Coconut Clouds

    If you are looking for the perfect gluten free Christmas cookie, look no further! These are great! They are light, chewy, and full of coconut! Imagine that a coconut macaroon had a baby with a meringue, that's what I think these cookies resemble. Be careful whipping the sugar into the egg whites, take it slowly. Hope everyone out there is having a wonderful holiday!

Coconut Clouds

Ingredients:

- 1 (14 ounce) package of sweetened coconut

- 1/4 cup of sweetened condensed milk

- 1 teaspoon of vanilla

- 1/4 teaspoon of salt

- 4 cold, fresh egg whites

- 2/3 cup of sugar

- 1 cup of chocolate chips for drizzle

    Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Mix together the coconut, sweetened condensed milk, vanilla, and salt. Set that mixture aside. Next, whisk the sugar slowly into the egg whites. It's easiest to use an electric mixer. Whisk egg whites until stiff peaks form. Gently fold the egg whites into the coconut mixture. Once just combined, scoop into tablespoon mounds on a greased baking sheet. Bake for about 20 minutes or until lightly golden. Once baked and cooled, microwave the chocolate chips in 30 second increments until melted and smooth. Drizzle melted chocolate on top and enjoy!  

Coconut Cookie Bars

    I found this recipe months ago after my visit to Massachusetts. My plan was to make it for my family while they were visiting for the wedding be cause my Uncle Phil loves coconut! Well, to my disappointment, he was unable to make the trip. That's ok, it didn't stop me from making it for him anyways! With a shortbread cookie bottom and a chewy coconut top, it's everything a coconut lover is searching for in a dessert! I bet it would be great with some melted chocolate drizzled on top!

 Coconut Cookie Bars

Ingredients:

  For the shortbread layer:

- 1 cup of butter, room temperature

- 1/2 cup of confectioners sugar

- 2 cups of flour

- 1/2 teaspoon of salt

  For the coconut layer:

- 2 cups of shredded coconut

- 1 (14 ounce) can of sweetened condensed milk

- 1 large egg

- 1 teaspoon of coconut extract

    Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray and set aside. In a bowl, mix together the butter, sugar, flour, and salt until the mixture resembles wet sand. Press this mixture into the bottom of prepared baking dish and make in the preheated oven for 15 minutes. While it is baking, mix together the coconut, sweetened condensed milk, egg, and extract. Once the bottom layer comes out of the oven, pour the coconut mixture over the top and gently spread evenly. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until golden brown. Slice and enjoy!

Coconut Milk Chia Popsicles

    These popsicles are so flipping good and they are pretty good for you too! Coconut milk can be great for helping lower cholesterol and controlling blood sugar levels. Everyone knows that chia seeds are among the healthiest foods on the planet. Not only are they are loaded with fiber, protein and antioxidants, but they are high in Omega-3 fatty acids. The full fat coconut milk freezes perfectly for popsicles! They are almost creamy right out of the freezer! I used strawberries and bananas in my pops, but I will definitely be experimenting with different fruits. I'll definitely be making these often!

Coconut Milk Chia Popsicles

Ingredients:

- 1 (15 ounce) can of full fat coconut milk

- 1- 1 1/2 tablespoons of honey

- 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract

- 1/4 cup of chia seeds

- fresh fruit of your choice (bananas are the best!!!)

    Pour the coconut milk into a bowl and add the honey and vanilla. Whisk together until the honey has dissolved. Mix in the chia seeds and let the mixture sit for about 20 minutes to let the seeds soak. Place pieces of fruit into popsicle molds fill halfway with chia mixture. Put a few more pieces of fruit and then fill all the way with chia mixture. Freeze for several hours or overnight. This recipe made 6 popsicles in my mold. When ready to eat, run warm water over the molds and they should come out easily.

Coconut Macaroon Nest Cookies

    It's finally Easter week! The weather has been beautiful here in Florida and we are celebrating the first week of spring time! Instead of youth group this week, the kids got to participate in an Easter egg hunt! I made a couple of treats to go with their sandwiches last night. These little coconut macaroon cookies look like little bird nests! Topped with little Cadbury chocolate eggs, they are a perfect Easter treat!

