Chewy Chocolate Coconut PinwheelsMakes 12Dough
3/4 cup sweetened coconut ( I used Baker’s)1/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup shortening ( I used Spectrum’s Organic Palm Oil, it was pricy, but nice to work with)
1 T. corn syrup
2 T. water
½ t. vanilla
1 cup flour
1/4 t. baking soda
1/8 t. saltGanache
3 ounces safe chocolate chips ( I used Divvies)
1 heaping tablespoon soy creamer ( I used Silk vanilla)1.) Put the coconut in a food processor and chop the heck out of it. Keep chopping it down until it is fine.
2.) In a medium bowl, cream the brown and white sugar with the shortening with a hand mixer. Add the corn syrup and water and beat until smooth and fluffy. It will curdle and separate for a bit, but should come back together if you beat it enough. Add the chopped coconut and beat again.
3.) In a small bowl, mix the flour, soda and salt together. Whisk to mix the ingredients.
4.) Pour the flour mixture into the shortening and sugar mixture. Mix carefully with the hand mixer on low until the dry ingredients are just incorporated. Don’t over-beat or the cookies will be tough.
6.) Place the dough between two pieces of plastic wrap. Roll out to a rectangle, about 7 x 8 inches. Set in the refrigerator to chill for about 30 minutes.
7.) To make the ganache, microwave the chocolate chips and soy creamer until melted, 10 seconds at a time mixing well between zaps. If the mixture seems particularly thick, add a splash more creamer and whisk well. Allow the mixture to cool and thicken slightly.
8.) Remove the dough from the refrigerator, remove the top layer of plastic wrap and orient the dough so the short edge is at your waist and it spreads out longer in front. Spread the ganache over the surface of the dough. Spread to all the edges, except the top edge. Allow 1/4 inch of chocolate-free space at the top. Allow the ganache to firm up a bit before trying to roll the dough up.
9.) Now is the time for guts. In your best Julia Child voice, belt out “Never Apologize!” and get moving. Starting at the front edge, carefully starting rolling the dough. Use the plastic wrap underneath the dough to help guide it. Stop to patch any major cracks. If the ganache squirts out everywhere, pause until it hardens up a bit. Wrap the whole beautiful log up in the plastic wrap, squeeze it back into shape, tap the ends gently into a nice log and place it in the refrigerator to chill for 30 minutes or so.
10.) Preheat oven to 350. Cut the log into 1/2 inch slices. Turn the log a bit after each slice to keep the shape round as you slice. Bake on a parchment-lined baking sheet for 10-12 minutes, until the tops just turn golden brown. They are crumbly when hot, so allow the baked cookies to rest on the cookie sheet for a few minutes before transferring to a rack to cool.
Barely unpacked from Disney and school Valentine’s Day parties hover. This is not a time for panic or for any unpredictable recipes. This is the time for Rice Krispie Treats. OK, so Rice Krispie treats with a little spunk. I don’t know what it is about making Rice Krispie Treats that makes me feel so fully ‘a mom.’ It is also impossible not to smile when making them…even when under pressure. This is basically a double batch, pressed into a sheet pan, cut out, stuck on a stick and drizzled. The left-over scraps are for the chef (or for any little vultures at your ankles).
Rice Krispie Heart Pops2 10-ounce bags of marshmallows
1/2 stick of dairy-free margarine ( I used Fleishmann’s Unsalted Margarine)
12 cups Rice Krispie cereal (or the cheaper Target brand!)1.) In a microwave safe bowl, melt the marshmallows and margarine for 30 seconds at a time until soft. I think it took about 1 1/2 minutes for me. Stir until smooth.
2.) Measure the cereal into another, really big bowl. Dump the warm marshmallow mixture over the cereal and mix everything together.
3.) Line a sheet pan with some foil and press the mixture into the pan. Press down hard. Let the mixture cool.
4.) Remove the slab of treats to a cutting board, cut into shapes and insert the popsicle stick.
5.) Decorate as you wish. I made the pink icing with a little powdered sugar, some water and pink food coloring. I made the chocolate by melting some Enjoy Life chocolate chips in the microwave with a little shortening.
6.) Wrap in sandwich baggies secured with twisty ties or ribbon.Makes about 20, depending on the size of your hearts
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Ingredients:
1 tenderloin medallion
1 ½ cups Merlot red wine
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 onion, chopped
1 jalapeno pepper, chopped
1 piece of dark chocolate, chopped
2 tbsp olive oil
Salt and pepper
Preparing:
Fry the onion, jalapeno pepper and garlic i…
Continue reading about Tenderloin with Wine and Chocolate Sauce for Valentine’s Day
Ingredients:
200 g fresh mozzarella cheese, diced
1 American lettuce, chopped
1 red apple, diced
2 slices bread, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
½ red onion, shredded
Vegetable oil and butter
Vinaigrette:
70 g bittersweet chocolate, chopped
4 oz olive o…
Continue reading about Valentine Salad with Chocolate Vinaigrette
A safe granola bar is not easy, or cheap, to come by. When we went to Disney last year, I splurged on a whole box of goodies from peanutfreeplanet.com and some NoNuttin granola bars were in the mix. The kids loved them, but at $1.50 a bar, it was a bit much for a casual treat. After a lot of trial and error, I came up with this chewy granola bar recipe that is wheat-free, egg-free, dairy-free and nut-free. And for my little buddy Kierra, they can be corn-free as well! This year, we’ll pack these for Disney and save the money for some glass slippers instead.
