Breakfast served all day long...

I love breakfast.

I usually exercise restraint, meaning that most mornings involve a plain ole bowl of cereal or oatmeal most mornings. Yep, those lovely Mother’s peanut butter bumpers, Kashi honey puffs, and Barbara’s shredded squares get dumped into a measuring cup, poured into a bowl, tossed together with a light touch of the fingers, and slathered with some skim milk. It’s delicious, nutritious, and satisfying. Well, satisfying on most mornings.

However, this post is not about most mornings. I have a wild side, you see. So, without further ado, let’s delve into my love, my passion, my need for sinful breakfasts. We’re talking beyond the eggs ‘n protein category, beyond those not-nearly-sweet enough bagels, and into the realm of sweet—almost too sweet to be called breakfast—treats. Chocolate usually gets major kudos in my sinful breakfast play bill. You see, as chocolate’s agent, I try my best to get chocolate into every starring role I can. Got some pancakes that need sprucing up? Add some chocolate chips. A sad waffle that needs a bit of pizzazz? You got it: chocolate chips! Muffins, French toast, oatmeal, crepes, doughnuts: they’re all great vehicles for chocolate! So, it won’t come as a surprise to you that I took the awesome coffee cake recipe from Baked and added a bit more chocolate to it!

This coffee cake is AMAZING. Almost gooey near the chocolate, cinnamon swirl, this sour cream cake produces a tender, light, and fluffy crumb. A melt-in-your-mouth crumb. Plus, there’s two layers of the chocolate cinnamon swirl running throughout the cake (although the layers kind of run together), which adds a whole new level of moisture and yumminess. And, as if that weren’t enough, the whole cake is topped with a chocolate crumb topping. Now, Baked’s recipe doesn’t call for all the chocolate chips I threw in, but if you’re a true chocolate lover, I think you’ll like my tweaks to this recipe. I also subbed shortening in the crumb topping—I would’ve used butter if I’d had it, but I ran out (I know! Who runs out of butter?). The crumb topping was more like a paste than a crumb, but I crumbled it none the less and it was FABULOUS. It melted together a bit and formed a crunchy, wonderfully flavorful topping for this awesome coffee cake.

It’s a good thing I like breakfast at all hours, though. This cake takes an hour to bake (it took mine about 1 hour 15 minutes), plus all the time for preparation. So, by the time it was cool enough to eat, it was more like lunch time. Oh well, this treat tastes great at any time. I imagine it would be wonderful with a scoop of ice cream for dessert!

Sour Cream Coffee Cake
Adapted from Baked

For the Crumb Topping:
¾ cup AP flour
¾ cup firmly packed brown sugar
½ tsp salt
¾ cup pecans, toasted
½ cup chocolate chips (I used semi-sweet)
6 TBS unsalted butter, cold, cut into 1-inch cubes (this is where I subbed shortening…I know, I know)

For the Chocolate Cinnamon Swirl:
½ cup granulated sugar
1 tsp dark unsweetened cocoa
1 tsp cinnamon
1 cup chocolate chips (Again, here I used semi-sweet)

For the Sour Cream Cake:
3 ½ cups AP flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 ½ tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, soft but cool, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 ¼ cups sugar
4 large eggs
16 oz sour cream
1 ½ tsp vanilla

Method:
(1) Make the crumb topping: put flour, sugar and salt in food processor and pulse until mixed. Add the toasted pecans and chocolate chips. Pulse until the ingredients are fully ground. Add the butter and pulse until combined. Your mixture will either look like coarse, wet sand or like a paste, depending on whether you used butter or shortening. Place the mixture in the refrigerator.

(2) Make the chocolate cinnamon swirl: whisk together sugar, cocoa, and cinnamon. Then, stir in chocolate chips. Set aside.

(3) Make the sour cream cake: preheat oven to 350. Butter a 9x13 baking pan (I dusted mine with cinnamon sugar for a nice crust on the outside). Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon together. Set aside.

(4) Cream butter and sugar until smooth and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the sour cream and vanilla, beating until just incorporated. Then, add the dry ingredients in three batches, taking care not to overmix.

(5) Pour one-third of batter into the prepared pan. Using a spatula, spread it to the edges. Then sprinkle half of the cinnamon swirl mixture over the batter. Top with the second third of the batter and then sprinkle remaining mixture. Spread the last batch of batter. Then top with the crumble.

(6) Bake for 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes. Allow to cool for at least 30 minutes before serving.

Spice of my life...