Coconut Macaroon Nest Cookies

Ingredients:

- 1 (14 ounce) package of shredded sweetened coconut 

- 5 large egg whites

- 1/3 cup of sugar

- 1/2 teaspoon of almond extract 

- 1/4 teaspoon of vanilla extract

- pinch of salt

- Cadbury chocolate eggs or jellybeans for topping

    Preheat oven to 300 degrees. In a large saucepan, over medium heat, combine the coconut, egg whites, and sugar. Heat, stirring constantly for about 10 minutes. Then, stir in the almond and vanilla extracts. Spray two mini muffin tins with non-stick baking spray. Scoop a little less than a tablespoon into each cup. Press the center down to form the nest shape. Bake for about 25 minutes or until golden brown around the edges. Remove, top with eggs, and enjoy.

Samoa Coconut Bars

    Oh man, have I been crazy busy lately! I got a new car on Saturday! People keep telling me that I drive "the hamster car" now. It's a white 2016 Kia Soul and it is absolutely beautiful! Ok, back to these coconut bars. It's Girl Scout Cookie season!!! Woot!! I spent the better part of my youth as a girl scout and I still remember vividly, standing outside of stores and asking everyone and their mother to buy our cookies! My favorites when I was little were the Samoas. I decided to try making something similar. I love anything with toasted coconut! Hope you love them too!

Samoa Coconut Bars

Ingredients:

- 1/2 cup of sugar

- 1 and 1/2 stick of butter (3/4 cup) at room temperature

- 1 egg

- 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract

- 2 cups of flour

- 1/2 teaspoon of salt, divided  

- 3 cups of shredded sweetened coconut

- 12 ounces of chewy caramels (I used the caramel bits)

- 3 tablespoons of half and half

- 1 cup of semisweet chocolate chips

    Preheat oven to 350 degrees. First, make the crust by creaming together the butter and sugar in a large bowl. Once fluffy, add the egg and vanilla extract. Gradually beat in the flour and 1/4 teaspoon of the salt. It may be crumbly. Then, press the mixture evenly into the bottom of a greased 9x13 baking dish. Bake for about 25- 30 minutes or until the edges start to lightly brown. Cool completely before topping. While you are baking the crust, you can toast your coconut. I like to toast it in my toaster oven. I spread all of the coconut out evenly on a small pan and set the toaster on dark. Then, I just watch it until the edges start to brown and I stir it. I repeat the process until all of the coconut is a golden brown color. You can totally do it in the oven while your crust is cooling or over the stove top in a dry skillet. Toasting coconut is not rocket science, google it. Next, place the caramels in a large microwave safe bowl. Heat in the microwave on high for 1 minute and then stop to stir. Keep melting it in 30 seconds intervals (stopping to stir) in the microwave until it's completely melted. Then, stir the half and half and 1/4 teaspoon of salt into the caramel, you may have to put it back in the microwave for one more round. Just keep stirring until it is combined and melted, but be careful not to burn the caramel. Add the toasted coconut into the caramel and mix until combined. Once combined, spread onto the cooled cookie crust. I pressed it on there pretty tightly. I cut it into bars at this point. Then, melt the chocolate chips in the microwave in 30 second intervals, put the completely melted chocolate into a piping bag, and drizzle it over the top of each bar. Let the chocolate set (or not) and enjoy!

My new car you guys!
Omigod, she is so beautiful!

Coconut Pecan Banana Bread

    My boyfriend is the greatest. My laptop has been broken for almost two weeks now. I think it took him like 10 minutes to take it apart, fix it, and put it back together. Hallelujah! I hope everyone had a great New Year's. Mine was pretty uneventful. I worked a lot at Carrabba's over the break. I found it hard to make everything I wanted to for the holidays this year, working two jobs takes a lot out of me. I did a lot of much needed resting. That being said, I had some left over pecans that I hadn't used and thought I would try this almost coffee cake like recipe. With some scrambled eggs and bacon, it was perfect for breakfast Saturday morning with my hunnie.