This recipe uses brown rice syrup rather than corn syrup. I’m pretty sure when it comes down to it, there really aren’t any major health benefits to brown rice syrup over corn syrup. Sugar is sugar. I think it just makes me feel better using brown rice syrup, and it gets rid of one more allergen! As far as cost, around here it runs about $5 for a jar of Lundberg syrup and you can get two batches out of one jar (7 cents per bar for sweetener).
You can mix up the flavors, we live in cherry country here in Michigan, so dried cherries are not hard to come by, but other dried fruits would be great. For chocolate, I use the dark chocolate chunks from NoNuttin, they are seriously chocolaty, not really sweet at all and perfect with the sweet cherries. The coconut is something I’m sneaking in. Coconut allergies are apparently pretty uncommon, my kids just refuse it on the basis of texture. Elective refusal of a good-fat item is simply not an option around here, so I sneak the coconut in. I use regular Baker’s sweetened coconut, but I chop it down fine in the food processor.
Chewy Dark Chocolate and Sweet Cherry Granola Bars1 cup sweetened shredded coconut (you can chop it down if your kids are squirmy about the texture)
2 cups old fashioned oats
2 cups quick oats
2 cups Rice Krispies (Erewhon makes a corn-free version)
3/4 cup dried cherries, chopped1/2 jar Lundberg brown rice syrup (3/4 cup or so)
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 T. avocado oil or other vegetable oil
1 t. vanilla1/2 cup safe chocolate chips
1.) Mix the coconut, oats, rice cereal, and cherries in a big bowl.
2.) In a small saucepan, heat the brown rice syrup and salt until just boiling and everything is dissolved, allow to boil for 30 seconds or so.
3.) Remove from the heat and add the oil and vanilla.
4.) Pour the syrup over the dried mixture and stir around until everything is well-coated.
5.) Dump into a parchment or foil-lined pan. I have a ‘quarter’ sheet pan that works great, a 9 x 13, or half of a jelly roll pan would work as well. Spread everything out well to cool, but don’t press anything down. Leave the top all lumpy bumpy.
6.) When the granola has cooled enough not to completely melt the choclolate, you can sprinkle the chips on top. Let everything cool a bit more before pressing the mixture down really well. The chips are the trickiest part. If you put them on early, they melt into a sticky mess. If you wait too long, the granola has cooled and the chips won’t stick into the bars. Either way, it’s chocolate. Your kid won’t care too much.
7.) Let the granola block cool and then chop into bars and wrap in plastic. I usually let slab sit overnight before cutting and wrapping so allow the bars to firm up. Makes about 36.
Homemade chewy granola bars recipe, wheat-free granola bars recipe, dairy-free granola bars recipe, nut-free granola bars recipe, corn-free granolas bar recipe, chewy vegan granola bar recipe,
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Christmas baking is alway so fun around here. The sheer poundage of sugar I go through is staggering. Granted, half those experiments end out in the trash, but sugar is cheap! This dairy-free peppermint patty recipe has been a stand-by for a few years now, no expirimenting needed. The recipe is very fun to make, kind of like playing with peppermint playdough. Your hands smell wonderful afterwards!
If you really want to feel like a mad scientist, you can add a cool something called ‘invertase’ to the filling. Invertase is an enzyme that catalyzes the breakdown of sucrose (table sugar) into fructose and glucose. Honeybees use it to make honey. Confectioners use it to liquify solid sugar, like in chocolate covered cherries or in Junior Mints. You can make these candies without the invertase, they will be firm like a chilled York peppermint patty. If you’d like to try a softer, gooeyer mint like an After Eight, order up some invertase. I bought mine through Sugarcraft, a terribly addicting website.
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
2 T. corn syrup
1 1/2 T. water
1 T. peppermint extract
1 T. coconut oil or shortening
1 t. invertase (totally optional, but fun
pinch of salt
1 cup safe chocolate chips ( I used Divvies)
1-2t. coconut oil or shortening
1.) Beat 2 cups powdered sugar with the rest of the ingredients in a mixer with the paddle attachment until smooth. Add the remaining 1/2 cup of powdered sugar slowly, mixing until smooth and relatively firm.
2.) Shape into a log, 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Wrap in plastic wrap and freeze. You can keep frozen for a long time.
3.) To finish the candy, slice the log into 1/4 inch thick rounds, reshape as needed and refreeze on a waxed paper lined cookie sheet while you melt the chocolate.
