Now that I have my diploma in hand, I have a confession.
Tag: coconut
Shortbread Cookie Waffles (Blind Spot Monthly Series)
My family does not have many traditions, but when it comes to Christmas, we always conduct our morning the same way.
We sleep in. That’s right. We don’t rush to the tree at three o’clock in the morning to open presents.
When we finally pull ourselves from our warm beds, we cook a delicious breakfast of bacon, potatoes, fresh fruit, and homemade waffles.
We eat together, do the dishes, and (finally) open presents one at a time.
I associate Christmas with homemade waffles, but a lot of people consider December the month of cookies.
Friends exchange cookies as presents. Because of family traditions, children decorate sugar cookies to look like Christmas trees and snowmen. Families bake cookies for Santa on Christmas Eve.
In celebration of Christmas, I combined these two Christmas treats and created…
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- pinch of salt
- 1/4 banana, mashed
- 1/4 tbs honey
- 1/3 cup milk
- 1/4 tbs coconut oil (melted)
- 1 tbs Blind Spot Shortbread Cookie blended nut butter
Directions
- Whisk dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, and salt) together in a small bowl
- In a food processor, combine wet ingredients (banana, honey, milk, oil, and nut butter).
- Stir wet ingredients into dry ingredients
- Preheat waffle iron and coat with nonstick spay. Pour batter into prepared iron and cook 1.5 – 2 minutes.
- Top with the Oatmeal Artist’s Chocolate Sauce and sprinkles.
- Eat and enjoy (or leave out for Santa)
Lime Overnight Oatmeal with toasted Coconut and Cashews
If I’m being honest, this isn’t even really a recipe. It came about because the Oatmeal Artist’s weekly theme was overnight oats, and I wanted desperately to participate on Instagram. My family had just returned from our speedy vacation, and the only fresh fruit in the house was an overripe banana (which tastes great but doesn’t take very pretty pictures) and some neglected limes in the bottom of the fridge.
So I did what any self-respecting oatmeal enthusiast would do; I made it work. I scavenged my meager supplies and employed my overnight go-to: the voluminous oatmeal trick.
I must say–if nothing else, Lauren’s weekly themes have challenged my creativity and food photography skills.
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup oatmeal
- 2/3 cup water
- 1 tsp. lime juice
- 2 tbs. shredded coconut
- 2 tbs. cashew pieces
- lime zest and wedges, optional
Directions
- Combine water and oatmeal in a microwaveable container. Microwave 1 minute.
- Transfer oatmeal to an airtight container and add lime juice. Refrigerate overnight.
- In the morning, preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Spray a cookie sheet with nonstick spray. Spread coconut and cashews on the pan in a single layer.
- Cook coconut and cashews in preheated for a about 5 minutes.
- Meanwhile, remove oatmeal from the refrigerator and stir, adding water or milk if necessary. If desired, microwave oatmeal for an additional 30-60 seconds.
- Top oatmeal with lime zest or wedges and toasted coconut and cashews.
- Eat and enjoy.
Irresistible Coconut Oatmeal Cookies
Next to Christmas and my birthday, today might be the best day of the year. Why? Because today is National Oatmeal Cookie Day.
In honor of this wonderful holiday, I am going to share with you my recipe for Coconut Oatmeal Cookies. In my opinion, these cookies are simply irresistible.
I must confess, though, that I have substituted one very important secret ingredient. This ingredient truly makes the difference in the coconut oatmeal cookie recipe. The recipe you see below is how I made the cookies one time when I was out of my secret ingredient. They were still delicious and quickly devoured, but they were not quite the same.
You can guess the secret ingredient all you want, but I will neither confirm nor deny any guesses 🙂
Coconut Oatmeal Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 sticks of butter
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1.5 cups all purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 3 cups rolled oats
- 1 cup shredded coconut
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit
- Beat butter and sugars to form a cream
- Add eggs and vanilla. Mix well.
- Combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt in a flour sifter. Sift into the egg, butter, and sugar.
- Beat with a hand mixer until all ingredients are completely combined.