I adore cinnamon. I love it. I add it to almost every baked, heck, just plain make: it goes in my tea, my coffee, oatmeal, chocolate chip cookies, pumpkin soup...you get the picture! There’s something homey and comforting about the smell and taste. So, when I saw the Snickerdoodle Blondies posted on Culinary Concoctions by Peabody, I knew these bars were a treat I just had to try. I slightly adapted the recipe to make do with the ingredients I had on hand (and, of course, I added lots of cinnamon!). Make sure to check out her Blondies, too (talk about some mouth-watering photography)!

Snickerdoodle Bars
Adapted from Culinary Concoctions by Peabody

2 cups AP flour
½ tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
¾ tsp cream of tartar
¼ tsp nutmeg
1 tsp cinnamon
1 cup (2 sticks) butter
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup brown sugar
½ cup sour cream
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup white chocolate chips
1 cup cinnamon chips
*Cinnamon and sugar for coating the pan and sprinkling on top of the blondies

Method:
1. Preheat oven to 350. Grease 9x13 baking pan. Sprinkle cinnamon and sugar in pan and coat.
2. Whisk dry ingredients together.
3. Cream butter and sugars together until light and fluffy. Beat in sour cream. Mix in eggs one at a time until just incorporated. Stir in vanilla.
4. Beat in dry mixture in three parts, until just incorporated. Stir in white chocolate and cinnamon chips.
5. Sprinkle cinnamon and sugar on top of dough. Bake for 25-30 minutes.

Ode to the Reese's Cup...

Sure, everyone appreciates a nice creative costume and some free candy, but let’s not forget to take a moment to thank Halloween for introducing many a kid to some wonderful sweet treats. Every year, thousands, heck, millions, of preschoolers (and maybe even toddlers) work their neighborhoods for what will become their first tastes of pure heaven (that is, until their parents sneak the candy away). Many loves are born on Halloween night, where Mounds, Snickers, Milky Ways, Sweet Tarts, and M&Ms flow freely through the streets. Which candy did Mr. Halloween introduce me to, you might ask. Well, just my favorite candy ever: the Reese’s Cup.

Salty-sweet peanut butter engulfed by milk chocolate goodness; what’s not to love? Thank goodness other holidays also celebrate the beauty of the Reese’s. We make merry with Christmas Reese’s, express love with Valentine’s Reese’s, and refrain from hiding the Easter Reese’s! So, of course, when I saw the Valentine’s Reese’s on sale, I quickly scooped up two bags.

Lucky for me, Laura from Spiced Life recently posted about Peanut Butter Blondies (and her pictures convinced me that I had to make these!). Though her recipe called for peanut butter chips in addition to Reese's cups, I didn't have any PB chips on hand (although, I had plenty of Reese’s cups to make up for this lack!). These bars are incredibly good. Bordering on fudgy, these chewy bites boast a deep peanut butter flavor with hints of chocolate throughout. However, words can’t describe how good these are, so I suggest you make these. Right now!

Peanut Butter Blondies
Adapted from Spiced Life

1 cup AP flour
¼ cup cake flour
¾ tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp salt
1/3 cup creamy peanut butter (not organic or natural)
1 stick butter, melted
1 cup brown sugar
1 large egg
1 egg yolk
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups chopped Reese’s cups (or Reese’s miniature baking pieces)
½ cup milk chocolate chips

Method:
1. Grease an 8x8 baking pan. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Sift flours, powder, and salt together. Set aside.
3. Melt butter in medium saucepan. When melted, whisk in peanut butter until mixture is smooth. Next, whisk in the sugar, egg, yolk, and vanilla.
4. Stir in flour mixture. Then, stir in Reese’s cups and chocolate chips.
5. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until toothpick comes out clean.

Whack it!

Remember Terry’s Chocolate Oranges? Years ago, my mom brought home one of these chocolate oranges for my brother Brandon and I to share. How excited were we upon reading the directions, which involved whacking this solid ball of chocolate so that it would splinter into “orange slices”? To answer that rhetorical question, we were very excited! I’m sure a fight broke out over who could whack the chocolate, and I’m quite sure that we each whacked the ball, and I’m also quite sure that the ball fractured more than it should have as a result of this over-whacking. Alas, I digress. These awesome chocolate, orange-scented balls of goodness first convinced me that chocolate and orange really belonged together!

