What's Baking?: White Chocolate Coconut Cranberry Pie

Yay for What's Baking? posts!  This month's theme was pie, hosted by Kim of Just Baked.  I actually had trouble coming up with an idea for this theme!  I've done a fair number of pies already, since it's probably my favorite kind of dessert!  The Fiancé (more on that in another post!!!) and I had been talking about his mom's coconut cream pie recently, and I realized that although I've blogged a few different cream pies, that one was not one of them!  I wanted to make it a little bit more seasonal, though, because coconut seems very summery to me, so I decided to add cranberries.  And since cranberry white chocolate cookies are so good, I decided to add white chocolate.  And that, dear readers, was how the white chocolate coconut cranberry pie was born.

Now, please forgive the picture.  I think the fat content of the white chocolate threw off the chemistry of the pie a bit, because it didn't set up quite as well as usual, and it separated a bit after sitting a few days.  So, in the recipe below, I adjusted the cornstarch amount to account for that.

You'll also notice that there is no added sugar in this pie.  It's not a typo, I swear!  It is plenty sweet with the white chocolate and sweetened coconut!  If you use unsweetened coconut and have a real sweet tooth, you may want to add maybe 1/4 c. sugar.  If you're like me, and prefer desserts that are slightly less sweet, use unsweetened coconut without any added sugar.

I hope you enjoy this as much as we did!  If you use a store-bought graham cracker crust, you'll have a bit of filling left over--just pour it in a bowl, and enjoy like pudding!  ;)  I think homemade ones are a bit bigger, so it should fill those ones fine.  Pecans would also make a lovely addition to this pie, either in the filling, as a garnish, or as part of the crust!

White Chocolate Coconut Cranberry Pie (adapted from Andrew's mom's coconut cream pie recipe)

• 1 9" graham cracker crust
• 3 c. milk
• 6 Tbl. cornstarch
• 3 egg yolks
• 2 tsp. vanilla
• 4 oz (roughly 1/2 c.) white chocolate chips
• 1-2 Tbl butter
• 1 to 1 1/2 c. dried shredded coconut, sweetened or unsweetened
• 1/2 to 1 c. dried cranberries

Heat the milk in a medium saucepan until it just comes to a boil.  Meanwhile, whisk together the cornstarch, egg yolks, and vanilla.  When the milk has been scalded, temper the eggs by slowly adding about 1 c. of the milk to the egg mixture, whisking the eggs constantly.  Once they have been tempered, add the egg mixture to the saucepan of milk, and whisk to combine.  Continue to cook the mixture, stirring frequently, until it thickens considerably.  When it does, remove it from the heat and add the white chocolate chips and butter.  Let the mixture stand for about 5 minutes, whisking occasionally, until the white chocolate has melted.  Stir in the coconut and cranberries, and pour the mixture into the graham cracker crust.  Press plastic wrap directly onto the surface of the pie to cover it and prevent a skin from forming.  Let the pie chill for 6 hours or overnight, and then dig in!

What's Baking: Kitchen Sink Cookies

It's that time of month again--the one time that I actually update the blog. It's time for What's Baking? This month's theme was snow day treats. When I started thinking about the theme, I realized that if it's really snowy out, I'm not going to want to be driving to the grocery store to buy all sorts of ingredients to make something. So, when I thought of a snow day treat, I thought of something simple, something that I could make with ingredients that I already had on hand.

Now, if you're anything like me, you've always got partial bags of baking chips, nuts, etc. lying around the cupboards because a recipe called for 1 c. or 3/4 c., and you never got around to using up the rest. Well, today, I'm going to share with you a simple cookie recipe that I call kitchen sink cookies, because you can add in whatever mix-ins you want, except maybe the kitchen sink, and you can use up all those partial bags! In my case, the mix-ins were coconut, walnuts, hazelnuts, and white chocolate (about 3/4 c. coconut, 1 c. white chocolate, 1/2 c. walnuts, and 3/4 c. hazelnuts) chips, but feel free to use whatever you have on hand--baking chips, nuts, candies, or whatever else is lying around your cupboard!

