Chocolate chip coconut cookies

I once told you how much I love hopping from one link to another, then another, and another... I still do that a lot – old habits do die hard, I guess. :D

I needed to finish up a bag of shredded coconut – impulsive purchasing, anyone? – and my much beloved Food Blog Search got me here, then Memoria got me here... And Sheena’s recipe ended up in my oven.

These cookies are delicious and were a hit at Joao’s work – I hope you give them a try!

Chocolate chip coconut cookies

½ cup (113g/1 stick) of unsalted butter, room temperature
¼ cup (50g) granulated sugar
¾ cup (131g) light brown sugar, packed
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 ½ cups (210g) all purpose flour
¾ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
1 ½ cups (150g) shredded sweetened coconut
225g (½ lb) dark chocolate chips/chunks

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F; line two large baking sheets with baking paper.
Cream the butter and the sugars until light and creamy, but not fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Continue mixing while adding the egg - make sure it is incorporated. Add the vanilla. Scrape down the bowl with a spatula again. Combine the flour, soda and salt in another bowl. With a whisk, stir to combine. With the machine on low, slowly add the flour. Mix until just combined, taking care not to over mix. With a spatula fold in the chocolate and coconut.
Roll 1 slightly rounded tablespoon of dough into a ball, place onto prepared sheets 5cm (2in) apart, then slightly press each dough ball down with your hand.
Bake for 11-13 minutes or until lightly golden on the outside but still look gooey on the inside.

Makes about 45

Vanilla cheesecake with blueberry lemon sauce

I told you I had an addiction – if you did not believe me then, you might start believing me now. :D

There is one thing different, however: this time I went for blueberries instead of blackberries, as in Natalie’s recipe. Just don’t ask me which one I like more – you know I have trouble picking favorites. :D

Vanilla cheesecake with blueberry lemon sauce
from Donna Hay magazine and here

Base:
125g digestive/shortbread cookies – I used these, Ana’s suggestion
½ cup (50g) almond meal (ground almonds)
3 tablespoons (42g) unsalted butter, melted

Cheesecake:
370g ricotta
370g cream cheese
1 1/3 cups (267g) caster sugar
3 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Blueberry lemon syrup:
1 cup blueberries, fresh or frozen
¾ cup (150g) caster sugar
1 tablespoon lemon zest
3 tablespoons lemon juice
¼ cup (60ml) water
1 tablespoon corn starch

Preheat the oven to 140°C/285°F.
Make the base: process cookies in a food processor until crushed. Add the almond meal and butter and process until combined. Grease a round 22cm springform pan*. Press the crumb mix over the base and refrigerate.
Place the ricotta and cream cheese in a food processor and process until smooth. Add the sugar, eggs and vanilla and process until combined and smooth. Pour the mixture over the base and bake for 55-60 minutes or until set.
In the meantime, make the sauce: combine the blueberries, sugar, lemon zest and juice in a non-reactive saucepan. Whisk together the water and cornstarch in a small bowl and add to the saucepan. Turn the heat on to medium and let simmer until thickened, about 10 – 12 minutes – while the mixture is simmering, squash the berries with a fork. Let cool completely.
Remove the cheesecake from the oven and allow to cool in the pan. Serve with the sauce.

* I made 2/3 of the recipe above (for the base and cheesecake) and used a loose-bottomed 20cm (8in) round cake pan

Serves 8-10

Honey and gingerbread cakes

A couple of days ago I was talking here about how the holiday season brings me down - I saw panettones at the supermarket and realized that Christmas is just around the corner. On the other hand, I love holiday food – I’ve been planning a special series of holiday posts, like the one I did last year, but luckily with more recipes this time.

It’s too soon to start the holiday series around here, I know, but I could not resist making these cakes – they’re on the DH mag I received last Friday.

