramelized goodness, and now pears. Make this cake! Your everything will thank you!

Oatmeal Cake with Pears (slightly adapted from my sis-in-law's recipe)

1/2 c. butter

1 1/4 c. oatmeal

1 c. boiling water

1/2 c. milk

1 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 c. flour

1 c. brown sugar

1 c. sugar

2 tsp cinnamon

2 eggs

1 tsp salt

4 Pears, peeled and sliced thin 

Butter a 9X13 cake pan. Line bottom of the pan with prepared pears; set aside. In a bowl melt butter and combine with oatmeal, add boiling water, let sit for 20 minutes. Add remaining ingredients and mix well. Pour batter over pears and bake at 350° for 30 minutes, or until golden and cake springs back at your touch.

Topping

3/4 c. brown sugar

1/2 c. heavy whipping cream

1 c. coconut

1/3 c. butter

1 cup pecans (chopped well)

Heat the butter, sugar, and heavy cream until the mixture begins to bubble on the sides, making sure that the butter is completely melted (do not bring to a boil). Fold in pecans and coconut and pour over hot cake. Place under the broiler (lo broiler) for 1-3 minutes and watch carefully so that the coconut doesn’t burn. The topping should bubble and become somewhat caramelized. Put this in your face as soon as humanly possible.

zucchini banana bread

(sorry about the crappy phone photo)

Zucchini season is here! And there is a LOT of it. I had the pleasure of receiving some gigantor garden variety zuccs recently and had to find a load of zucchini recipes to use up the copious amounts of the veggie I now had in my possession. The first recipe is yummy, moist-deluxe Zucchini Bread, adapted from Southern Plate: Classic Comfort Food That Makes Everyone Feel Like Family. It's sooooo good, you must try it! 

Zucchini (with banana and coconut - added by me) Bread.
makes 2 loaves

3 eggs
1/2 c. vegetable oil
2 cups sugar
1/2 c. greek yogurt
2 t. vanilla extract
splash almond extract
2 1/2 cups shredded zucchini
1 mashed banana
1/2 cup coconut
3 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Preheat the oven to 350°F and grease two 4 x 8-inch loaf pans.

In a large bowl, beat the banana till soft. Combine with the eggs, oil, yogurt, sugar, vanilla, almond extract, zucchini and coconut. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Mix all ingredients together.

Pour into the pans and bake for 1 hour, or until the centers are no longer soft.

PS: If you haven't tried Banana or Zucchini Bread toasted with butter, you are missing out, so go fix this mistake!

PPS: If you are trying to save your extra shredded zucchini for later, do not use a food saver, if you have one. I learned the hard way that you just need to measure it out into ziplocs and not try to be fancy and food-save it, unless you want green juice all over everything.

Coconut Chocolate Chip Cookies

I'm back to my full-time life in just one city every week. It's amazing how having weeknights to run errands and get stuff done feels like such a luxury. I started a new job at a rad Ad Agency that's only a mile from my place. Having a short commute after traveling across 2 states every week and before that, driving about 45 minutes each way is the dreamiest. Anyway, starting at a new job can always be a little daunting and since it's been so long since I've started a brand new job, I was extra nervous. I decided if I couldn't win people over with my "sparkling personality", I could try to win them over with cookies. So far, this cunning plan seems to be working. It must be because this recipe is so legit. My oldest sister sent this to me a while ago, raving about it. Since I'm always looking for and collecting good recipes, I get a little overwhelmed with all the options, thankfully my good friend Rachel was over she helped me narrow down the selection to these. She also helped me with this mini shoot for the cookies. Thanks, Rach! These are moist deluxe with all the coconut and the perfect amount of chewy vs. crispy. I suggest you try them if you are trying to bribe people to like you—or just for your stomach to like you. (Also, my sister said to make the recipe exactly as listed, I only made one change out of necessity, but this recipe really doesn't need to be tweaked at all).


Coconut Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup sugar
Cream until fluffy.
Add:
2 eggs, beating in one at a time
2 tsp vanilla
Add:
2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt

Mix well and add:
2 2/3 cup coconut (yes, you read that correctly)
1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup milk chocolate chips (**I didn't have any, so I did all semi-sweet -- sorry sis!)

Bake at 350 for 12-15 minutes.


**I don't know the original source of the recipe, but my hat is tipped to whoever out there made this happen.

chocolate dipped macaroons

These just might be the easiest thing I've ever made. And that's not just cause my Mama helped me. Anyone could make these—in a very short amount of time, and with only 3 ingredients to boot (plus the dipping chocolate, if you so choose). We made these and the ever delightful Peanut Butter Bon Bons (or Buckeyes, as my Dad prefers to call them) within the space of a few hours. So, hold on to your seats, cause I'm about to blow your mind by dropping this easy/delicious/fast knowledge on you...
 