- Stir in oatmeal. To make mixing easier, I like to add one cup at a time.
- Add coconut.
- Form teaspoon-sized balls and place on an un-greased cookie sheet. Bake for 8-10 minutes. Let cool 1 minute on the pan before transferring to parchment paper.
- Let cool, eat, and enjoy!
**Note: Pictures were taken of a half-batch of cookies.
Microwave Carrot Cake
Every week, The Oatmeal Artist posts a roundup of oatmeal recipes and Instagram pics, often based on an announced theme. This week, her theme is vegetables. I may have gone a little crazy…
Here’s all the vegetable-oatmeal dishes I made:
- Apple-Cinnamon Sweet Potato Oatmeal
- Carrot Cake Oatmeal Mug Cake (the recipe I am posting now)
- Mac-n-Cheese Oatmeal using vegetable pasta (recipe coming next Friday)
- Carrot Cake Oatmeal Cookies (using Amy’s recipe)
- Orange Dreamsicle Green Oatmeal Smoothie Bowl (recipe coming eventually…)
What can I say? I love oatmeal, and I love a challenge!
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup oatmeal
- 1 medium carrot
- 1/4 cup orange juice
- 1/8 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- Topping ideas: cream cheese, raisins, walnuts, shredded carrot, coconut
Directions
- Chop the carrot into several large chunks. Grind carrot and oatmeal in the food processor until it forms a course flour.
- Add orange juice, baking soda, and cinnamon to the food processor. Pulse 4-5 times to combine all ingredients.
- Coat a single-serve ramekin or a mug with nonstick spray. Pour batter into mug.
- Microwave for two minutes. Let cool.
- Decorate with desired toppings.
- Eat and enjoy!
Honey Nut Granola
On January 10, I received an email saying that January is National Oatmeal Month. I don’t know how I had missed this! I should have dedicated the entire month to this wonderful, warm morning treat.
I have had an abundance of oatmeal this month, but I haven’t made any new recipes since I have been at school. I couldn’t let the entire month go by without posting an oatmeal-related recipe, so I pulled this granola recipe out of the dark recesses of my drafts folder.
Ingredients
- 2 cups rolled oats
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 cup coconut flakes
- 1/2 cup chopped pecans
- 1/4 cup chopped almonds
- 1/4 cup chopped cashews
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1/3 cup plain yogurt
Directions
- preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit
- toss oats, cinnamon, coconut, pecans, almonds, and cashews in a large bowl
- in a separate bowl, whisk honey and yogurt
- stir honey + yogurt mixture into oat + nut mixture until everything is well coated
- pour granola onto a lightly greased 13×18 rimmed baking sheet
- bake approximately 20 minutes, stirring occasional until granola has turned a light golden brown
- eat and enjoy
Second Blogiversary
If writers wrote as carelessly as some people talk, then adhasdh asdglaseuyt[bn[ pasdlgkhasdfasdf.
– Lemony Snicket
To me, the main benefit of writing is the opportunity to change what I have said. If a word is unclear, I can replace it with a synonym. If a sentence is difficult to understand, I can rearrange it. If an entire post is stupid, I can delete it.
I have done all of those things many, many times over the past two years. That is right–tomorrow this blog will turn two years old.
How does one celebrate a blogiversary? Birthdays merit presents and parties. Anniversaries are often celebrated with trips. But a blogiversary….what does it deserve?
Ice cream. Every celebration deserves ice cream.
If you (like me) don’t have an ice cream maker, Pinterest shares an easy solution. By simply blitzing a frozen banana in a food processor, you can have a single serving of banana soft-serve ice cream, or “nice cream,” as it is commonly called. You can even add in some unique flavors to create a one-of-a-kind soft-serve ice cream.
Another alternative is to go to the store and buy a container of Breyer’s. That’s what I generally do 🙂
Ginger Coconut Soft-serve Ice Cream
Ingredients
- 1 frozen banana
- 1 tablespoon coconut flakes
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
Directions
- Combine all ingredients in a food processor until smooth. You will need to scrape down the sides of the food processor a few times.
- Transfer to a bowl, eat, and enjoy!