Kitchen Sink Cookies (adapted from Allrecipes.com)

• 2 c. all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 3/4 c. butter, melted
• 1 c. white sugar
• 1/2 c. packed brown sugar
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 egg
• 1 egg yolk
• 3 c. mix-ins of your choice

Sift or whisk together the flour, salt, and baking soda. In a separate bowl, mix together the melted butter, white sugar, and brown sugar. Beat in egg, egg yolk, and vanilla into the butter/sugar mixture. Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients, and stir until mostly combined. Add in the mix-ins, and mix until combined. Refrigerate for approximately 1 hr.

Drop cookies by rounded tablespoon onto a greased cookie sheet. Bake at 325* F for 12 minutes, or until the edges are set. Take the cookie sheet out of the oven, and let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for another 10 minutes before removing them. Makes ~2 dozen.

The boyfriend said that these were the best cookies that I had ever made after devouring about 4 of them in a row! So, I encourage you to try these out next time you're snowed in or just need an excuse to clean out the baking cupboard!

Pumpkin Nanaimo Bars

So, you've probably noticed that my posting frequency has gone down. Substantially. Ironically enough, now that I actually have the funds to bake to my heart's content, I no longer have the time. Yup, that's right. I got a job. I'm now the resident baker at a private school in my town. The school previously did most of their baking from store-bought mixes, and they hired me to transition it more toward from-scratch baking! Sweet! The head chef also allows me a lot of freedom to try new recipes, so if there's something we need to make, he encourages me to bring in my own favorite recipe and to tweak it to fit my tastes! It's mostly breakfast baking--muffins, scones, eventually biscuits and quick breads--but there is some dessert baking, too. I made 500 pumpkin chocolate chip cookies for the kiddos last Friday!

So, while I am really excited to have this job and am really enjoying it, the fact that I work 75 hours a week between my two jobs is kind of cutting into my baking time. Phooey. I promise not to abandon you completely, though, faithful readers (all ten of you). And thus, I bring you this recipe. A fall twist on a traditional Canadian dessert. And boy, were they good! I mean, pumpkin and chocolate? Trust me, people...you WANT to make these. They're rich, though, so cut them small (we're talking 36-pieces-out-of-an-8x8-pan rich).


Pumpkin Nanaimo Bars (adapted from The Eclectic Cook)

• 1 c. plus 2 Tbl. butter, softened, divided
• 1/4 c. granulated sugar
• 5 Tbl. cocoa powder
• 1 egg
• 1 1/4 c. graham cracker crumbs
• 1/2 c. finely chopped almonds
• 1 c. unsweetened coconut
• 3 Tbl. heavy whipping cream
• 2 Tbl. instant vanilla pudding mix
• 2 c. powdered sugar
• 1/4-1/2 c. pumpkin puree
• 1-2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
• 4 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips

Combine 1/2 c. butter, granulated sugar, and cocoa powder in small saucepan. Heat over medium-low heat until the sugar is melted and the mixture comes to a boil. Remove from heat and slowly drizzle into the beaten egg, whisking constantly until the mixture thickens. Stir in the graham cracker crumbs, almonds, and coconut. Press the mixture into the bottom of a well-greased 8x8- or 9x9-in baking pan. Let cool while you prepare the next layer.

Beat 1/2 c. butter until smooth. Beat in whipping cream, vanilla pudding mix, powdered sugar, pumpkin puree, and pumpkin pie spice until well-mixed and smooth. Feel free to adjust the amounts of pumpkin, powdered sugar, and pumpkin pie spice to your own taste. Spread this layer evenly over the cooled crust. Chill in the fridge until firm, while you prepare the third layer.

Melt chocolate chips and butter together (I prefer the microwave, but feel free to use a double boiler). Pour this over the top of the middle layer, and spread it so that it evenly covers the middle layer. Chill in the fridge until firm. Remove from fridge about a half hour before cutting so that the top chocolate layer can soften up a little (making it less likely to crack while cutting it). Devour.

