Chocolate Chip Coconut-Banana Biscotti

I move in one week. Eric moves in one week. We're moving in one week. Oh. My. Gawd.

I should be packing, I really should. I started off so well... with so much enthusiasm. But I hardly did any packing last week. I baked cookies and made pudding instead.

I get distracted when I think of things to bake. No baking this week. I will scold myself if I get the urge. This week is a week of packing and buying some things I'll need.

My mom and sisters have asked what "colors" I'm going to be decorating the kitchen and my bedroom with. Hmm. Colors.

I'm not so concerned with what colors I'll be decorating with. I'm not much of a decorator. If I had a ton of money to blow, sure, I think I could get into decorating. I think I'd be into picking out colors and pillows and rugs and scented candles.

But truthfully, I'd rather save that money and use it to buy cooking and baking supplies. Think of all the things I'm going to need...
Olive oil, herbs, spices, vegetables, pasta, rice, cereal, milk, bread. Plus all of my usual baking supplies.

I think I'm going to have to put myself on a budget to make sure I don't spend too much on food. What can I say - I love expensive food!

Speaking of expensive food, I love Greek yogurt. Who doesn't love Greek yogurt? Why would you eat regular yogurt when you could have Greek yogurt? It's so much better.

Poor lil ol me can't afford to be buying Greek yogurt so I made my own. Do you want to see?



First, I lined a sieve with a coffee filter and placed 1/2 a container of yogurt into it. Then I drained the yogurt into the empty container in the refrigerator overnight. The next morning when I went to check on it I couldn't believe how much water drained from the yogurt. I took a picture of it but it looked kind of gross so I'm not going to show you. Here's the strained yogurt.



And voila... Greek yogurt! This was irresistible.



I also made some biscotti the other day. Delicious Chocolate Chip Coconut-Banana Biscotti. I have a biscotti addiction! These are made with chocolate chips, flaked coconut, coconut oil and banana.



I made these gluten-free and used white rice flour, but that's not necessary - you could use all purpose. I'm not sure how much white rice flour weighs. I searched online for probably forty minutes and couldn't find an answer. I believe white rice flour weighs more than all purpose, so you would have to use more all purpose.

You could also make this biscotti vegan by substituting milled flax seed for the egg.

Chocolate Chip Coconut-Banana Biscotti (By Me)
(Gluten-free/Vegan)
Printable Recipe

2 cups white rice flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened flaked coconut, toasted
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips, or very finely chopped vegan semisweet chocolate
1/2 of a ripe banana, mashed
1 large egg, or 3 T water + 1 T milled flax seed
3 tablespoons coconut oil
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Coat a large cookie sheet with cooking spray.

In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together rice flour, baking powder, salt and sugar until well combined; whisk in coconut and chocolate until combined. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together banana, egg, coconut oil and vanilla until well combined; stir dry ingredients into liquid, until well combined and moistened. Knead the dough using hands until mixture starts to clump together.

Divide dough and shape into two (7 1/2 x 3–inch) logs on cookie sheet.

Bake 25 minutes; transfer logs to wire racks to cool an additional 20 minutes. Transfer to a cutting board and cut rolls diagonally into 1/2-inch thick slices. Place, cut sides down, on baking sheet. Reduce oven temperature to 300 degrees; bake 10 minutes. Turn cookies over; bake an additional 10 minutes (cookies will be slightly soft in center but will harden as they cool). Remove from baking sheet; cool completely on wire racks.

Makes about 2 dozen biscotti

Devil's Food Cupcakes

I thought I would update you all about the Food2.com contest I won back in December. I'm going to take Eric to New York City, and we're going in the middle of May when he gets out of school. We get to tour the Food Network kitchens and have dinner with Kelsey Nixon.

The woman who has been making travel arrangements for us asked me to send her a list of my top three restaurants I would like to eat at in New York City.

