Wednesday, February 12, 2014

Coconut White Chocolate Blondies

Valentines day is quickly approaching and to get in the spirit I decided to make these yummy, adorable heart shaped blondies! 

These little treats are absolutely fantastic!  

Maybe it's just because I'm a big fan of blondies, but more likely, it's because they are actually incredibly delicious!

**Just in: my little who had never had a blondie before said it was "so freaking good!"  

Coconut White Chocolate Blondies
 Recipe Adapted From: Baker By Nature






Ingredients
1/2 cup unsalted butter
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup white chocolate chips
1/4 cup shredded coconut 

sprinkles (optional)

Directions
Preheat your oven to 350 Degrees and prepare an 8x8 baking pan with non stick spray and parchment paper.

Melt butter in a small bowl.  In a medium bowl mix the two sugars together.  Pour the butter into the sugar and mix until smooth.  

In another small bowl, beat the egg with the vanilla and salt.  Pour egg into sugar mixture and stir until fully combined.  

Stir in flour until incorporated.  

Fold in chocolate chips, coconut, and sprinkles.

Pour batter into the baking pan, and spread out to an even layer.  Bake for 25-28 minutes, a knife should come out clean.

Let cool 30 minutes before cutting and serving.  

Enjoy!  




Saturday, February 8, 2014

Jam Thumbprint Cookies

Bonding with my little will never get old.  I love that we can hang out and watch movies and talk about whatever and still have an awesome time.  

We decided that baking was a definite necessity and I had just the recipe to try out.

I found this recipe on Pinterest (shocker), and it sounded different than any cookie I'd ever made before.  

These cookies are comparable to a shortbread cookie, and combined with the sweetness of the jam they are wonderful!

Jam Thumbprint Cookies
Recipe Adapted from: Baker by Nature



Ingredients
3 Sticks of Butter or Margarine, Softened
1 Cup Sugar 
1 tsp. Vanilla
3 1/2 Cups All-Purpose Flour
1/4 tsp. Salt
1 Egg, beaten with 1 Tbsp. Water
1 Cup Sweetened Flaked Coconut
Jam/Jelly of your choice (I used grape, strawberry, and Pina Colada)

Directions
Cream together the butter and sugar in a large bowl, until just combined.

Add vanilla and stir in thoroughly. 

Sift together the flour and salt in a separate bowl.

Slowly add the flour mixture to the butter mixture, and mix until the dough begins to come together.

On a floured board or counter, knead dough together and form a disk shape.  Wrap the dough in plastic and place in your refrigerator for 30 minutes.


Preheat your oven to 350 Degrees.

Prepare the egg and water in one bowl, and the coconut flakes in another.

Roll the chilled dough into 1 inch balls, dip in the egg wash, then roll in the coconut.

Place the balls onto an ungreased cookie sheet.  These cookies do not spread much, so you can place them pretty close to each other.

Press a circle into the top of the ball, creating a place to drop the jam.

drop about 1-1 1/4 teaspoon of jam onto each cookie.  Be careful not to drop too much, or it will run over the cookie in the oven.  

Bake for 18-22 minutes, depending on your oven. (Mine took 18)  The coconut will turn a golden brown color, but be careful not to burn it!  (The bottoms will be a darkish brown because of the coconut)  Cool slightly before serving!  

Enjoy!