4.) This is the cheaters method of ‘tempering’ chocolate. I am simply unable to temper chocolate. I don’t even want to admit how many books, methods and thermometers I’ve used. I know my limitations. Melt the chocolate in the microwave slowly, 10-20 seconds at a time and mixing between zaps. When the chocolate is almost completely melted, add the coconut oil or shortening and stir until smooth. Add more oil if the chocolate seems too thick to dip. Don’t add too much or the chocolate will be soft when finished at room temp. This isn’t the worst thing in the world, it just makes for messy eating.
5.) Using a plastic fork with the middle tines snapped off, dip the frozen patties in chocolate, flipping once and shaking off the excess. Set them on waxed paper to harden. Sprinkle with crushed candy canes if you want.
6.) The patties can be stored in the refirgerator for a few weeks. If you used invertase, keep them at room temperature for a few days to allow the enzyme to work to liquify the solid sugar. The enzyme doesn’t work well when cold. You can refrigerate them after the room temp resting period for longer storage.
Perfect Vegan Peppermint Patty Recipe, Perfect Dairy-Free Peppermint Patty Recipe, Perfect Homemade Peppermint Patty Recipe.
I’m not much into teas; not that I dislike them… it’s only that I haven’t given them a chance!…
Get the rest in my blog! See you there!
Continue reading about Chocolate and Walnuts Cake for High Tea Times
As much as I love being busy with my blog, Magazine Mondays and The Daring Kitchen, there is a downside.
Unfortunately, I don’t often have a lot of time to read other blogs and that is a shame because I know I’m missing a lot.
When I do have some time to visit other blogs, I’m [...]
Continue reading about Cooking Italy: Marcella Hazan’s Italian Chocolate Mousse
The September 2009 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Steph of A Whisk and a Spoon. She chose the French treat, Vols-au-Vent based on the Puff Pastry recipe by Michel Richard from the cookbook Baking with Julia by Dorie Greenspan.
Before I left for Italy, I knew that Steph of A Whisk and a Spoon would [...]
From the age of 14 until 20, I spent every summer working in various ice cream shops, everything from the little local stores all the way up to the big time…a real authentic Dairy Queen. At Dairy Queen, the secrets of the Buster Bar, Dilly Bar, DQ Sandwich and the Perfect DQ curl were finally revealed. I wish I could say that all those summers ruined me from ice cream, but I’m pretty resiliant. I probably eat ice cream every day in one form or another. The DQ Sandwich is still my favorite little treat, and I’m happy to present the Non-Dairy Queen Sandwich.
Now, there are plenty of dairy and egg-free ice cream sandwiches available at the grocery store made by Tofutti or So Delicious. But those are soft sandwiches, not to mention that the Tofutti chocolate cookie is made of some crazy mix of cocoa and glue because it sticks terribly to toddler fingers and teeth. These are crisp cookies, and super chocolatey. The ice cream is so easy to make, I’m a bit embarrased to post it…but after all that hard work on the cookies you deserve a break!
NDQ Sandwiches(Dairy-Free and Egg-Free Ice Cream Sandwiches)1 1/2 cups cake flour (I used Swan’s Down, be careful…Pillsbury Softasilk has egg and dairy.)
3/4 cup cocoa powder ( I used Nestle)
1 1/4 cup powdered sugar
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 3/4 sticks (14T) dairy-free margarine, room temp ( I used Fleischmann’s Unsalted Margarine)1.) I found these to be pretty fussy as far as measuring goes. For the flour, cocoa and powdered sugar, I first fluffed up the item to be measured with a spoon or my measuring cup and then scooped with the measuring cup and leveled off with a knife.
2.) Place everything except the margarine into a food processor and pulse a few times to mix.
3.) Slice the margarine into the food processor bowl.
4.) Pulse about 8-10 times until the margarine is well blended, the mixture is still crumbly and hasn’t come together into a ball yet.
5.) Dump the crumbly mixture onto a piece of plastic wrap and form into a flat disk.
6.) Refrigerate for at least an hour.
7.) Roll out to 1/4 inch thickness and cut into 3 inch rounds or hearts. I have a really cool set of nesting fluted round cutters that I got from Amazon, which I use all the time, the biggest size is perfect. Decorate with toothpick or cookie cutter impressions if you want.
8.) Place the cookies on a parchment or Silpat-lined baking sheet and place in the freezer.
9.) Preheat the oven to 350 while the cookies freeze.
10.) Bake for 10-12 minutes. They should puff up, then flatten out. When they start smelling good, they’re probably ready.
11.) Let them rest on the baking sheet for a few minutes before moving to a cooling rack, they’re pretty fragile when hot.
12.) When cool, you can fill them with ice cream and freeze. Because the cookies are crisp, make sure the whole sandwich is well frozen before eating…otherwise the ice cream slides out!The World’s Easiest Dairy-Free and Egg-Free Vanilla Ice Cream3 cups mini-marshmallows or 20 big ones
3 cups Silk Vanilla Creamer (about 1 1/2 pints)1.) In a microwave safe bowl, melt the marshmallows, 30 seconds at a time. Slowely pour in the creamer, wisking everything together until smooth.
2.) Freeze in an ice cream maker. I have a Cuisinart, which works really well. Williams-Sonoma has a deal right now with an extra bowl, which is great to have.