Of course we'll only be able to eat at one of the restaurants. I did a little research tonight to figure out which restaurants I would like to eat at. This list is way too long, so I thought it would be fun if you could help narrow it down. Vote in the comments section which restaurant we should eat at. I will be blogging about our experience there, so you guys should pick one you're interested in.

I don't know that much about any of these restaurants, so I value your opinion.

Okay, here's my list!

-Daniel

-Jean Georges

-Babbo

-Gramercy Tavern

-Bar Americain

-Gotham Bar & Grill

-Mesa Grill

-Buddakan

-Butter


Thank you for your help and opinions! I'll update you in the next post about which restaurants had the most votes, and where we decide to go to (if we can get in).



I made Devil's Food Cupcakes with Chocolate Frosting last week for Valentine's Day, and they were aaamazing. Isn't chocolate cake with chocolate frosting the ultimate dessert? I think so. I think that would be my all-time favorite dessert... except maybe for brownie sundaes. Mmm.

This is a basic, dark chocolate cake batter that's very moist and light. The frosting is a recipe I've used before. I've used it for many cakes in the past, and everyone always loves it.



I'm planning on using this recipe to make cupcakes (with a special filling) for my sister's baby shower coming up soon. March 6th! Yup, that's right - my older sister is having a baby girl. I'm going to have a niece sometime in early April! I can't wait.

Devil's Food Cupcakes (By Me)
Printable Recipe

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup dark or regular unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup oil
1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 large eggs
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips, melted
1 cup buttermilk

Frosting:
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons unsweeted cocoa powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips, melted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 24 muffin cups with liners.

To make the cake, in a medium sized mixing bowl, sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

In a large mixing bowl, using a mixer on medium speed, beat oil, butter, granulated sugar and vanilla, until creamy, about 2 minutes. Beat in eggs, one at a time, until well combined. Beat in 1 cup melted chocolate chips until combined. Reduce mixer speed to low and beat in flour mixture, alternating with buttermilk, until well combined, about 2-3 minutes.

Divide batter into muffin cups. Bake 20-25 minutes, or until just set, and a toothpick inserted into cake comes out with moist crumbs attached. Cool for 5 minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.

To make the frosting, in a small saucepan, whisk together sugar, flour, cocoa, salt and milk; bring to a boil, whisking frequently. Boil 1 minute or until thickened; remove pan from heat and strain mixture into a small bowl. Cool completely in the refrigerator or freezer.

Beat the butter until creamy, about 1 minute, in a large mixing bowl, using a mixer on medium speed. Beat in "chocolate pudding" mixture until well combined, about 1 minute. Beat in melted chocolate until well combined and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Spread or pipe frosting on to cupcakes.

Makes 24 cupcakes

Sugar Plum Raw Bars

W ell, this is a totally different recipe and post coming from me. I've been experimenting in the kitchen lately, not making my usual baked goods. I want to challenge myself and try some different techniques/ingredients I've never used before.

Why do people go on raw diets?

I researched the subject after wondering about this question myself. I came across some food blogs recently where the bloggers eat raw or mostly raw diets, and it made me very curious.

People go on raw diet diets because when food is heated over 116 degrees Fahrenheit, enzymes are destroyed. Raw and living food contains enzymes, cooked food has none. Raw food has significantly more nutrients than food that have been cooked.

We want these enzymes because they assist in the digestion and absorption of foods. Many who go on raw diets experience improvement in mental and physical health, as well as energy, weight loss, and detoxification.

Sounds good, right? Do you think you could go on a raw diet? I'm not sure if I could make it on a raw diet. If I needed to do something drastically to improve my health and make me feel better, I definitely would. In the future I would like to incorporate more raw fruit and vegetables in my diet.

So what do raw foodists eat?

Just eating raw fruits, vegetables and nuts would get boring pretty fast. Foodists have to be creative in creating meals for themselves. There are a ton of raw food recipes out there, I found out. Chips, breads, crackers, cookies... you name it, there's a recipe for it.