There’s something quite refreshing about an orange-kissed chocolate treat. With that awesome combination in mind, these orange-kissed chocolate cookie bars were born. Why bars? Because I didn’t feel like scooping cookie dough (my scoops have been giving me trouble, as of late). The texture is cookie-ish with a hint of brownie density in the bite. Chocolate is the predominant flavor: ground chocolate, chocolate chips, and cocoa powder satisfy any chocolate craving. But, the orange stands up for itself and provides a sweet, citrusy after taste (especially after you let these babies sit for 24 hours). It’s the “Oh-What-Is-That?” in the cookie. I got the orange flavor by zesting a large orange and mashing the zest into the granulated sugar.

Orange-Scented Chocolate Cookie Bars

1 cup AP flour
1 cup cake flour
½ cup cocoa powder (not Dutch process)
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup of orange sugar (made by mashing zest of one orange into the cup of sugar)
½ cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 egg yolk
2 tsp vanilla
2 cups chocolate chips

Method:
1. Preheat oven to 350. Grease 9x13 baking pan.
2. Sift flours, cocoa, soda, powder, and salt together. Set aside.
3. Cream butter and sugars together until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and egg yolk until just combined. Add in vanilla.
4. Beat in flour mixture in two-parts, mixing until just combined.
5. In a food processor, grind 1 cup of chocolate chips, until most of the mixture resembles a powder (some remaining chunks are fine). Stir processed chips and remaining 1 cup of chips into dough. Press dough into baking pan.
6. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into bars comes out clean.

Oh, the weather outside is frightful…

Perhaps it’s my psychology roots or my need to rationalize any feeling of sadness, but no matter the reason, I’m a firm believer in seasonal affective disorder. If the rain is a-pouring and the cold is a-biting, well, chances are my dour mood can be blamed on Mother Nature. Now, don’t get me wrong: cold, crisp days of fall with their honey-colored leaves and firewood scent, these days are something to be relished. But, the rain changes everything!


It's been raining for a few days straight now, so I decided I needed a tropical getaway. Tropical means coconut, in my book. Hence, these coconut cupcakes with white chocolate and coconut streusel! The streusel sandwiches the cupcake batter, forming a crust on the bottom and a nice crispy bite on the top. The cake itself is delicate and fluffy, with strong vanilla and coconut flavors. It’s a perfect cupcake for a rainy day (or really any day, for that matter)!

Streusel Crumb

½ cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup AP flour
¼ cup pecan halves
1/3 cup white chocolate chips
1/3 cup coconut shreds
½ tsp cinnamon
¼ cup cold butter, cubed

In food processor, pulse ingredients until they resemble a moist crumb. Store crumb in refrigerator until ready to use.

Coconut Cupcakes

(adapted from Baked)

2 cups cake flour, spooned and swept
½ cup AP flour
2 ¼ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
6 TBS butter, softened
½ cup shortening
1 ½ cups granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 egg
1 cup cold coconut milk
2 egg whites
¼ tsp cream of tartar
½ cup coconut shreds, ground in food processor

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 325. Line 18 muffin cups. Make streusel.

2. Sift flours, powder, soda, and salt together. Set aside.

3. Beat butter and shortening for approximately 3 minutes, until light and fluffy. Add in sugar and vanilla, beating 3 minutes. Beat in egg until just combined.

4. Alternate between flour mixture and coconut milk, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Beat in until just incorporated.

5. Whisk egg whites and cream of tartar until egg whites form soft peaks. Carefully fold the egg whites into the batter. Then, fold in ground coconut.

6. Place 1 TBS of streusel mixture in the bottom of each muffin cup. Fill each cup with batter, about ¾ full, making sure to spread batter with knife so that it completely covers the streusel bottom. Top each cupcake with 1 TBS of streusel. (You will have extra batter left over.)

7. Bake for 35-40 minutes, until toothpick inserted comes out clean.

(*I baked remaining batter in a loaf pan for about 30 minutes. I topped it with shredded coconut and white chocolate chips.)

It's time...

Well, my friends, I think it's time that I share my version of the chocolate chip cookie (CCC) with you. Though I'm constantly trying new recipes, this is my latest version of the cookie. Chocolate chip cookies are quite sacred to me: they bring back wonderful memories. Not only that, but the glorious comfort of a chocolate chip cookie carries a heady power. In fact, this cookie converted my sister Jessie into a chocolate lover. Now, that's something.

Alas, I'd love to wax nostalgic and share all my wonderful memories, but I'm running low on time. So, without further ado, here they are!

