Oatmeal Coconut Raspberry Bars... and some great news!

 

After the last few hectic weeks of packing, moving and traveling for work, we're really enjoying just hanging out this weekend. NYC was supposed to have the blizzard of the century yesterday -- and to be honest, I was ready to hole up at home and just watch the snow fall outside. But of course that was a big bust, we barely got a sprinkling! Still, it's chilly outside and nice and toasty in here, so we're having a fantastic time just relaxing.

I made these yummy bars during my recent effort to clean out our pantry before the move. I wanted to use up some oats, coconut and raspberry jam, so these fit the bill perfectly -- and as a bonus, they were super-easy and really delicious! I usually like my jam bars more jammy, but with the coconut and oats, there's enough going on in these that you don't miss the extra fruitiness. In fact, I barely changed the original recipe at all, except to swap in some whole-wheat flour and use dark brown sugar instead of light. (Looking at the pic I can see traces of my old kitchen, which makes me a little sad. Our new apartment is fine for a temporary space -- we're subletting while we look for another place to buy -- but the kitchen is not designed for cooks, which is a bummer. Oh well -- more motivation to find a permanent place quickly...)

Enjoy!

Before I get to the recipe, I have one thing to report that I'm SOOOOO excited about! Check out this blog!!! It's called "Best Friends Baking," and it's by these 2 fabulous women who have taken on a project to learn more about baking by baking their way through my cookbook, "You Made That Dessert?"! Isn't that amazing???!!! I couldn't be more thrilled or flattered. Check it out!

And now, on to the recipe...

Oatmeal Coconut Raspberry Bars

(from Gourmet, recipe here)

Makes 24

1 1/2 cups sweetened flaked coconut
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup whole-wheat flour
3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
12 Tbsp. (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 1/2 cups old-fashioned oats
3/4 cup seedless raspberry jam (I may have added another tablespoon or 2...)

1. Preheat oven to 375ºF. Line a 9-by-13-inch baking pan with foil; mist foil with cooking spray. Spread 3/4 cup coconut evenly on a baking sheet and toast, stirring once or twice, until golden, about 8 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and let cool.

2. Blend together flours, sugars and salt in a food processor, then add butter and blend until a dough begins to form. Add oats and toasted coconut and pulse to combine.

3. Reserve 3/4 cup dough; press remaining dough evenly in baking pan. Spread jam over dough. Sprinkle reserved dough over jam, then sprinkle with remaining 3/4 cup (untoasted) coconut.

4. Bake until golden, 20 to 25 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Remove foil from pan, peel off foil, place on a cutting board and cut into 24 bars. (These will keep for 3 days in an airtight container at room temperature, or 5 days well wrapped and refrigerated.)

Super delicious pancakes, baby!

 

 Hi friends! My apologies for having fallen off the face of the earth for a couple of weeks there -- between moving, traveling for work and various photo shoots, I haven't had a second to update my little corner of the web. But I'm back now, and happy to see you!

It's frrrrreeeeeeeeezing here in NYC right now, so I'm sighing as I look at this photo of Mark and Dylan (aka The Mush) out in the backyard at my in-laws' house in Mazatlan, Mexico over the holidays. We had such a lovely time with them! They're really the best -- I'm very lucky in that regard.

So anyway, one day while we were visiting them, Mark and I made some truly delicious pancakes -- and now that The Mush is eating solids like a champ, she happily chomped away on them, giggling like a goon the whole time. And you will giggle like a goon too if you make them -- they are seriously good, especially if you choose to make the decadent flavored butter that goes on top. Trust me, it is more than worth the effort! The butter elevates these pancakes to outrageously fantastic status. I didn't even put maple syrup on them -- and you know how obsessed I am with maple syrup!

We found there was more butter than we needed for the pancakes (it's rich, so a little goes a long way) -- keep it covered and refrigerated, and slather it on toast, muffins, waffles, whatever your little heart desires. You can't go wrong.

Enjoy!

