White Chocolate Macaroons!

If you want to make a quick, easy, and mouthwatering dessert then look no further!  In two words this recipe can described as exotic and scrumptious.  This macaroon has a perfect balance of coconut-ty sweetness then they are dipped in white chocolate as a finishing touch to throw them over the top in deliciousness. 

 What you’ll need:

14 oz Sweetened Condensed Milk

½  Cup Caramel Syrup 

1 Cup Flour

1 tsp Sea Salt

3 Cups Shredded Unsweetened Coconut Flakes 

1/2 Cup White Chocolate Chips

 Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

 In a bowl, combined the sweetened condensed milk, caramel syrup,  salt, and flour.  Mix thoroughly until all the ingredients are fully combined.

Once the ingredients are completely blended together, mix in the unsweetened coconutflakes one cup at a time.

Drop tablespoon-sized amounts of the dough about an inch apart on the lined cookie sheet.  Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, keeping a careful  watch on them since as you will remember from this recipe, Coconut Cloud Macaroons just one extra minute in the oven can be the difference between a perfect macaroon and a burned one!  When you see that lovely golden brown color, that means the macaroons are ready to come out of the oven.

 After they are out of the oven, allow the cookies to cool for five minutes on the cookie sheet before transitioning them onto a cooling rack (if you don’t have a cooling rack you can use wax paper instead)

Once the macaroons are fully cooled, it’s time to melt the white chocolate chips!

 I've found the easiest way to handle this process is to place the white chocolatechips in a glass bowl and microwave them for 20 seconds.  Give it a good stir and then microwave for another 20 seconds or until fully melted. 

 If you would like to make the chocolate coating thicker, or have extra chocolate to drizzle on top, melt a whole cup of chips.

 

  Another tip to help make this a little easier and a lot less messy: instead of dipping the cookies into the bowl of white chocolate, try using a spoon to spread the chocolate onto the bottom of the macaroons.  Spread it around evenly and then scrape off any excess chocolate.

 Place the finished macaroon upside down on a cookie sheet then repeat the process until you have coated all of the macaroons

 

Now place the cookie sheet in the fridge for a little while to allow the white chocolate to firm up.  Try to wait patiently.  This is the hardest part. 

 

 Once the white chocolate has hardened you can take the macaroons out to return to room temperature.  Or not.  They taste just as good chilled and that means no more waiting!  Enjoy

 

My Little Buddy!

 Below is a kitchen MUST have!

 

I find that I'm a very thankful foodie every time I'm using this simple yet essential kitchen tool! Long gone are the days of dancing the yoke between two egg shells risking the yokes inevitable puncture leading to the very thing you were working on avoiding... 

 

Let me know how it works for you!

Coconut Cloud Macaroons!

Feeling Like a Healthy Treat?

This recipe is easy and fun to make so why not whip up a batch of these simple, delicious, and healthy cookies? They’re high in healthy fats, protein, and fiber and are also a great option if you are trying to reduce your sugar consumption!

Here’s what you'll need:

6 Egg Whites

¼ tsp Himalayan Salt

½ Cup Honey

1 tbsp Almond Extract

3 Cups Unsweetened Shredded Coconut

 

Separate all six egg whites into a medium mixing bowl.  

I picked up one of these handy egg white separators at a cooking store and what a great investment that has been!

 Whip egg whites with the salt until it becomes frothy and stiff peaks form.  This should take two to three minutes.

With a spatula, fold in honey and almond extract. Then fold in shredded coconut one cup at a time.

Be sure to scrape the bottom of the bowl from time to time as I have found the honey tends to sink to the bottom. Once everything is fully combined, it's time to bake them!      

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Prepare a cookie sheet by lining it with parchment paper. Scoop tablespoon-sized amounts of the mixture onto the tray, spacing each macaroon an inch or two apart.

Remember how I said to occasionally scrape the bottom of the bowl as you were mixing?  Keep stirring even when you are placing the cookies on the tray cause that honey is still trying to sink.

Bake for 10 to 15 minutes.

You will want to keep a close eye on these since a macaroon can very quickly go from a scrumptious golden brown to a burned little hockey puck!

Allow to cool for 5 to 10 minutes on the cookie sheet so that they can set up before transferring to a cooling rack.

Let them cool a bit longer then enjoy!

 

 

 

Blackberry Nutmeg Rolls with Dreamsicle Whipped Cream!

 

I came up with this quirky take on a traditional cinnamon roll because I wanted to offer a tasty fun pastry that would be great for breakfast or dessert! Another great thing about this recipe is that the dough base can be used for many different types of pastry recipes.  

I hope you enjoy the sweet and tangy flavors in the roll combined with the flavors of the Dreamsicle-inspired whipped cream topping, Let us know what you think 

What you’ll need…

Pastry:

1/4  oz of Yeast                 1 tsp Salt

1/2  Cup Warm Water       1 Large Egg

1/2 Cup Scalded Milk       4 Cups Flour

1/3 Cup Melted Butter    1/4 Cup + 1/2 tsp Sugar

In a bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water (no hotter than 110 degrees).  Add ½ teaspoon of sugar to the yeast and warm water. Set aside until the mixture becomes foamy and expands to almost double the original size. This should take about 10-15 minutes.

 While you’re waiting for the yeast to foam, it’s time to scald some milk!

   In a saucepan on medium-low heat, stir milk constantly until small bubbles start to form along the sides of the pan.  Don’t allow mixture to boil.  Remove from heat.

 

In a mixing bowl, combine the milk, sugar, butter, salt, and egg Mix well.  

 

 Add in two cups of flour and continue mixing until it has a smooth texture. 

 

 Pour the yeast mixture into the dough and mix until fully combined. 