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Inspired by Jacques Torres and Alton Brown

2 1/2 cups cake flour

1 2/3 cups bread flour

1 tsp baking soda

2 tsp baking powder

3/4 tsp salt

1 TBS cocoa

1 tsp cinnamon

1 1/2 sticks butter, softened (3/4 cup)
8 TBS shortening

2 TBS cream

1 1/2 cups brown sugar

1 cup granulated sugar

2 large eggs

1 egg yolk

2 tsp vanilla

1 cup milk chocolate chips

1 cup dark chocolate chips

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1. Sift flours, baking soda, powder, salt, cinnamon and cocoa together, and set aside.

2. Cream butter, shortening, cream, and sugars together until light. About 5 minutes.

3. Beat in eggs one at a time, until just combined. Add vanilla. Add in flour mixture in thirds, beating until just incorporated.

4. Stir in chips. Refrigerate for a couple of hours (at least).

5. Preheat oven to 350. Bake cookies for approximately 13 minutes, or until golden brown along the edges.

Makes approximately 50 cookies.

Aphrodisi-cake...

When I saw that Chris at Mele Cotte was hosting a Kitchen of Love round-up, I knew I had to participate! The challenge involved making a dish that included at least one aphrodisiac, in honor of the fast-approaching Valentine’s Day. Of course, I chose to do a dessert. (The word dessert alone is an aphrodisiac for me.)

After some failed experiments and un-blog-worthy creations, I finally arrived at this beauty: the aphrodisi-cake! This cake is overflowing with aphrodisiacs: chocolate, vanilla, nutmeg, and ginger…not to mention lots of yummy vanilla-caramely goodness, to boot.

According to Gourmet Sleuth, chocolate’s secret isn’t in its taste: it’s in the theobromine, a chemical known to affect your neurotransmitters. Having a bad day? Need a pick-me-up? Chocolate is the perfect treat to make those underactive dopamine receptors happy! (Not to mention it tastes divine.)

Ginger stimulates the circulatory system; it causes blood to flow. I’ll let you use your imagination on that one.

Again, Gourmet Sleuth informs me that nutmeg was prized by Chinese women as an aphrodisiac, and apparently, it can cause hallucinogenic effects when consumed in greater quantities. Who knew?

And, of course, anyone who has inhaled the scent of vanilla knows the power of that aroma. The subject of old lore, vanilla (both the scent and flavor) is believed to increase lust. I’ll admit to dabbing a little vanilla on my wrists now and then. Seriously, who can resist that smell?

So, what happens when we combine all of these aphrodisiacs? You get cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger-scented dulce de leche, along with whipped caramel chocolate ganache frosting, sandwiched between layers of vanilla cake studded with cinnamon and chocolate chips, sealed with a coating of dulce de leche and topped with the ganache frosting!

Vanilla Cake with Cinnamon and Chocolate Chips
Recipe adapted from Bakewise

1 ¾ cups cake flour, spooned and leveled
1 ¾ tsp baking powder
1 ½ cups sugar
1/3 cup water
4 TBS unsalted butter, cut in 1-inch pieces
2 tsp vanilla extract
½ tsp salt
1/3 cup canola oil
3 large egg yolks
2 large eggs
½ cup heavy cream
¾ cup semi sweet chocolate chips
¼ cup cinnamon chips

1. Preheat oven to 350. Grease and flour two 9-in round baking pans.

2. Whisk flour and baking powder together and set aside.

3. Heat water to a simmer. Put sugar in mixing bowl and pour hot water over it. Beat for a few seconds to dissolve sugar. Then, beat in butter, vanilla, and salt. Add oil and beat on medium until just blended.

4. Pour half of flour mixture in and beat until just incorporated. Repeat with second half.

5. By hand, whisk in eggs one at a time.

6. Whip cream just beyond the soft-peak stage. Mix about ¼ of the whipped cream into the cake batter. Fold in the remaining whipped cream.

7. Dust cinnamon and chocolate chips with flour. Mix the chips into the batter. Divide batter evenly between two pans. Drop each pan on countertop to knock out air bubbles.

8. Bake for about 30 minutes or until tooth pick inserted comes out clean. Allow pans to cool on racks for 10 minutes, and then remove cakes and finish cooling on the racks.

Chocolate Caramel Ganache Frosting
Recipe from Baked

16 oz. semisweet chocolate chips
4 oz. dark chocolate, broken into pieces
1 ½ cups heavy cream
1 cup sugar
2 TBS light corn syrup
1 ½ cups unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch pieces (softened)

1. Place chocolate in heatproof bowl.

2. In small saucepan, bring cream to a simmer.

3. Keeping an eye on the cream so as not to burn it, in a medium saucepan, combine ¼ cup water, sugar, and corn syrup (do not splash sides of pan). Cook over high heat until 350 degrees, or approximately 6-8 minutes. The sugar will begin to turn an amber color. At this point, immediately remove from heat and allow to cool for one minute.