Cornmeal Pancakes with Honey-Pecan Butter 

Makes 10 to 12

(Slightly adapted from Bon Appetit, recipe here)

Honey-Pecan Butter

8 Tbsp. (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature

2 Tbsp. honey

1/4 tsp. cinnamon

1/3 cup finely chopped toasted pecans

pinch of salt

Pancakes:

1 cup plus 2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour

1/3 cup fine yellow cornmeal

2 Tbsp. sugar

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

2 large eggs

3/4 cup sour cream

3/4 cup milk

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 200ºF. Make flavored butter: Using electric mixer, beat butter, honey, and cinnamon in small bowl until fluffy. Stir in pecans and salt.

2. Make pancakes: Combine flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl; whisk to combine. Whisk eggs in medium bowl to blend; whisk in sour cream, milk, oil and vanilla. Gradually add liquid mixture to dry ingredients, whisking just until blended.

3. Warm griddle or heavy large skillet over medium heat. Working in batches, mist griddle lightly with cooking spray. Pour batter by 1/4 to 1/3 cupfuls onto griddle. Cook until bottoms brown, about 3 to 4 minutes. Turn pancakes over and cook until second sides brown, about 1 to 2 minutes. Keep pancakes warm in oven while cooking remaining pancakes. Serve warm, passing honey-pecan butter on the side.

Mint truffles

Happy weekend! A while back I did a cooking demo for my book at a great store here in NYC called Broadway Panhandler. It's one of those amazing kitchen stores that has every gadget, hundreds of cookie cutters -- just aisle after aisle of fun kitchen things you didn't know you needed, but you do!

Anyway, I demonstrated a couple of recipes, one being chocolate truffles. You can make them any flavor just by changing the extract/liqueur -- the ones in my book are peppermint. Instead of rolling them in cocoa, I crushed some mint chocolate wafer cookies and rolled them in those. I just like the texture of the cookie crumbs instead of the powdery cocoa.

These make a fabulous gift if you're going to someone's house for dinner -- or they're just nice to have in the fridge if you want just a little something to calm those chocolate cravings. They're super-rich, so 1 or 2 will do ya.

Enjoy!

Incidentally, before I post the recipe, I just wanted to gently encourage you to... say something! Every week I get a report on how many people have visited my little corner of the web. There are lots and lots of you lurking around and not saying anything. Now, of course, I love that you've come to visit, I'm so honored that you took the time to come visit me, and you're under no obligation to comment. But I do love hearing your voice, and I certainly welcome any feedback, so don't be shy! OK, thanks.

Peppermint Truffles 
(Note: This isn't the exact recipe from my book - it's a variation)
Makes about 30

4 oz. semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
4 oz. bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
pinch of salt
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 1/2 Tbsp. unsalted butter
1 1/2 Tbsp. peppermint extract
1 5.25-oz. box mint chocolate wafer cookies, crushed in food processor (I used Anna's chocolate mint thins, but you could use Mint Milanos or Nabisco chocolate wafers)


1. Place both chocolates and salt in a stainless-steel bowl. Bring cream just to a boil. Pour cream over chocolates and allow to stand for 5 minutes. Add butter and stir with a small flexible spatula until smooth. Stir in peppermint extract. Cover with plastic wrap (allow the plastic to just touch the surface of the mixture) and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight.

2. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment; place cookie crumbs in a bowl. Using a small ice cream scoop, portion the chocolate mixture into small balls and place on baking sheet. Roll a ball between your palms gently and quickly, then drop ball into bowl of cookie crumbs. Toss ball in crumbs just to coat lightly, then place truffle back on baking sheet. Repeat with remaining truffles and crumbs. Place baking sheet back in refrigerator and chill truffles until firm. Transfer truffles to airtight containers and keep refrigerated for up to 1 week.

