Coconut Macaroons

We have just finished up the spring holiday season.  Passover and Easter were the same weekend this year and everywhere I looked there were coconut desserts galore, especially coconut macaroons.  I decided that this, and the fact that I had every ingredient needed to make these little desserts in my panty, was a sign... so I whipped up a batch.

I looked at quite a few macaroon recipes and they were all pretty similar.  I decided on this version from Ina Garten because she used a can of sweetened condensed milk, which is awesome. I think I'm going to add these into my dessert rotation.  They were really easy to make and the ingredient list is small.

Note:  If you are looking to make these for Passover I can't attest to the Kosherness (is that a word?) of them.

 

Coconut Macaroons:
(Ina Garten)

Ingredients:
14 ounces sweetened shredded coconut

14 ounces sweetened condensed milk

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 extra-large egg whites, at room temperature
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

Combine the coconut, condensed milk, and vanilla in a large bowl. Whip the egg whites and salt on high speed in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment until they make medium-firm peaks. Carefully fold the egg whites into the coconut mixture.

Drop the batter onto sheet pans lined with parchment paper using either a 1 3/4-inch diameter ice cream scoop, or 2 teaspoons.

 

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until golden brown. Cool and serve.

Baked Sweet Potato Fries

I love sweet potatoes.  I will eat them pretty much anyway I can.  I've had a bunch of sweet potatoes to use up since Thanksgiving and this is one of the ways I've been eating them.

Baked Sweet Potato Fries:
(Ina Garten- Barefoot Contessa)

2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled
2 tablespoons good olive oil
1 tablespoon light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, plus extra for sprinkling
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper


Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.

Halve the sweet potatoes lengthwise and cut each half into 3 long spears. Place them on a sheet pan and toss with the olive oil. Spread the potatoes in one layer. Combine the brown sugar, salt, and pepper and sprinkle on the potatoes. Bake for 15 minutes and then turn with a spatula. Bake for another 5 to 10 minutes, until lightly browned. Sprinkle lightly with salt and serve hot.

Roasted Broccoli

Mr. T and I both love broccoli.  It's a staple in our house and I'm always looking for new ways to prepare it. This is a basic preparation from Ina Garten but something amazing happens when it is roasted in the oven.

Roasted Broccoli:
(adapted from Ina Garten)

4 to 5 pounds broccoli
4 garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced
Olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Cut the broccoli florets off of the stalks, leaving an inch or two of stalk attached to the florets, discarding the rest of the stalks. Cut the larger pieces through the base of the head with a small knife, pulling the florets apart. You should have about 8 cups of florets. (for the two of us I just cut up 1 head of broccoli and adjusted everything else to taste).

Place the broccoli florets on a sheet pan large enough to hold them in a single layer. Toss the garlic on the broccoli and drizzle with 5 tablespoons olive oil. Sprinkle with the salt and pepper. Roast for 20 to 25 minutes, until crisp-tender and the tips of some of the florets are browned.  (I turned everything in the pan about half way through, but you probably don't have to)


Remove the broccoli from the oven and immediately toss with the lemon zest, lemon juice, and Parmesan. Serve hot.

Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Bacon

I've never been a big fan of brussels sprouts but I've decided to try them again.  I also wanted to knock something off of my list of 2011 cooking resolutions.  I found a recipe from Ina Garten that looked fantastic, added bacon and garlic, and went to town.  They were really crisp on the outside and still tender on the inside.

Maybe brussels sprouts are back on the rotation.

Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Bacon:
(adapted from Ina Garten)

½ pounds Brussels Sprouts, cleaned and sliced in half
3 cloves garlic, pressed
½ cups Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Divided
2 slices bacon, chopped


Toss the Brussels sprouts, 3 pressed garlic cloves and 2 tablespoons olive oil.

Empty the contents into a ovenproof dish and roast at 350 degrees for 40 minutes.


In a skillet, add the bacon and cook until just crispy.

Add the Brussels sprouts and heat through for an additional 3 minutes. Remove from heat.

Thumbprint Cookies

Thumbprint cookies are perfect for a holiday cookie exchange.  They're small and something a little different.

Thumbprint Cookies:
(adapted from Ina Garten)

Ingredients:
1 cup of butter (2 sticks or 8 ounces), room temperature
1/2 cup of sugar
2 eggs, room temperature
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
Pinch of salt
2 cups of flour
1 cup of chopped nuts or coconut (optional)
3/4 cup of blackberry or strawberry jam
Parchment paper

Directions:

Cream the butter and sugar on high speed for about 3 minutes.

Separate the eggs. Add the yolks and vanilla extract to the butter mixture. If using nuts place the egg whites in a shallow dish on the side and whisk them until bubbly and frothy (the egg whites will be used to keep the nuts on the cookies).

Add the flour and salt. Mix until just combined. Place the dough in the fridge for 30 minutes and preheat the oven to 350F.


Roll the dough into balls about 1 inch in diameter. Place the balls on parchment lined cookie sheets.

Press down with your thumb to make a small well in the center of the cookie. Do not press too hard or the cookie will fall apart. Fill with 1/2 teaspoon of jam.

Bake for 12-15 minutes or until slightly firm. Allow to cool for a few minutes on the cookie sheet to firm up before moving them to a wire rack to finish cooling.

I rolled some of the cookies in coconut before I put them in the oven.  Just give them a little bit of an egg wash before you put the coconut on them so it sticks.

Brownies

I made brownies recently.  I love brownies.  I think that they are quite possibly my favorite dessert.  I like them with nuts (pecans if I have the choice).

These were really easy to make and turned out great.


Chocolate Pecan Brownies
(adapted from Ina Garten)


Ingredients

1 pound unsalted butter
1 pound plus 12 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
6 ounces unsweetened chocolate
6 extra-large eggs

2 tablespoons pure vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups sugar
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
3 cups pecans (halves)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Butter and flour a 12 x 18 x 1-inch baking sheet.

Melt together the butter, 1 pound of chocolate chips, and the unsweetened chocolate in a medium bowl over simmering water. Allow to cool slightly. In a large bowl, stir (do not beat) together the eggs, vanilla, and sugar. Stir the warm chocolate mixture into the egg mixture and allow to cool to room temperature.

In a medium bowl, sift together 1 cup of flour, the baking powder, and salt. Add to the cooled chocolate mixture. Toss the walnuts and 12 ounces of chocolate chips in a medium bowl with 1/4 cup of flour, then add them to the chocolate batter.

Pour into the baking sheet.

Bake for 35 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Do not overbake! Allow to cool thoroughly, refrigerate, and cut into squares.

These were awesome.  The pecans make it, to me at least.