5 cups coconut (that's just over one normal sized bag)
1/3 cup flour
1 can sweetened condensed milk

Mix coconut and flour together. Add milk, mix and drop in spoonfuls (we used a medium sized cookie scoop, which worked like a dream) onto greased cookie sheet. Bake for 10 minutes at 325° or until lightly browned.

After they cooled, we dipped half each cookie halfway into melted dipping chocolate. (A tip I just learned from Mama King: make sure the chocolate doesn't reach much higher than a melted lukewarm, otherwise it will get unruly on you)

**I do not know the recipe source, except that my Dad's ex-girlfriend from high school sent it to my Mom. I know that totally sounds weird, but I won't question the raddness of this.

wheat germ chocolate chip cookies

My sister offered to make me dinner a few Sundays ago, and asked if I could bring a treat. I figured this would give me the opportunity to actually bake again and try my current obsession, a recipe that is like my personal form of crack: the Wheat Germ cookie at Specialty's Bakery. The best part about my traveling situation right now is that I get to eat all my favorite foods, including this ridiculous cookie. I found a recipe online that claims to be the same as Specialty's. After searching online for a recipe I found this one, which seemed to be fairly close. While this cookie is pretty exceptional it's not quite the same. I must figure this out, many test batches must be made…
(note: with my add-ons/changes in parenthesis, it actually is fairly similar)


Also, sorry there is no picture, I couldn't get any pictures taken in good lighting, but I figured a post with no pictures is better than no post? Maybe?

3/4 cup old fashioned whole rolled oats
1 cup whole-wheat flour (I used 3/4 cup of whole wheat flour, and 1/4 cup almond meal)
1/2 cup ground flax seeds
1/2 cup raw wheat germ
1/2 cup sweetened coconut flakes (I would chop this up or use flaked coconut so it's in smaller pieces)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt (I would actually use half of this next time I make these)
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
(I added 1 teaspoon cinnamon, and 2 tablespoons honey)
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup chocolate chips (Specialty's uses mini chocolate chips)
1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (I used very, very finely chopped pecans)

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Coat 2 baking sheets with cooking spray (not required if your using non-stick pans or a silpat)
2. Mix oats and flour in a medium bowl. Add baking soda and salt and whisk until mixed in. Whisk in wheat germ, flax and coconut.
3. Beat butter in a large bowl with an electric mixer until fluffy. Add granulated sugar, brown sugar, egg and vanilla; beat until smooth and creamy. With the mixer running, add the dry ingredients, beating on low speed until just combined. Stir in chocolate chips and walnut pieces using a wooden spoon or spatula. Chill the dough in a refrigerator for at least 1 hour. The dough should be firm before proceeding with step 4.
4. Force a spoon into the dough to remove about 2-3 tablespoonfuls per cookie, at least 1 inch apart, onto the prepared baking sheets. Bake cookies, until firm around the edges and golden on top, about 12 minutes. (I actually decided to bake for 9 minutes on the second batch and preferred that). Remove baking sheets from the oven immediately and cool the cookies for 2 minutes, then transfer to wire racks with a spatula to cool.

**Specialty's version of this cookie is tall and rectangular. If you prefer that shape then mold the chilled dough into a 2" x 2" rectangular log and cut into 1.5" pieces to form the cookie. (I will try this note from the original author next time, I think).

coconut macaroons

this is the quickest and easiest recipe ever. it's from the pillsbury complete cookbook. i always keep coconut on hand, just so i can whip these out at the last minute if i need something quick to bring somewhere. you can always doctor this recipe a little bit by drizzling or dipping half of them in chocolate. or i've added lime juice a few times for a little something extra. these are by far my favorite macaroon recipe i've tried.

(this only makes enough for 12 cookies, so i usually double it)

2 egg whites
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons flour
dash salt
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
2 cups coconut

heat the oven to 325°F. grease and slightly flour cookie sheet. in medium bowl, beat egg whites until frothy. add sugar, flour, salt, and almond extract; mix well. stir in coconut. drop dough by tablespoonfuls 2 inches apart on to prepared cookie sheet.

bake for 13 - 17 minutes or until set and light golden brown. immediately remove from cookie sheet.

more granola bars

 so, it maaaaay seem that i am obsessed with granola. well... that's only because it's true. it's delicious and filling and i love oats and it's usually in the healthy vein of things. also, as i've said before, i want to avoid preservatives in my snacks, etc. so here is another recipe i tried, and this one is gluten free. this recipe was found on phoo-d via food gawker.

so i made some changes based on what i had on hand and really, whatever i felt like putting in. here is the original recipe.

and for my altered version:

2 cups rolled oats
3/4 cup wheat germ
1/2 cup flax seeds
1/4 cup sesame seeds
1/2 cup chopped almonds
1/2 cup coconut
2/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup honey
      (****because i changed things a bit, i think this could use less honey and less brown sugar****)
4 tablespoons butter
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup chopped dried fruit (i used a mixed bag)


pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees.

line a large rimmed baking sheet with foil (or silpat). mix together the oats, wheat germ, seeds, and nuts and coconut on the baking sheet. place the sheet in the oven and toast the dry ingredients for 10-12 minutes, stirring occasionally and keeping a close watch to make sure they do not burn. as soon as the ingredients are toasted, remove the pan from the oven.

while the dry ingredients are toasting, line a 11x13 inch rimmed baking sheet with waxed paper and spray it lightly with cooking oil (this is an important step!)

place a small saucepan over medium-high heat and add in the brown sugar, honey, butter, vanilla, and salt. bring the mixture to a strong boil for two minutes stirring constantly. remove from heat.

place the toasted ingredients in a large bowl, and stir in the dried fruit. pour the hot liquids into the bowl and stir  until all of the ingredients are moist and well combined.

using a wooden spoon or spatula, scrape the mixture into the prepared baking sheet, pressing down to evenly spread out the mixture. fold over the greased waxed paper or add another greased sheet on top and press down hard all over the granola. set the baking sheet aside and let the bars cool for 2-3 hours until they are hardened.

once the bars are hard, peel off the waxed paper and turn the granola out onto a cutting board. cut the granola into bars by pressing straight down with a long knife (don't saw or they will crumble). the bars can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature individually wrapped in plastic wrap for up to a week.

 

i really loved this recipe and i think you should try it!

**UPDATE: I made this again and instead of whole flax seeds, I used ground flax and I liked it so much better!

granola with coconut and dried apricots

i'm always looking for nutritious snacks and with no preservatives that don't taste like stale cardboard. luckily, i found this granola recipe on smittenkitchen.com but made a few adjustments to make it less of a granola bar and more loose granola i could eat as cereal or just munch on.


2 cups old-fashioned oatmeal
1 cup sliced almonds
1 cup shredded unsweetened coconut
1/2 cup toasted wheat germ
1/4 cup flax seed
3/4 cup honey
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon coconut extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1 1/2 cup dried apricots

preheat your oven to 350°F. butter a 9×13-inch pan.

toss the oatmeal, almonds, and coconut together on a sheet pan and bake for 10 to 12 minutes, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned. transfer the mixture to a large mixing bowl and stir in the wheat germ and flax seed. reduce the oven temperature to 300°F.

while the mixture is still warm, stir in the honey, vanilla, coconut and almond extracts and salt until the mixture is well coated, then the dried fruit. pour the mixture into your prepared baking dish and press, press, press it in (wet fingers and/or a silicon spatula work great for this) until the mixture is packed as tightly as possible.

bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until light golden brown.

store these in an airtight container at room temperature for a week or two.

(with milk and bananas - dreamy!)

banana coconut muffins

my biggest pet peeve about muffins is, they are so good fresh that i want to eat a whole dozen. which i obviously cannot do. but when you store them they lose their texture. i've tried on a plate with foil (they get dry), in tupperware (they get that moist, almost waxy look, and lose any crisp edges), fridge (they get hard)... etc. and so on. if anyone has any tips they know of, please, PLEASE, let me know. my waistline demands it. moving on...

i got this recipe from one of my sisters, and make just a few tweaks (namely coconut and brown sugar) and i love it.

4 big ripe bananas

1/3 cup oil

3/4 cup sugar

blend together with a blending wand or a blender - something to make it super smooth.

1 cup wheat flour

1 cup white flour

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon baking soda
(i added, 1 teaspoon vanilla and 1 teaspoon coconut flavoring)

(also, i added brown sugar and coconut on top. just a sprinkle of brown sugar to get a little crispy, and enough coconut to satisfy)

fold the rest of the ingredients together until blended. pour into muffin pan. (sprinkle brown sugar over the top of each muffin then sprinkle coconut) bake at 350 for about 20 minutes.

coconut macaroons

i love, love, love macaroons. if i was a poet, i'd insert "an ode to coconut" right here. anyway, i have made a few different recipes but wanted to try nigella lawson's macaroons. i got how to be a domestic goddess for my birthday (thanks, rach!) and have been itching to make something from it ever since. i love the flavor of these—the coconut extract adds so much. i definitely want to try these again because i don't think the texture came out quite how i wanted it, but the flavor is on point.

2 large egg whites
1/4 t. cream of tartar
1/3 c. sugar
2 T. ground almonds
pinch of salt
1 t. vanilla extract (or coconut extract, should such be available)
1 c. plus 2 tablespoons shredded coconut

preheat the oven to 325°.

beat the egg whites until frothy—no more—then add the cream of tartar and continue beating, until soft peaks are formed. add the sugar a teaspoon at a time and whisk until the peaks can hold their shape and are shiny. fold in the almonds, salt, vanilla, and coconut. the mixture will be sticky but should, all the same, hold its shape when clumped together.