You can't bake these things because, obviously, you can't use your oven, so you have to use a dehydrator.

I thought I would experiment and make my own raw, vegan, gluten-free granola bars, after studying a raw bar they were selling in Starbucks.



I used agave nectar, almond butter, oats, coconut, cashews, millet, flax seed, sesame seeds and dried fruit. Technically I messed up and these weren't raw... but this is my first experiment, so give me a break! You have to soak the nuts and fruits in water before they're considered raw. Also, it's debatable whether or not agave is considered raw, because it's heated when treated.



Here's the millet. It's pretty tasty, but it looks like birdseed. It is birdseed.



You stir all of the ingredients together and press it into your dehydrator. Our dehydrator is round, so my bars were oddly shaped when I sliced them. Oopsies.



You know what? These were pretty good! They taste healthy and delicious, and I was instantly energized when I ate them. Or that could have been the coffee. Meh.



I loved, loved the cashews and coconut. SO good. I hope I didn't bore you with this post, but I imagine I did. I think raw food diets are interesting and I admire those who can stick with them. I'll make it up to you in the next post: Devil's Food Cake with Chocolate Frosting. Wheeeee!

Sugar Plum Raw Bars (By Me)
Printable Recipe

1/4 cup agave nectar
3 tablespoons raw almond butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup gluten free, raw oats
1/2 cup unsweetened flaked coconut
1/2 cup finely chopped raw cashews
1/3 cup millet
1/3 cup milled flax seed
1/4 cup sesame seeds
1 cup finely chopped dried mixed fruit

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together agave, almond butter, vanilla and salt until combined and smooth; stir in oats, coconut, cashews, millet, flax, sesame and fruit until well combined. At this point, I flattened the dough in my dehydrator to a 1/4-inch thickness. But you could mold it into whatever shape you wanted.

Dehydrate at 105 degrees for 10 hours, or until desired consistency. Slice into bars.

Makes around 15 bars, depending on how you slice them

Mini Chocolate Chip Turtle Cookies

I went shopping with my mom today and it was fabulous! She's the best person to shop with. She's ever-so-patient and can shop all day long. Mom also knows where to find the best deals.
Did I forget to mention she does the driving when we go shopping, and keeps me entertained with stories? She's a gem, I tell ya.

We shopped and looked around for townhouse stuff for me, but we both ended up buying clothes instead. :D You can't pass up the good deals at Marshalls. Have you ever checked out their gourmet food section in there? It's amazing.

So the list of what I need for the new place isn't too bad. Eric actually already has a lot of the stuff that would be necessary. Thank youuuu! He has furniture and everything! What a man. I have a few things I will be contributing myself.

Umm, I have a KitchenAid mixer - whoo! I bet he'll love using that. I have an unused blender I won in a contest. I have wine glasses I won in a contest. So if he wants to make a margarita or have a glass of pinot, he's all set.

I do have a few things to buy. In order of importance:
-Espresso machine
-Bed frame. Mattress? (Is a fifteen year old mattress too old?)
-Rugs
-Bookshelf
-Picture to hang over the electrical panel in my room.
-Various pots and pans, dishes, cups, etc.

I'm sure there's so much more, I just haven't thought of it yet. My main concern is the espresso machine. I don't know what would happen if I didn't have an espresso machine.
Something bad would happen...

Dramatic Chipmunk sound bite

The days ahead will be stressful with moving and buying things, but I know something that will make me feel better. Cookie baking and cookie eating.

Cookies are my favorite things to bake, except for pies, maybe. I made these mini cookies the other night. They're Mini Chocolate Chip Turtle Cookies, and they're like chocolate chip cookies except they have pecans and mini chocolate chips in the batter and are topped with caramel.

Try them out this weekend! Tootles.

Mini Chocolate Chip Turtle Cookies (By Me)
Printable Recipe

1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup lightly packed brown sugar
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips
1/2 cup finely chopped pecans, toasted
Melted caramel, for drizzling

Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat; cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring frequently, until butter browns and starts to foam. Remove from heat to cool.

