Coconut Buttermilk Pound Cake

Coconut Buttermilk Pound Cake - made March 9, 2013 from Martha Stewart

I love coconut and am always looking for recipes that use it.  Pound cake is the easiest thing to make when you also have buttermilk to use up.  This is a simple, basic but good recipe I found on pinterest from marthastewart.com.  The trickiest part is toasting the coconut properly without burning it.  When toasting the coconut, spread in an even layer and bake at 350.  Stir it every few minutes.  You don't want to toast it until it's all brown because by then, it'll more than likely be burnt.  Instead, stir it until you get to the color below.  Some coconut will be more brown than others, some will be golden and some will still be white.  When you mix it up, it should "average out" to a golden brown.

1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pan
1 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3 large eggs

2 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled), plus more for pan
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons buttermilk, divided
1 1/2 cups sweetened shredded coconut, toasted, divided
1 cup confectioners' sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour a 4 1/2-by-8 1/2-inch loaf pan. Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. In a large bowl, using a mixer, beat butter and granulated sugar on medium-high until light and fluffy, 8 minutes, scraping down bowl as needed. Add vanilla, then eggs, one at a time, beating well and scraping down bowl. With mixer on low, add flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with two 1/2-cup additions buttermilk, and beat until combined. With a rubber spatula, fold in 1 1/4 cups coconut.
   
2. Transfer batter to pan and bake until a skewer inserted in center comes out with a few moist crumbs attached, 60 minutes. Let cool in pan on a wire rack set in a rimmed baking sheet, 1 hour. Remove cake from pan and let cool completely on rack. (Store at room temperature, wrapped in plastic, up to 4 days.)
   
3. Whisk together confectioners' sugar and remaining 2 tablespoons buttermilk. Drizzle over cake and sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup coconut.
   

Pineapple Chicken

Pineapple Chicken - made March 8, 2013, recipe found on pinterest

This is another one of those recipes I found on pinterest where the recipe is typed out on the pin but the pin itself doesn't lead anywhere so I don't know the original source.  But it's also super simple so I had to make it.  I love crock pot cooking on Fridays because I work from home then so I can have the crock pot on while I'm there.  Although slow cookers were meant for the convenience of turning it on and leaving it, I don't like to have it on while I'm gone all day "just in case".  The beauty of this kind of recipe is I can mix it up while my computer is booting up and by the time I log in, I've already got the sauce mixed, the chicken added and the crock pot turned on.  I don't have to look at it again until dinner time.  If you want to make this more pineapple-y, add chunks of fresh pineapple 5 minutes before turning off slow cooker.

It came out okay although it was typical of slow cooker recipes in that it came out really soupy.  As in, I appear to have made a soupy stew without meaning to.  Not even thickening with cornstarch made much of a difference. I couldn't get a very good picture of it either so I didn't try that hard.  Whenever I see the mouthwatering pictures on pinterest, I'm baffled how those people got theirs to look so good.  Then I decided they must drain off all the watery sauce before they take the picture.  Because mine doesn't look anywhere near what the pinterest picture looked like.  And I confess - I was so busy, hunched over my computer and on conference calls that I forgot to check it so it was almost dinner time by the time I turned it off.  Um, it turns out when you cook chicken thighs for that long, they get so tender, they literally fall off the bones if you even look at them wrong.

1 cup pineapple juice
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup soy sauce (regular or lite)
2 lbs chicken breast tenderloins, thighs, or drumsticks (I used chicken thighs)

Combine pineapple juice, brown sugar and soy sauce.  Stir until brown sugar is dissolved.  Place chicken in slow cooker and pour sauce over it.  Cook on low for 6-8 hours or until chicken is tender.  If sauce is too thin, thicken with 2 tablespoons cornstarch and enough water to make a watery paste.  Add to sauce 30 minutes before turning off slow cooker.

French Toast Breakfast Bake

French Toast Breakfast Bake - made March 6, 2013 from Cookin' Food

Every time I plan to make bread pudding, I buy a loaf of challah from Trader Joe's and try to "stale it" by leaving it on the counter, untouched, before I use it.  The leaving on the counter part is easy.  The untouched part?  Not so much.  This is actually made with the second loaf of challah I bought because the one I purchased the week prior didn't make it long enough to go into bread pudding.  For this one, I didn't even stale it properly because...well, I usually try not to lie to myself that I'm not going to eat it if it's there.  This is a simple bread pudding recipe that you can make up the night before and just bake when you're ready.  If you tend to have busy mornings but want something simple to serve the next day for a breakfast or brunch, this is a good option.  If you want a little more texture, sprinkle the top with chopped, toasted pecans before baking.  I wouldn't advise including it in the streusel that gets soaked as part of the custard in the bread pudding as they'll just become soggy.