"Chubby Hubby" bars

Hi all! Hope you had a great weekend. Quick post tonight. These are some seriously addictive bars I made recently, bursting with all the flavors of Ben & Jerry's Chubby Hubby ice cream -- namely chocolate chips, peanut butter, pretzels and vanilla. You may recall that I made a version of these before -- but I like this one better because it has more peanut butter in it, and I'm nothing if not obsessed with peanut butter. I cut these pretty small because they're super-rich, so a little truly goes a long way. (Having said that, if you ever wanted to really, REALLY indulge, I think one of these warmed up with a scoop of Chubby Hubby ice cream on top might be kind of amazing. I'll have to get back to you on that...)

10 in 10 update: I had a completely delicious cookie at a photo shoot on Friday -- chocolate chip with dried cherries, heaven! It was the first dessert I'd had since New Year's Eve, and I ate it slowly and enjoyed every bite. (It was a photo shoot for the magazine I work for -- so really, eating it was quality control. That's my story and I'm sticking to it!) No sweets since then, and I even baked this weekend (more on that soon). So far, so good! Hope your 10 in 10 plan is going great!

Enjoy!


Chubby Hubby Bars
Makes about 32

16 Tbsp. (2 sticks) unsalted butter
3 Tbsp. peanut butter
1 3/4 cups packed dark brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. salt
1 cup dark chocolate chips (OK, maybe I threw in a little more...)
1 cup peanut butter chips
1 cup chopped pretzels

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF; line a 9-by-13-inch baking pan with foil and mist foil with cooking spray.

2. Melt butter, peanut butter and brown sugar in a saucepan over very low heat, stirring often. Remove from heat, scrape into a large bowl, and let cool slightly. When cool, whisk in eggs and vanilla. Stir flour and salt together, then stir into butter mixture. Fold in chocolate chips, peanut butter chips and pretzels.

3. Scrape batter into pan and spread evenly. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until just set. Let cool in pan on a wire rack. Cover and chill overnight. Cut into bars and serve. Keep any leftovers (yeah, right!) wrapped well and refrigerated, or in an airtight container at room temperature.

Tree-nut-free granola, and 10 in 10

Happy New Year, friends!

Well, 2009 was pretty amazing for me: I had a baby, and my first cookbook was published (and it got some really good reviews, including a great online book tour and a really lovely write-up from one of my heroes, Rose Levy Beranbaum), the magazine I work for is doing really well (even in a year when several beautiful, extraordinary magazines, like Gourmet, shuttered) -- lots and lots of truly wonderful things happened. I also joined Twitter, with which I have kind of a love/hate relationship. But the thing I do love about Twitter is that it's introduced me to so many more of you, my great foodie friends!

So... what happened for you in 2009?

Of course, having had a great year, I want to make the next one even better. Where better to start than with improving myself? And thanks to my pal Lori, a.k.a. The Recipe Girl, I have some inspiration and support to do just that. I've joined her fantastic "10 in 10" program, in which a whole bunch of bloggers are setting goals for themselves to get healthier and supporting each other over 10 weeks to make it happen. Great idea, right? Read more about it -- and join us! -- here.

My goal is to eat less sugar. Now, you may be thinking, "Cookie Pie! Dumb-ass! You have a baking blog!" And you would be right (about both :) So here's the deal: Yes, I plan to keep baking just as much, just as decadently, and share the goodies with you. Usually when I bake it's either for an event or to bring to someone's house -- Mark and I generally don't sit around eating a ton of desserts. And if there's something I just really want to make for no particular reason, I usually bring it to work to pawn off on my colleagues. :) So this isn't a radical change. But over the past few months I feel like I've been having more and more treats, and it's time for a return to better habits. Still, with a sweet tooth like mine, it's soooooo hard to say no, so I'm very grateful to have Recipe Girl's fabulous program to help keep me motivated!

This isn't a strict diet by any means. I'm already at a healthy weight -- and I'm still nursing my baby girl, so I need a certain amount of calories every day. Plus, I'm not planning to give up all desserts (please! Life is too short!). The goal is to cut back to one treat a week, maybe occasionally two if I'm going out to dinner or something like that. I'd like to eat far fewer sweets, and really enjoy the ones I have, rather than having a little something several days a week.