Thumbprint Cookies

I have a couple posts that I've been debating the wisdom of posting. One, macarons, is because while tasty, they in no way resembled the pretty macarons you see at bakeries, so I don't really feel qualified to give instructions on how to make them. The others are because I don't have pictures for them. But then I realized that my pictures are pretty crappy, anyways, so I don't think you'll miss them that much. These thumbprint cookies are too tasty not to make, even without a picture! I mean, the recipe is from Ina Garten--do you need any more proof that it will be good???

I did the backstage catering for a friend at an event last weekend, and these thumbprint cookies were one of the desserts I made. They were a big hit! The other dessert was David Lebovitz's Chewy Dense Brownies. I told you it was a new favorite recipe! Remember how good they were in S'mores Brownies? Turns out, they're just as good (if not better!) if you make the brownie base, stir in a package of Reese's chips, and top them off with a drizzle of melted peanut butter candy melts after they're baked and cooled. Oh yes. I highly encourage trying that!

Thumbprint Cookies (from Ina Garten)

• 3 sticks unsalted butter, softened
  
• 1 c. sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 3 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 egg beaten with 1 Tbl. water
• 7 oz. unsweetened flaked coconut
• Various flavors of jam

Cream together the butter and sugar. Beat in vanilla. Sift together salt and flour, then add this to the butter/sugar mixture. Mix just until it comes together. Turn the dough out onto a piece of plastic wrap. Pat it into a flat disk, then wrap up in the plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 min.

Roll dough into balls approximately 1 1/4" in diameter. Roll in the egg wash, then roll in coconut. Place the ball on a greased baking sheet. Using your thumb, press a nice, DEEP indentation into the cookie. These flatten out a lot when baking, so I recommend making the sides of the well pretty high! Once you've got all the cookies formed, pipe jam into the wells of the cookies. Use your favorite flavors--I used lemon marmalade, cherry jam, apricot jam, and some strawberry pie filling that I had left over. Refrigerate for another 30 min (I'm adding this step in the hopes of preventing the cookies from flattening out too much). Bake for 20-25 min. at 350 degrees F.

Next time I make these, I'm totally making a rum-pineapple filling for them so they'll be pina colada cookies!!!

Eat, Pray, Love Party: India

Ok, I've kept you waiting long enough. It's about time I coughed up the recipe for Nariyal Burfi, otherwise known as Indian Coconut Fudge. Truth be told, I was tweaking it. You see, I made the recipe (more or less) as directed. And it was tasty and delicious. But after about 5 minutes of being out of the fridge, it turned into a sticky gooey mess. Now, the obvious solutions to this problem were to a) always eat it straight out of the fridge or b) coat it in chocolate. Read on to see which I chose! ;)


Nariyal Burfi (Indian Coconut Fudge, adapted from Allrecipes.com)

• 4 c. unsweetened dried flaked coconut
• 2 (14-oz) cans sweetened condensed milk
• Scant 1 c. sliced almonds
• 1 Tbl. ground cardamom
• Several dashes of rose water
• 1 lb. chocolate coating bark
  

Combine the coconut and sweetened condensed milk in a large, microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on high for 8 minutes, stirring every 45 seconds, or until the mixture is thoroughly hot and bubbling. Remove from microwave, and stir in almonds, cardamom, and rose water. Pour into a well-greased 9x9" pan, and spread it out evenly. Refrigerate until firm (1-2 hrs.).

Cut into small squares (this stuff is rich!), and spread them out on a piece of waxed paper. Toss in the freezer for a few minutes to get nice and firm. Meanwhile, microwave the the chocolate bark in a small, microwave-safe bowl until melted, stirring every 30 seconds. Dip each square of fudge into the melted chocolate until completely covered, then transfer to a chilled baking sheet to harden. Enjoy!

I love the combination of flavors in the fudge. It's a little unexpected, because with the chocolate and coconut, you're expecting more of a traditional Almond Joy-type flavor, and instead you get the floral tastes of cardamom and rose water. But who doesn't enjoy a change of pace from time to time? And it certainly fit the bill for an Indian-inspired dessert! I hope you enjoyed the posts from my Eat, Pray, Love party--I know I had fun cooking, and my friends had fun eating!