In a medium mixing bowl, sift together flour, baking soda and salt. In a large mixing bowl, using a mixer on medium speed, beat together melted browned butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar until creamy - about 1-2 minutes. Beat in egg and vanilla until combined. Reduce mixer speed to low and gradually beat in flour until just combined; stir in chocolate chips and pecans until combined. Chill dough in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Coat cookie sheets with cooking spray.

Roll dough into balls (about 2 teaspoons per ball), place on cookie sheets, and flatten using the palms of your hands. Bake 8 minutes or until set and light golden. Cool on wire racks. Drizzle with melted caramel.

Basmati-Coconut Rice Pudding

W ow. Such nice responses about our move! Your comments made me feel even more positive and excited about moving. Thank you for the support. :)

I started packing things up yesterday. I have three weeks before I have to move, and I don't want to wait until the last minute. Especially because I know something in particular is going to be keeping me busy in the first two weeks of March. But more on that another day.

Packing is NOT fun. There's a lot of work and dust involved. And trash bags.
There isn't a lot of storage in the townhouse, so I have to limit what I can take. That means a lot of stuff is getting thrown away or going towards a garage sale.

Things I have discovered in my bedroom that got thrown in the trash:

-A bottle of Orangina from 2004.

-A sculpture of my foot from art class.

-A walkman, under my bed, which I've never seen in my life.

-Titanic (the movie) memorabilia.

Would anyone like to buy Babysitter's Club dolls? I have Dawn, Mary Anne, and Mallory. I'd prefer to sell Mallory because I never really liked her that much. She was kind of nerdy, always writing in her journal and complaining about her big family.

I also have an empty Wheaties box circa 1996 featuring the Olympic gymnastics team.

Just think about it. Make me an offer and we'll see if we can do business.



Transition time. Whenever I get hungry from all of this packing, I eat a big bowl of Basmati-Coconut Rice Pudding, and boy does it suffice.

That's not true at all... I made this weeks ago, but that's okay.

This is the best rice pudding you will ever have in your life, I guarantee it. It's so simple and delicious, and I plan on making it over and over again. I used basmati rice (which is my favorite), coconut milk (makes it nice and rich!), sugar, vanilla bean and yogurt (for a little kick).

The best part is the toasted coconut topping. I love the crunchy texture with the soft rice pudding. So good, folks.

Basmati-Coconut Rice Pudding (By Me)
Printable Recipe

1 3/4 cups coconut milk
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/2 a vanilla bean, seeds scraped out
3/4 cup basmati rice
1/2 cup unsweetened yogurt
1/2 cup toasted coconut

Whisk together coconut milk, sugar and vanilla together, in a small saucepan, over medium heat, and bring to a boil; stir in rice, cover, reduce heat to to low, and simmer rice for 20-25 minutes, or until softened, and pudding had thickened up; whisk in yogurt.

Serve warm or chilled, topped with toasted coconut

Makes 4 servings

Gluten-Free Sugar Cookies

H ey everyone! Happy Friday.

Thank you for stopping by! I don't think I tell you guys how much I appreciate you enough. Thank you for visiting, and thank you, thank you for your lovely comments. I love reading them.

Everyone is very respectful and thoughtful... I don't get very many mean comments, and I'm thankful for that. I have noticed I'm getting more spam lately in my comments. SO annoying. I hope I don't have to start using a captcha... I hate those. I'm trying to figure out what I did to deserve all of this spam! I suppose the longer you've had a website, the more spam you get? I keeping getting spam for this. Not cool.

Here's another thing I've noticed: My blog reading and commenting has slacked off as the years go by. More so on the commenting. I love reading blogs, but I'm not so much of a commenter anymore. I think I've grown lazy. But I'm still reading! I promise.

Before we get to the cookies - two things.