1 loaf day old Italian Bread or other hard white bread (I used challah)
1/4 cup chopped pecans, toasted (optional)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 heaping teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
5 eggs
1 1/4 cups milk
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1. Grease an 8×8” baking pan with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Slice the bread into 8 to 10, 1″ wide slices.  Then cut each slice into approximately one inch cubes.  Note:  Using day old, drier bread is key here.  It soaks up the wet ingredients more thoroughly than fresh bread does.
3. In a small bowl, combine nuts, brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg.  Mix well.
4. Place half of the bread cubes in a single layer in the baking pan.  Sprinkle half the sugar mixture on top of bread.  Place remaining bread cubes on first layer and sprinkle remaining sugar mixture on top
5. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk and vanilla.  Mix well.
6. Pour egg mixture evenly over the bread mixture in baking pan.  With a spatula, lightly press down on the bread to evenly coat it with the egg combination.
7. Cover pan with foil and refrigerate overnight or for at least 5 hours. (That way the bread has time to suck up the custard mixture).
8. Preheat oven to 350° F.  Bake pan for 20 minutes, covered.  Remove foil and continue baking uncovered for 30-40 minutes longer or until top looks browned and Breakfast Bake looks slightly puffed.
9. Allow to cool for 5-10 minutes in pan.  Serve warm with maple syrup.

Cinnamon Roll Coffee Cake Pie

Cinnamon Roll Coffee Cake Pie - made March 10, 2013 from Crazy for Crust

Did you know March 14 is Pi Day?  As in it's 3.14, both in date and as pi.  So we must make pie for Pi Day.  Last year I made an apple pie for National Pie Month but for Pi Day I was looking for something a little different.  Thanks to the internet, different isn't hard to find.  One of the things I love about getting inspiration from other foodie bloggers and pinterest is seeing creations I would never have thought up myself.  I'm good about searching out recipes, making them, and tweaking them to my liking.  I have a harder time coming up with original ideas.  Good thing here are others much more creative than I am.  Case in point, who would've thought of a Cinnamon Roll Coffee Cake Pie? Fortunately, Dorothy of Crazy for Crust did.  It's a pie with a cinnamon roll crust filled with a coffee cake and topped with streusel.

The flattened cinnamon roll dough serves as the pie crust

Fill with the coffeecake batter as the pie filling

Top with the streusel topping

I was intrigued by this pie.  I normally think of pies like apple, pecan, lemon meringue with a pie crust and "normal" filling.  But who's to say this can't be a pie too?  So I made it in honor of Pi Day.  Instead of 1 big pie, however, I made it into 4 mini pies.  The can of cinnamon roll dough only extended to covering 3 mini pies fully and there was just enough for a bottom crust for the 4th mini pie.  I probably should've flattened them more but the dough was getting stretchy and I was afraid overhandling it would make it tough (turns out I was right).

The coffeecake itself was really good.  For the streusel, I used a trick I learned from a Martha Stewart or Lisa Yockelson recipe (can't remember which) and that's to squeeze the streusel into clumps and leave big pieces as part of the streusel topping.  It crisps up in baking and adds texture versus leaving it as loose bits that only add sweetness.  I have to confess though, I ended up not liking the cinnamon roll crust as much as I thought I would.  I think it's because it's a commercially made product (insert snobby taste buds here) and it would've been better with made-from-scratch cinnamon roll dough.  And because I didn't flatten the cinnamon roll dough into a thinner crust, when it baked, it made for a thicker crust that was more bread-y than cinnamon-y.  I still liked the pie, especially the coffeecake part but I would make this with either normal pie dough or scratch cinnamon roll dough.  Either way, it's a nicely original tribute to Pi Day.