Coconut Pecan Banana Bread

Ingredients:

- 1/2 cup of vanilla greek yogurt

- 1 egg

- 3 medium ripe bananas, mashed

- 3 tablespoons of vegetable oil or melted

coconut oil

- 1 and 1/3 cup of flour

- 1/2 cup of sugar

- 1 teaspoon of baking soda

- dash of salt

- 1/2 cup of chopped pecans

- 3/4 cup of shredded coconut

For the topping:

- 3 tablespoons of flour 

- 3 tablespoons of brown sugar

- 2 tablespoons of butter, softened

- 3 tablespoons coconut

- 2 tablespoons of chopped pecans

    Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, beat together the yogurt, egg, bananas, and oil. Once combined, add the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, pecans, and coconut. Use a spoon to stir together until just combined and do not over mix. Pour into a greased 9x5 loaf pan. Next, combine all of the ingredients for the topping until it is crumbly and then sprinkle over the top. Bake for about an hour or until golden brown. I love it served warm with a little butter.

Enjoying my new French press.

Magic Coconut Cookies

    Here it is folks! The easiest Christmas cookie recipe ever! It's really just so simple. We went to the Ocala Christmas parade on Saturday! It was really cool to see it from the sidelines. I had never gone to actually watch it, I'd always been performing in the West Port Marching Band. It's been 9 years now, I'm getting old! What?!?!? They were awesome this year! Well, after all of the excitement we decided to go home, bake some Christmas cookies, and finish decorating the tree. It was a nice evening. Ok, back to these cookies! You're going to love them!

Magic Coconut Cookies

Ingredients:

- 1 (14 ounce) bag of sweetened shredded coconut

- 1 bag of chocolate chips or I used mini M&M's for a more festive look

- 1/2 cup of chopped pecans

- 1 (14 ounce) can of sweetened condensed milk

    Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix everything together. Scoop onto a well greased cookie sheet and bake for 12-15 minutes or until the edges start to brown. Let them cool and use a spatula to remove. Enjoy!

My hunnie is the best!

The Christmas tree is finally finished at my parents' house!

Coconut Custard Pie

    I am definitely a fan of coconut! I was bored one day and decided to fool around with the idea of making my own pie crust. While it was pretty good for my first attempt, I'm probably going to try again another time before I post a recipe for pie crust. This cool custard pie was delicious! It's a Martha Stewart recipe, so of course it's amazing. It was pretty easy too!

Coconut Custard Pie

Ingredients:

- 1/2 cup of sugar

- 1/3 cup of cornstarch

- 1/4 teaspoon of salt

- 1 cup of whole milk

- 1 (14 ounce) can of coconut milk

- 4 large egg yolks

- 1/2 cup of shredded coconut, toasted

- Either store bought or your favorite pie crust recipe

    Bake the bottom of the pie crust as directed and set aside to cool completely. In a medium sauce pan, before you apply to heat, mix together the sugar, cornstarch, and salt. Gradually whisk in the whole milk, making sure to dissolve the cornstarch. Whisk in the coconut milk and egg yolks. Whisking constantly, cook this mixture over medium heat until it starts to sputter. Reduce the heat to low and cook for another minute, still stirring constantly. I have a picture posted below of what it should look like. It's a lot like a pudding, let it thicken. When it's finished, pour into prepared pie crust, top with toasted coconut, and let chill in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours. 

Finished Product:

Double Chocolate Coconut Cookies

    Heavenly, chewy double chocolate cookies with coconut! These are my tenth recipe in my 12 days of Christmas cookies! They are super rich and packed with chocolate. If a chocolate chip cookie had a baby with a brownie, this would be their cookie offspring!

Double Chocolate Coconut Cookies

Ingredients:

- 1 cup brown sugar

- 1 cup white sugar

- 1/2 cup of butter, at room temperature

- 2 eggs

- 1 teaspoon of vanilla

- 1 teaspoon of salt

- 1/2 cup of cocoa powder

- 2 cups of flour

- 2 cups of chocolate chips

- 1 cup of shredded coconut 

    Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sift together the flour, cocoa powder, and salt. Set them aside. 

    Beat together the butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Then, beat in the eggs and vanilla. Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and slowly incorporate together. Mix in the chocolate chips and coconut. I used toasted coconut that I toasted myself. Do not over mix.

    Form into balls and place on greased baking sheets. Bake for about 8-10 minutes. Let cool for a couple of minutes on the baking sheet before transferring to a cooling rack to cool completely, Enjoy!