4. Add the simmered cream to the sugar mixture, and stir until smooth (mixture will bubble up; be careful). Continue stirring slowly for 2 minutes. Pour caramel mixture onto chocolate. Let sit for 1 minute.

5. Stir the chocolate and caramel until smooth. When the mixture is cool, beat the mixture on low speed until the bottom of the bowl feels cool. At this point, increase the speed to medium-high and add the butter. Beat until thoroughly incorporated. Beat until mixture is fluffy.


Spice-Scented Dulce de Leche

1 can sweetened condensed milk
¼ tsp cinnamon
1/16 tsp ginger
1/16 tsp all-spice
1/16 tsp nutmeg

1. Remove labels and clean can. Place can in large pot and cover with water so that none of the can is exposed to air. Bring water to a boil. Boil the cake for 3-4 hours, taking care to add water so that the can is constantly submerged.

2. After the can cools, remove the “dulce de leche” from the can and put in a bowl. Allow the mixture to cool.

3. Add the spices and whip the mixture on high speed until lighter in color.

Assemble the cake:

Use a layer of dulce de leche and chocolate frosting between the two layers of the cake. Then top the cake with the remaining dulce sauce and chocolate frosting. Dulce de leche may run, but do not worry: it will taste good no matter what!

Icing on the cake...

I was completely surprised and thrilled when I discovered that Judy of Judy's Kitchen had passed on two awards to my blog (and nine other fabulous blogs)! Thank you, thank you, Judy! If you have yet to visit Judy's blog, you're missing out. If you're looking for tantalizing recipes for dinners and desserts, then you must head to Judy's blog; her recipes never fail to get my stomach growling!

I'm excited to pass these awards on to more wonderful blogs!

The rules for recipients are:

1. Put the logo on your blog or post.

2. Nominate at least 10 blogs which show great Attitude and/or Gratitude!

3. Be sure to link to your nominees within your post.

4. Let them know that they have received this award by commenting on their blog.

5. Share the love and link to this post and to the person from whom you received your award.

I'd like to pass these awards onto the following blogs:

(1) Erin Cooks

(2) Baked Perfection

(3) Salt and Chocolate

(4) Hungry Girl Por Vida

(5) Rosie Bakes a "Peace" of Cake

(6) Cookies with Boys

(7) Carrots 'N Cake

(8) Obsessed with Baking

(9) South in Your Mouth

(10) How to Eat a Cupcake

These are all wonderful blogs with wonderful pictures and recipes...all due to their very creative authors. If I were to use a cliched metaphor, I might call these blogs "eye candy." (It was either use the "eye candy" metaphor or pull out the ole "devour it with your eyes" line.)

Thanks again, Judy!

Chocolate and peanut butter sitting in a tree...

Can I confess my love for peanut butter? Creamy, chunky, organic or not, I don’t care: I love my peanut butter all the same. My love for peanut butter wasn’t always this obsessive. I started out as your typical peanut butter and jelly girl. Maybe an occasional ants-on-a-log in preschool. Slowly I graduated to Reese’s cups (and what a glorious graduation that was). But what spurred my borderline Fatal Attraction for this gooey, creamy, sticky substance? Summer camp.

Yes, that’s right. Summer camp, she says? What’s summer camp got to do with peanut butter? What’s summer camp got to do with food? Well, let me tell you, my friend, when your meal choice comes down to water-logged noodles or a peanut butter sandwich, you take the sandwich. On Fried Chicken Sundays, when that chicken doesn’t look quite like chicken, you take the sandwich. And when you’re meal has the word “surprise” in it—that’s right—you go for the sandwich.

So that was how the peanut butter obsession started. From there, I realized the potential of this so-called butter of peanuts. Oh, let me expound upon its glory: you can eat peanut butter in oatmeal, on apples, on fudgesicles, on waffles, on “brownies” (aka, those horrible, dry, cakey concoctions the Mess Hall called brownies), on carrots and celery, on cookies, on bread, on a spoon, from your fingers. The list goes on. Peanut butter’s versatility is rivaled only by that of ranch dressing (which goes well on salads, bread, pizza, pasta, lasagna, tomato soup, hash browns, baked potatoes, turkey sausage, sandwiches, eggs, and more, but I digress). My camp dining experience was drenched in ranch dressing and smothered with peanut butter. Appetizing, right? (Sarah Phillips, back me up on this, okay?)