3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups flour + 2 tablespoons, divided
1 can (8 count) cinnamon rolls with icing
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 tablespoons butter, melted

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a pie plate with cooking spray. (I used a 10” pie plate.)
2. Stir together sugar, oil, egg and milk in a large bowl. Add baking powder, salt, and 1 1/2 cups flour, and stir until no lumps remain. Set aside.
3. Open can of cinnamon rolls and separate. One at a time, press the cinnamon roll between the palms of your hands to flatten. Press each into the bottom and up the sides of the pie plate to form the crust, pinching to seal any gaps between the rolls.
4. Pour the coffee cake mixture over the cinnamon roll crust.
5. In a small bowl, add the brown sugar, cinnamon, and 2 tablespoons of flour to the melted butter. Stir and sprinkle over the top of the coffee cake.
6. Bake for about 30 minutes, until a toothpick comes out just shy of clean. While warm, top with icing that came with the cinnamon rolls.

Best Chocolate Sheet Cake - Pioneer Woman

Best Chocolate Sheet Cake - made March 4, 2013 from The Pioneer Woman

I've only caught The Pioneer Woman on Food Network a few times, usually when it happens to be on while I'm working out at home.  She always seems like such a pleasant lady and I enjoyed the show.  This chocolate cake recipe has been making the rounds on pinterest and I had been meaning to try it out.  I had lunch planned with a couple of coworkers and it wasn't until the night before that I remembered I didn't have anything to bring.  I needed something quick and easy I could make after work and this cake fit the bill.  It's very similar to the Texas Fudge Cake recipe I've made before in that it's a chocolate cake where you spread the frosting on top while the cake is still warm from the oven and the frosting partially melts into the cake then sets like a soft fudge once it's cooled.

Yes, this cake is as good as that just sounded.  I mixed it up while my oven was preheating and had it baking in minutes.  The frosting you make towards the end of the cake's baking time.  Although the recipe called for making it in a sheet pan, I like my cakes a bit thicker so I baked it in a 9 x 13 pan and that worked just fine.  Both the cake and the frosting layer were thicker than the Pioneer Woman might've intended but it was just right to me.  I really liked this cake.  I baked it until the toothpick inserted in the center came out clean but once it was frosted, cooled and cut, it looked like it could've used a little more baking time.  You can tell because the bottom part of the cake was more dense, a sure sign it's underbaked.  It wasn't raw though and tasted pretty good to me.  The only drawback is I was out of my favorite Pernigotti cocoa and the last 3 times I've haunted Williams Sonoma, they didn't have it in stock.  I tried out the Trader Joe's brand of cocoa for this cake but it simply didn't have the dark robust flavor of Pernigotti.  So I will have to make this again (uh, darn?) once I restock on Pernigotti.  One must sacrifice for one's craft after all.....

Chocolate Cake
2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons (heaping) cocoa
2 sticks butter (1 cup or 8 ounces)
1 cup boiling water
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 whole eggs, beaten
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla

Frosting
1/2 cup finely chopped pecans (optional, I left them out)
1 3/4 sticks (14 tablespoons or 7 ounces) butter
4 tablespoons (heaping) cocoa
6 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 pound (minus 1/2 Cup) powdered sugar

Note: Original recipe calls for using an 18x13 sheet cake pan but I used a 9 x 13 pan.  Adjust baking time accordingly depending on your pan size.

1. In a mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, and salt.
2. In a saucepan, melt butter. Add cocoa. Stir together.
3. Add boiling water, allow mixture to boil for 30 seconds, then turn off heat. Pour over flour mixture, and stir lightly to cool.
4. In a measuring cup, pour the buttermilk and add beaten eggs, baking soda, and vanilla. Stir buttermilk mixture into butter/chocolate mixture. Pour into sheet cake pan and bake at 350-degrees for 20 minutes or until toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.
5. While cake is baking, make the icing. Chop pecans finely, if using. Melt butter in a saucepan. Add cocoa, stir to combine, then turn off heat. Add the milk, vanilla, and powdered sugar. Stir together. Add the pecans (if using), stir together, and pour over warm cake.
6. Let cool (if you can wait that long), cut and serve.

Lemon Cream Sandwich Cookies

Lemon Cream Sandwich Cookies - made March 2, 2013 from Fearless Baking by Elinor Klivans

This was a quick and easy recipe I made to use up lemons from my mom's lemon tree and to bring over to my parents' last Sunday.  The dough comes together quickly but chilling is key to make for easier handling and cutting.  (I chilled it overnight.) The filling may not seem like very much but it really is enough for the amount of cookies the dough makes.  I ended up with 14 small-ish sandwich cookies (or 28 individual cookies) and just enough filling to sandwich them together.