(you can form this into larger balls or smaller ones, i wanted more so i made them smaller, and doubled the batch. they might stay more round if you make them larger, so i might try that next time i need them for fewer people.)

cook for 20 minutes or until they’re just beginning to turn golden in parts.

coconut chocolate chip cookies

my oldest sister sent these to me raving about them. i have been excited to try them but i haven't had a chance. this weekend, one of my besties (the ever talented rachel thurston of rachel thurston photography) was in town, and we were gonna have a bonfire weenie roast, but with all the torrential downpours we've been having, we got rained out. so i decided to make some cookies to help make up for it and these were the perfect pinch hitters! we all love coconut and chocolate and cookies so it only made sense to make these, cause they are LOADED with coconut.

CREAM
1 c. butter
1 c. brown sugar
1 c. sugar
-beat butter for about a minute, then add one type of sugar at a time, beating a minute or two each, then beat all for 2 to 3 minutes until light and fluffy.

ADD
2 eggs (beating in one at a time)
2 t. vanilla

ADD and MIX WELL
2 1/2 c. flour
1 t. baking powder
1 t. baking soda
1 t. salt

ADD
2 2/3 c. coconut
1 c. semi sweet chocolate chips
1/2 c. milk chocolate chips

bake at 350° for 14 minutes, roatating the tray after 10 minutes.

new post: your heart out

looky here if you want to see a recipe for coconut banana bread with lime glaze. it's my monthly guest post, so check it out!

ps, it's delicious.

coconut butter cookies

these little dudes are a huge sensation wherever they go. and they keep fairly well. it's one of my new favorite cookie staples. what's not to love? coconut and butter is one of the best combinations known to mankind. pretty easy to make but you have to have a food processor. i only have a little one, so i had to be tricky about how to make the dough and put it back and forth into the processor. here is the recipe:

1 pkg. (14 oz.) sweetened, shredded coconut
1 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup chilled, unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups flour (i used 1/2 cup of wheat and the rest white)

preheat oven to 350°. set aside 2 loosely packed cups of coconut on a plate. Place remaining coconut in food processor along with sugar, salt, and baking powder; process until finely ground. add butter, and process just until no lumps remain. add egg and vanilla; process just until smooth. add flour; pulse until a crumbly dough begins to form, scraping sides of bowl as needed (do not over-mix).

roll into balls, coating with coconut. (that didn't work well for me so i threw most of the coconut back in the bowl and mixed it around with my hands till it was pretty evenly dispersed.)

bake until lightly golden, 20-25 minutes. (i checked them at 15 - and i think that was plenty of time) cool on baking sheets 1-2 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

these are obviously best right after they cool, but i made them the night for my friend jessica's darling little baby girl, malina. it was her 1 year birthday party, which was the next day. to keep them fresh and maintain the texture as much as possible, i wrapped them all together in wax paper, then again in cling wrap. it worked pretty well and i'm a stickler for maintaining texture. if anyone has any tricks they try for that sort of thing, i'd love to hear what you think works best for you.

strawberry banana muffins with toasted coconut

i saw this recipe on the joy of baking and wanted to make it but add toasted coconut and use fresh strawberries.

Strawberry-Banana Muffins Recipe

1/2 cup (1 stick) (113 grams) unsalted butter, melted
3/4 cup (160 grams) light brown sugar
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon (4 grams) pure vanilla extract
2 large ripe bananas, mashed (about 1 cup)
1 cup (240 ml) fresh or frozen blueberries or strawberries (cut into pieces) (i used fresh strawberries)
2 1/4 cups (315 grams) all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon (4 grams) ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon (2.5 grams) salt
** i added about 2/3 cup toasted coconut.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C). Position rack in center of oven. Line the muffin pan with paper liners or grease with butter or a vegetable spray. Set aside.

In a small saucepan melt the butter. Set aside.

In a medium sized bowl whisk together the brown sugar, eggs, vanilla extract and mashed banana. Add the melted butter to the brown sugar mixture and stir to combine.

In another large bowl combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Gently fold in the berries, making sure they are coated with flour. This helps to prevent the berries from sinking during baking. Do not overmix or the blueberries will end up coloring the batter blue. Add toasted coconut. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir only until the ingredients are just combined. Do not overmix the batter or tough muffins will result.

Fill each muffin cup about two thirds full of batter, using two spoons or an ice cream scoop. Fill any unused muffin cups halfway with water to prevent warping of the pan and/or over browning of the muffins. Place in the oven and bake until a tester inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Makes 12 regular sized muffins.

Adapted from Oregon's Cuisine of the Rain by Karen Brooks.