Alas, the point of this post is not to convince you of my weird eating habits or unhealthy obsessions with peanut butter and ranch. The point is to celebrate one of peanut butter’s best partners: chocolate! These chocolate chocolate chunk peanut butter chip cookies are comfort food on a plate. They’re not overly rich and chocolatey, but the chocolate chunks give them some depth. The peanut butter chips add that sweet, melty creaminess that all cookies should have. The cinnamon in the cookie really shines through and makes this cookie even more of a homey treat. These are the type of cookies that beg you to eat more than one. They’re soft and chewy, chocolate and peanut buttery, and overall delicious!

Chocolate Chocolate Chunk Peanut Butter Cookies

1 ½ cups bread flour
½ cup AP flour
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch processed)
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
1 ½ cups granulated sugar
½ cup brown sugar
½ cup chocolate chips, melted
1 cup (2 sticks) of butter, softened
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
1 cup chocolate chunks (I used dark chocolate)
1 bag (approx. 2 cups) peanut butter chips


1. Sift flours, cocoa, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together. Set aside.

2. Cream sugars, melted chocolate, and butter together until smooth. Beat in eggs, one at a time, until just combined. Stir in vanilla.

3. Add flour mixture in three parts, mixing until just combined.


4. Fold in chocolate chunks and peanut butter chips. Refrigerate dough for at least 30 minutes.

5. Preheat oven to 350. Bake cookies approximately 10 minutes.


Makes about 36 cookies.

From cake to cookies...

I was recently reliving the memory of one of my best friend Erin’s birthdays. Before her actual party, a group of us celebrated Erin’s birthday with dinner and, of course, dessert. Erin requested a coconut cake with lime curd filling and coconut cream cheese frosting. Mmm. Now that was a memory worth reliving. The cake was delicious. (The only thing better was the company!)

(That's me, Sarah Phillips, Callie, and Erin. Oh, and the cake all the way on the left!)

All of this remembering made me pretty hungry, and I had a craving. A craving for coconut! I must admit that thick coconut shreds just don’t do it for me, but the flavor—ah that coconut flavor—that’s what gets me every time. I had no good excuse to make a whole coconut cake (and believe me, it doesn’t take much for me to find an excuse for cake), so I moved on to the next best option: cookies! Mmm, coconut cookies. With macadamia nuts. And white chocolate chips.

These coconut cookies aren’t overly sweet, but they make up for it with their rich coconut flavor. In addition, they’ve got macadamia nuts and white chocolate chips! The cookie’s texture falls somewhere between soft, chewy, and crispy. The cookie is relatively light and fluffy, chewy enough to bend rather than snap apart, and slightly crispy from the crunch of the nuts.

This cookie is also somewhat special because it replaces some butter with a “coconut-macadamia nut” butter. This concoction is created by food processing coconut shreds and macadamia nuts until they form a wet-looking “butter.”

If you’re looking for a slightly sweeter cookie, you could add about a half cup of extra sugar, or you could replace the unsweetened coconut shreds with sweetened ones. I also use the thinly shredded coconut (because of my thick-shred-phobia); if you can’t find the thinly shredded, you can food process the coconut for a bit (or just use the thicker shreds).

Coconut White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies

1 cup bread flour
1 ½ cups cake flour
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
½ tsp cinnamon
1 ¼ cups finely shredded coconut, divided
1 ½ cups macadamia nuts, divided
¾ cup granulated sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 stick butter, softened
2 eggs
1 ½ tsp vanilla
1 package of white chocolate chips (about 2 cups)

1. Sift together flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Set aside.

2. In the food processor, blend ¾ cup of finely shredded coconut and ½ cup of whole macadamia nuts. Process the mixture until it reaches a smooth, wet consistency. This should give you approximately ½ cup of “coconut-macadamia butter.”

3. Cream butter, sugars, and coconut-macadamia butter until lighter in color (about 3 minutes). Beat in eggs one at a time until just combined. Stir in vanilla.

4. Beat in flour mixture in two parts until just combined.

5. Chop remaining cup of macadamia nuts. Fold in chopped nuts, white chocolate chips, and remaining ½ cup of coconut.

6. Refrigerate dough for at least 30 minutes.

7. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake cookies for 12 minutes, until edges are just golden.

Makes approximately 35 cookies.