I baked them until the edges were golden but if I had to do it over again, I would actually bake them a trifle longer so they could become more crisp.  The cookies themselves were good butter cookies but for sandwich cookies, I like them with a bit more snap to complement the softness of the lemon cream filling. Overall, a nice "tea" cookie to serve at an afternoon tea or a light lunch or just a simple but tasty offering for dessert.

Lemon Butter Cookies

¼ pound (1 stick) soft unsalted butter

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 large egg yolk

2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

1 teaspoon grated lemon zest

½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract

¼ teaspoon pure almond extract

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour

Lemon Butter Cream Frosting

3 tablespoons soft unsalted butter

½ cup powdered sugar, sifted

¼ teaspoon vanilla extract

½ teaspoon fresh lemon juice

½ teaspoon grated lemon zest

1. Mix the dough: Put the butter, granulated sugar and salt in a large bowl and beat with an electric mixer on medium speed until the mixture looks smooth and blended together, about 1 minute. Mix in the egg yolk, lemon juice, lemon zest, vanilla and almond extract until they are blended into the mixture.  Decrease the speed to low and add the flour, mixing just until it is incorporated and a smooth dough forms.  The dough forms large smooth clumps.
2. Form the cookie log: Put the dough on a piece of plastic wrap and form it into a log about 10 inches long with flat rather than tapered ends.  Roll up the dough in the plastic wrap and roll it back and forth on the counter until the log is smooth and about 1 ¼ inches in diameter.  Chill the log of the dough until firm, about 2 hours or overnight.
3. Bake the cookies: Position 2 oven racks in the middle and upper third of the oven.  Preheat the oven to 350˚F.  Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.  Unwrap the cold dough log and use a large knife to cut it into ¼” thick rounds.  Place the cookies 1 inch apart on the prepared baking sheets.  Bake about 15 minutes just until the edges are light brown.  Cool the cookies on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then use a thin metal spatula to transfer them to a wire rack to cool.
4. Make the frosting and fill the cookies: Put the butter, powdered sugar, vanilla, lemon juice and lemon zest in a small bowl and stir with a large spoon until smooth.
5. Turn half of the cooled cookies bottoms side up.  Spread a thin layer of frosting on the bottom of these cookies.  Press a plain cookie, bottom side down, onto each frosted cookie.

The cookie sandwiches can be wrapped in plastic and stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Glazed Doughnut Muffins

Glazed Doughnut Muffins - made March 1, 2013 from Sweet Pea's Kitchen

These muffins are accurately named as they really do remind me of doughnuts.  At least cake doughnuts rather than yeasted doughnuts.  It's probably the cinnamon but also the glaze.  I was lazy and didn't sift the confectioners' sugar or the glaze so you can see little lumps in the glaze.  But it still tasted good.  As with any muffin recipe, mix sparingly, just enough to have the batter come together.  If you overmix, you may not have as tender a crumb or texture as you should.

These would make for a good addition to an Easter brunch if you're planning that far ahead.  Let both layers of the glaze set before serving to add authenticity to the doughnut claim.  Or serve gooey warm with runny glaze - your choice.  And if you want to avoid the lumps in your glaze, simply strain it before using.  I find it's easier to strain glaze or frosting rather than sifting confectioners' sugar before using.  If you sift the sugar to get out the lumps, tiny lumps can still form in your glaze as you mix the sugar with the liquid.  Save a step and strain the glaze once it's made and before it sets.

Muffins
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup milk

Glaze
3 tablespoons butter; melted
1 cup confectioners’ sugar; sifted
3/4 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons hot water

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Line 12 muffin cups with muffin liners or spray with nonstick cooking spray.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together butter, vegetable oil, and sugars till smooth. Beat in eggs, one at a time. With the mixer on low speed, add baking powder, baking soda, nutmeg, cinnamon, salt and vanilla until just combined. Stir the flour into the butter mixture alternately with the milk, beginning and ending with the flour and mixing until just combined. Do not overmix.
3. Spoon batter into cups, filling the cups, and smooth tops. Divide batter equally among prepared muffin cups. Bake until muffin tops are a pale golden and springy to the touch, 15 to 17 minutes, rotating halfway through baking time. Cool muffins in muffin tin for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire rack and cool 10 minutes before glazing.
4. To make the glaze: in a medium bowl mix together the melted butter, confectioners’ sugar, vanilla and water. Whisk until smooth.
5. When muffins have cooled slightly, dip the muffin crown into the glaze and allow the glaze to harden. Once hardened, dip a second time and allow to harden then serve.