Coconut Oil Chocolate Chip Cookies

It's been a while since I last shared a recipe, and I hope that this delightful cookie recipe will make up for the wait. I am always intrigued when I find a recipe with a twist on a classic recipe, and when I came across this recipe for Coconut Oil Chocolate Chip Cookies from Plain Chicken I knew I had to try it. I love coconut flavors in both savory and sweet foods, and fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on your point of view) I had all the ingredients on hand. To those who do not use coconut oil, you're missing out. You can cook with it like other oils, make your own chocolates like these, heck you can even use it as a hair mask. Basically, it's pretty darn handy.

The coconut flavor in these cookies is not overwhelming, but more a subtle hint in these pillowy-chocolate-chippy morsels.

I know you're not supposed to trust people when they say Trust me. But trust me on this one, these will change the way you look at those jars of coconut oil at the grocery store. Seriously.

I halved the recipe and made jumbo-sized cookies (8 total, so I'll give y'all the regular amounts in case you have a party or a bake sale to attend), but other than that I stayed true to the recipe.

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup coconut oil
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 1/4 c. flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 cups chocolate chips

Directions: 

1. Preheat oven to 350 and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. 
2. In a large bowl, mix the coconut oil and sugar until smooth. Mix in the egg and vanilla. Add the flour, baking powder, and salt, mix until combined. 
3. Fold in the chocolate chips, then divide the batter into golf ball-sized pieces of dough. This should yield roughly 3 dozen cookies, but if you want to make jumbo cookies, divide the batter into larger pieces so you make 16 large cookies
4. Bake in the center of the oven for 10-12 minutes. For jumbo cookies, the baking time increases to closer to 15-17 minutes.

Cool completely before storing in an air-tight container. Or if you're like me, wait until the chocolate is not molten so you can scarf one down and then regret not savoring the chewy, soft, coconutty flavors, rationalize that you really must experience that taste again and eat another one much slower. Then feel really full and delay making dinner for another 3 hours. 

Simple Banana Bread

 

Banana bread is one of those things that I really love but rarely make for myself. I remember to buy bananas like 3 times a year, and when I do remember to buy bananas I usually end up eating them all during the week instead of waiting for that perfect overripe state. But not this time! No! I was super prepared and I bought enough bananas to cover both breakfasts and bread making for the upcoming week. I purchased a slightly under-ripe bunch of bananas on Sunday and on Wednesday I had bananas that were just starting to speckle with brown. And so begins my tale of how to make banana bread.

Makes one 9x5" loaf

Ingredients:

• 3 medium ripe bananas
• 1/3 cup melted butter
• 1 c. sugar
• 1 large egg, beaten
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 c. all purpose flour
• Optional: 1 cup chopped pecans or 1 1/2 c. large chocolate chips (you can use regular ones, but I swear by the jumbo babies because I like the size better in a loaf -- regular chips tend to melt away and lose their shape). Heck if you really want you can add 3/4 c. pecans and 3/4 c. chocolate chips. It's your world.

Directions:

1.  Preheat the oven to 350 F and position the rack into the middle of the oven.
2. In a large mixing bowl mash your bananas. You can use a fork, a pastry cutter, a potato masher... Really anything. Just mash those nanners up until there are no pieces bigger than a big pea. Or a bean. Or a Junior Mint. You see, this is clearly an exact science. You may proceed.
3. Mix in the melted butter, then add the sugar, egg, and vanilla until thoroughly combined.
4. Next add the baking soda and salt, mix again to combine. Then add the flour and mix.
5. If you decided to add nuggets of goodness (aka pecans or chocolate chips), now is the time to fold them in.
6. Pour the batter into a greased 9x5" loaf pan. Bake for 55-65 minutes, or until a toothpick entered in the middle of the loaf comes out clean. Let it rest in the pan uncovered for at least 15 minutes before turning out onto a rack to cool completely, another 45 minutes.
7. Store in an airtight container or covered in foil for 3-5 days. 