 

 Add the remaining flour and mix until the dough is easy to handle.  Knead dough for 5 to 10 minutes to be sure that the flour is completely mixed in.

 

 Place dough in a large greased bowl, cover, and let rise for one hour.  It should almost double in size.  We’ll let this hang out and come back to it in a bit!

While we're waiting, let's make the...

Blackberry Filling:

12oz Blackberries

2 tbsp Sugar

2 tsp Nutmeg

In a medium bowl, slice the blackberries into quarters then add the sugar and nutmeg.

 

Toss mixture until the blackberries, sugar, and nutmeg are fully combined. Set aside until needed.

 

Once the dough has risen, then it's ready to be prepared for the filling.Roll out the dough on a clean and lightly- floured surface until it is about the size of a 13x9 pan. 

 

 Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

 

Melt approximately 2 tablespoons of butter.  With a pastry brush, spread the melted butter evenly across the rolled-out dough.

 

Now it’s time to spread the berry filling over the dough. The last time I made a batch of these, I also lightly sprinkled a little more sugar across the top of the filling.

 Prepare an 8x11 pan by greasing it and pouring any leftover melted butter on the bottom of the pan.  Lightly sprinkle some additional sugar and nutmeg in the pan as well.
 

 Now roll up the dough in a pinwheel style.  Once completely rolled, slice into pieces about  3" - 4" wide and place flat side down into prepared pan.  Continue until all rolls are placed in the pan.  They should be lightly touching so they will have room to rise as they bake.

 
Bake for 30 minutes or until the top is a nice golden brown.

 

 

Allow to cool for about five minutes before removing to a serving dish.

 

Now you’re ready to make the whipped cream topping.

Dreamsicle Whipped Cream:

¾ Cup Heavy Whipping Cream

1 tbsp Powdered Sugar

2 tsp Orange Extract

     One of the easiest and best ways to make this is to use a metal bowl that has been in the freezer for about ten minutes so it is nice and cold.

      Pour the whipping cream into the chilled bowl and whip with a mixer on high until thick, fluffy peaks form.

  Whip in the powdered sugar and orange extract...it's that easy!  Top a blackberry roll with some of the whipped cream and enjoy!

 

Conversion Chart

 

I happen to know from personal experience that the whole conversion process between cups to tablespoons or even pints to gallons just as examples can sometimes be overwhelming and even time consuming!  But thanks to my lovely sister who stumbled across this AMAZING chart on pinterest we now have a quick easy reference.

 

I hope you enjoy it as much as I have.

 

Celiac Facts...Could YOU Be Part Of The 1%?

Raspberry Lemon Poppy Muffins!

I wanted to create a guilt-free treat that could be enjoyed in the morning or  evening that utilized several popular flavors, such as coconut, lemon, and raspberries.      
  Enjoy this delicious treat and let us know how they turn out for you!

You’ll need…
Zest From 1 Large Lemon                  1/4 tsp Himalayan Salt                

½ Cup Melted Coconut Oil                 1/2 Cup Vanilla Coconut Milk

1/2 Cup Xylitol                                 ½ Cup Unsweetened Plain Yogurt    

2  Large Eggs                                   1 tsp Vanilla Extract

2 Cups Flour                                     1 tsp Coconut Extract

2 tsp Baking Soda                            Juice from Large Lemon

2 tbsp Poppy Seeds                         6 oz. Raspberries 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Prepare a muffin pan by greasing cupcake liners with cooking spray.  This recipe will make 16 muffins.

 

In a mixing bowl, combine xylitol, coconut oil and lemon zest,

 

Beat for several minutes until creamed together.  Add in eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition.

In a separate mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt and poppy seeds.  Mix well to fully combine dry ingredients.

In a small bowl, mix together the coconut milk, yogurt, extracts, and lemon juice.
Combine all mixtures by alternately adding dry and wet ingredients to the creamed sugar and oil.

Once everything is mixed together, scoop batter into the prepared liners and fill ¾ of the way full.

Slice one raspberries into four pieces and place into the muffin batter.  Repeat this process until you have raspberries in all of the muffins.

  Place in preheated oven and bake for 15-18  minutes or until the tops become lightly golden brown in color.  Remove from oven and allow to rest in the muffin pan for about five minutes before transferring to a cooling rack to cool completely.

While your muffins are cooling, it’s time to whip up some magic! 

This coconut mixed berry cream is divine and simple to make… 

Coconut Raspberry Cream 

1 Can of Full-Fat Coconut Milk or Pure Coconut Cream

1 tsp Vanilla Extract

¼ Cup Raspberries

2 Drops Vanilla Crème Stevia

 

 Make sure the coconut milk (or cream) has been in the fridge overnight.  It needs to be chilled so it will have a very firm consistency and is able to be whipped.  Not pre-chilling can be a big mistake as it will generally come out looking like a watery mess.  Also, be sure to purchase either pure cream of coconut or a full-fat coconut milk.  Another tip: before you start to whip anything, whether it's regular heavy whipping cream or coconut cream, make sure to chill a metal bowl and beaters in the freezer for at least five minutes beforehand.

  If you’re using coconut milk, then after it has been chilled, turn it upside down and open it from the bottom side.  I find this is the easiest way to separate the watery milk from the cream.  The thick creamy part of the coconut milk will have floated to the top and you can easily drain off the watery milk below by opening it this way.  Place the cream in your chilled metal bowl.

 If you’re working with coconut cream you can just open and use!

  Once you have your nice thick cream in the chilled bowl, whip with an electric mixer until light and fluffy.  Add vanilla extract, stevia, and berries.

 

The best way to serve these muffins is to top with the freshly whipped coconut cream once they have cooled!