Honey and gingerbread cakes
from Donna Hay magazine

¼ cup honey
¼ cup corn syrup
½ cup brown sugar, packed
¾ cup whole milk
¾ cup (105g) all purpose flour
1 ¼ teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
pinch of freshly ground nutmeg
65g unsalted butter, cold and chopped
1 egg
icing sugar, to serve

Preheat the oven to 180°C; butter twelve 1/3 cup (80ml) capacity mini bundt pans*.
Place the honey, corn syrup, sugar and milk in a small saucepan over medium heat and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Set aside to cool until lukewarm.
Place the flour, baking powder, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, allspice, nutmeg and butter in a food processor and process until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. While the motor is running, gradually add the honey mixture and process until smooth. Add the egg and process for 1 minute. Spoon the mixture into the prepared pans and bake for 20-25 minutes or until risen and golden and a skewer inserted in the center of the cakes comes out clean. Cool the cakes in the pan for 10 minutes then carefully unmold. Cool completely on a wire rack. Dust with icing sugar to serve.

* I made the exact recipe and used four 1 cup (240ml) capacity bundt pans

Makes 12

Butterscotch pots

You almost got another panna cotta here today. :)

I think of panna cotta every time I need to use up heavy cream before it goes bad – what changed my mind this time, you might ask? The poor lonely egg yolks left from the buttercream on my MIL’s birthday cake. :D

These pots are delicious but also very, very rich – small cups are the way to go here.

Butterscotch pots
from Sticky, Chewy, Messy, Gooey

6 tablespoons (84g) unsalted butter
1 ½ cups (262g) dark brown sugar, packed
3 ½ cups (840ml) heavy cream
¾ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon Scotch whisky or Irish whiskey
9 large egg yolks
sweetened whipped cream, to serve (optional)

Preheat the oven to 325°F/160°C.
In a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan, combine the butter and brown sugar and melt together over medium heat and bring to a boil. Boil for 1 minute and then stir in ½ cup of the cream. Stir until the mixture is smooth and combined. Remove from the heat and stir in the remaining 3 cups of cream, the salt, vanilla and whiskey.
In a large bowl, whisk the egg yolks until smooth. Gradually whisk in the cream until smooth – whisk continuously to avoid cooking the yolks. Strain the custard through a fine sieve into a large container with a pouring spout. Divide the custard among 8 ovenproof ramekins/cups.
Place the ramekins in a large roasting pan. Place the roasting pan in the oven and pour boiling water into the pan until it reaches halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Cover the roasting pan with foil and pierce it in several places to allow steam to escape.
Bake the custards just until set around the edges and still slightly wobbly in the center, 45-60 minutes. Remove the custards from the oven and then from the water bath; set aside to cool completely then refrigerate, covered with plastic wrap, until well chilled, at least 4 hours for up to overnight. Top the custards with a dollop of whipped cream, if desired, and serve (I dusted the cream with a little cocoa powder).

Serves 8 - I made 1/3 of the recipe above and used 200ml capacity cups

Nibby whole wheat sablés

I’ve been having lots of fun with this beautiful book lately – Anh, Ana Elisa and I will probably start a fan club for Alice Medrich any day now. :D

Besides being a terrific baker, Ms. Medrich has a great sense of humor: it’s written on her recipe that these (delicious) cookies can be stored for 1 month – like they are going to last that long. :D

Nibby whole wheat sablés
from Pure Dessert

1 cup (140g) all purpose flour
scant 1 cup (112g) whole wheat flour
1 cup (2 sticks/226g) unsalted butter, softened
½ cup (200g) caster sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ cup cacao nibs

Whisk the all purpose and whole wheat flours together in a medium bowl. Set aside.
In the large bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter with the sugar, salt and vanilla for about 1 minute, until smooth and creamy but not fluffy. Mix in the cacao nibs. Add the flours and mix just until incorporated. Scrape the dough into a mass and, if necessary, knead with your hands a few times, just until smooth.
Divide the dough in half and shape each half into a log – each should be 5cm (2in) in diameter. Wrap in baking paper – look how Martha does it here – and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or, preferably, overnight.
Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F; line two large baking sheets with baking paper. Use a sharp knife to cut the logs of dough into 6mm (¼ in) slices. Place the cookies on the prepared sheets 1.25cm (½ in) apart. Bake until the cookies are light golden brown at the edges, 12-14 minutes, rotating the baking sheets halfway through the baking. Let the cookies firm up on the pans for about 1 minute, then carefully transfer them to a wire rack using a wide metal spatula.
Cookies can be stored in an airtight container for up to 1 month.

Makes 48 – I halved the recipe above and got 23 cookies