 

Double Chocolate Cookies

I always make room in my life for chocolate, and since it's Superbowl Sunday I decided to whip up a batch of cookies to bring along.   Baking is not like cooking, you can't "fake it 'til you make it", so after a bit of searching in my cookbooks and online, I decided to try Martha Stewart's Double Chocolate Chunk Cookies.

Imagine the best chocolate chip cookie and the best brownie you've ever had, combine the two, and that's what these cookies are like. What more can a girl ask for?

These cookies are super rich and indulgent, so prepare to share with others unless you want to go into a chocolate coma.Which, I mean, is totally your choice.

Ingredients: 

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 8 ounces semi-sweet bakers chocolate
• 1 cup dark chocolate chips (you can use semi-sweet, milk, or even white chocolate if you prefer)
• 1 stick butter
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 

Directions: 

1. Preheat oven to 325 F. Prepare two baking sheets by lining with parchment paper, set aside. 
2. Whisk the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl and set aside. 
3. Melt the butter and chocolate in a double-boiler until smooth. Pour the melted chocolate into a large bowl, then mix in the sugar and eggs until combined. Mix in the dry ingredients you prepared earlier. Fold in the chocolate chips. 
4. Use a tablespoon to scoop golf ball-sized amounts of dough onto the prepared baking sheets, spacing the dough about 2 inches apart. Bake in the middle of the oven for 15 minutes. The cookies will look very soft, just slightly beginning to crack when you remove them from the oven. You'll probably even think, no these aren't done! Ignore your reaction, transfer the parchment to a wire rack and let the cookies cool at least 10 minutes before handling. 

Homemade Granola

Granola is a very humble treat, but that's part of the beauty of this unassuming snack. It's like oatmeal cookies, not very glamorous but oh so tasty.  Plus, when you make your own granola you know what you put in it. I am not a big fan of super sweet granola and I also prefer a less-sticky granola, so by making my own I can make it exactly how I want. Also, it's a great on-the-go breakfast or snack that I can carry around. When I first make a batch I portion it out into a few small and medium containers so that I have it ready to go later on. AND just be to even more wild I add dark chocolate chips to my granola so it's just as lovely on its own as it is on top of yogurt, mixed with berries, stirred with milk... you get the picture!

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons honey
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons hot water
• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups rolled oats
• 1/2 cup slivered almonds
• 1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
• 1/2 cup cranberries*
• 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips (optional)

Directions

1.  Preheat the oven to 325 F. 
2. Mix the honey, brown sugar, water, vanilla, and oil in a large bowl. Mix in the oats and almonds until coated. 
3. Spread the oat mixture over a large rimmed baking sheet and bake for 20-25 minutes, stirring every 7-10 minutes. Bake until granola is golden.
4. Let granola cool on baking sheet, approximately 20 minutes. Pour granola into large bowl, mix in the cranberries and chocolate chips. Store in an airtight container. This granola will keep in the fridge indefinitely.

You can swap the cranberries for any other dried fruit such as blueberries, raisins, pineapple, mango, or goji berries. Remember, this is your granola, make it how you want!

Classic Oatmeal and Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ah, the humble oatmeal cookie -- not the most glamorous baked good, but oh so irresistibly delicious and easy to make. They are made up of staple pantry items so they require little to no prep work, and they take less than 30 minutes from start to finish. I mean, what else do I need to tell ya? These are dang good and dang easy.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1 cup butter, softened
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 egg
• 2 cups quick-cooking oats
• 1 1/2 cup flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 cups chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350F. In a large bowl, mix the sugars, butter, and vanilla until smooth. Add the egg and whisk in until combined.
2. Mix the flour, baking soda, and salt in a separate bowl, then slowly incorporate with the wet mix. The add the oats, mix until just combined, and then finally add the chocolate chips.
3. Drop spoonfuls on an ungreased baking sheet about 2 inches apart, and bake for 10-12 minutes. Cool on pan for 2 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.