I have new hair! I finally got it fixed again and it's glorious. I'll post before and after pictures later this weekend. :) Teehee. Also, I'll have an announcement this weekend as well. It's exciting for me!




The other day I waited on a little boy who had severe food allergies, and my heart went out to him. He was allergic to eggs, milk, nuts, soy, barley and corn. Poor boy! I felt so bad for him. I did my best to find something on the menu he could eat.

I've been experimenting with my baking lately to create recipes for people who have food allergies. Mostly vegan and gluten-free recipes.

I've been using white (and brown) rice flour in my gluten-free recipes, and it works AMAZINGLY. For cakes it creates a nice, fluffy texture, and for cookies it makes them tender and crumbly. I like it.

I made some Valentine's Day sugar cookies with white rice flour, sugar, butter and cream cheese, and then frosted them with a chocolate-cream cheese frosting.

Yaaaaaay. Cookies! Have a happy Valentine's Day! Give your loved ones some smooches for me.

Gluten Free Sugar Cookies (By Me)
Printable Recipe

1 1/2 cups white rice flour
2 teaspoons meringue powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
4 ounces cream cheese
1 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Frosting
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1/4 cup cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
2 ounces semisweet chocolate, melted

Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Coat cookie sheets with cooking spray.

To make the cookies, in a medium mixing bowl, stir together white rice flour, meringue powder, baking powder and salt. In a large mixing bowl, using a mixer on medium speed, beat together butter, cream cheese and granulated sugar until creamy - about 1-2 minutes. Beat in egg and vanilla until combined. Reduce mixer speed to low and gradually beat in flour mixture until combined. Chill dough for 30-45 minutes in the refrigerator, or until firm.

Sprinkle additional rice flour on a work surface, and roll out in batches, to a 1/4-inch thickness. Cut out heart shapes and place on cookie sheets. Bake 8-10 minutes or until light golden and set. Cool 2 minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.

To make the frosting, in a medium mixing bowl, using mixer on medium speed, beat together butter and cream cheese until creamy - about 1 minute. Beat in confectioners' sugar until combined. Beat in melted chocolate until combined. Spread frosting on cookies.

Makes 3 dozen cookies

Almond Joy Truffles

I love seeing boxes of chocolates, conversation hearts, cards, gifts, and roses at the stores around Valentine's Day. I know that stuff is pretty cheesy, but it puts me in the mood for the big day.

I love Valentine's Day! I've loved it my whole life. My family used to exchange little gifts every year. Jewelry, music, and chocolates, of course. Russell Stover's Chocolates, that is. The crème de la crème of chocolates. ;) They're really good! My favorite chocolate in the heart-shaped box has always been the coconut one. What's your favorite?

Buttercream?
Nut clusters?
Nougat?
Toffee?
Caramel?
Milk Chocolate Messenger Boy?

The other day, a friend at work asked me what she should give her boyfriend for Valentine's Day. I think the best gifts are homemade, and she likes to bake, so I told her the best gift she could give him would be some kind of cake, chocolate covered strawberries, or TRUFFLES!



Truffles are easy and fun to make, and everyone loves them. They're really the perfect gift to give your loved ones.

I heat butter and cream in a saucepan, then turn the heat off and stir in the chocolate. When the chocolate is cooled, you roll it into balls to make truffles! For these truffles I rolled the chocolate around a toasted almond, and then rolled the chocolate into toasted coconut.

They're so good! I love Almond Joys. Do you? I think Almond Joy lovers might be rare.

Almond Joy Truffles (By Me)
Printable Recipe

1/3 cup heavy cream
4 tablespoons butter
8 ounces dark chocolate, coarsely chopped
20 almonds, toasted
1 1/4 cups sweetened flaked coconut, toasted

In a small saucepan, over medium-low heat, heat cream and butter until hot. Turn heat off, and stir in chocolate until melted. Chill chocolate in the freezer or refrigerator until firm. Roll chocolate into 20 balls and place almonds in the centers of them. Roll truffles into coconut.

Makes 20 truffles