Wish me luck! And all you 10-in10-ers out there, all my best to you!

Speaking of healthier eating, I'm starting CookiePie off this year with a good-for-you recipe too. I wanted to make a holiday gift for my good pal Brenda, who you may recall has tons of allergies. But she's on a health kick recently, so cookies and other treats were out of the question. So I decided to make her some granola.

Bren is allergic to tree nuts and cinnamon, so granola presented a challenge -- but I love a challenge! Fortunately she can have both peanuts and coconut, so I tossed them in along with oats, oat bran and some other goodies. If you like granola but have never made it, give it a try -- it's one of those things that's MUCH better homemade than bought (not to mention much cheaper!), and deceptively easy to make.Once you make it yourself, you'll never go back.

Enjoy! And a very happy 2010 to you!

Brenda's Nut-Free Granola
(Makes about 6 cups)

3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1 cup chopped roasted unsalted peanuts
1/2 cup pumpkin seeds
1/3 cup oat bran or wheat germ
1 cup sweetened flaked coconut
1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 tsp. salt
1/4 cup plus 1 Tbsp. pure maple syrup (preferably grade B)
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 cup raisins

1. Preheat oven to 250ºF. Line 2 large rimmed baking sheets with foil.

2. In a large bowl, combine the oats, peanuts, pumpkin seeds, oat bran, coconut, brown sugar and salt. Toss to mix well.

3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the maple syrup and oil. Pour the maple mixture into the oat mixture and mix with a flexible spatula until all the dry ingredients are moistened. Divide the mixture among the 2 baking sheets and spread evenly. Bake for about 1 hour and 10 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes. After the second stirring, rotate the baking sheets from top to bottom and front to back.

4. Remove the granola from the oven and transfer to a large bowl; let cool. Add the raisins and mix well. Store in an airtight container.

NOTES:
* Swap in any kind of nut for the peanuts, if you don't have allergies. A mix of nuts is also nice.
* Substitute honey for the maple syrup, and/or melted unsalted butter for the oil.
* Add a teaspoon of cinnamon, or a few spices, or a spice blend like pumpkin pie spice. Whisk it into the liquid before tossing the ingredients together.
* Instead of raisins, chop up some other dried fruit, such as apricots, apples or unsweetened dried pineapple. Dried cherries or cranberries are also great.
*If you're feeling frisky, toss in a few mini chocolate chips!

Hummingbird pancakes

Well, hello there. Hope you had a very happy Christmas, and that you're enjoying a long holiday break! If so, here are some tasty pancakes you can whip up for that special someone...

Here's the story behind this yummy breakfast: Now that our baby (I call her "the mush," because she has a mushy little face! Sorry, just having a mommy moment...) is coming up on 9 months old, we've officially outgrown our teeny tiny little 1 bedroom apartment. And so we sold it. A big step for me, as this was the first place I've bought, and I did it by myself, which was a big life's goal of mine. Plus, Mark and I lived here together, got married while living here and had our baby here (did most of the labor right here!). So I'm sentimentally attached. But anyway, so we've rented a 2 bedroom a few blocks away while we look for a new home to buy. We're planning to move around mid-January, so we've been busily trying to use up all the odds and ends in our freezer, fridge and pantry.

Hence these pancakes, into which I threw a little of this, and a little of that -- but the result was a stack of healthy and satisfying cakes, full of grains and goodness, that tasted like a treat! The name comes from hummingbird cake -- that glorious southern concoction that features bananas, pineapple and pecans. The cake version is usually slathered with cream cheese frosting, but a dribble of pure maple syrup is all you need for my breakfast version.

Enjoy!

Hummingbird Pancakes
Makes about 12

1/4 cup buckwheat flour (or all-purpose, or whole wheat)
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 Tbsp. cornmeal
2 Tbsp. oat bran
1/4 cup finely chopped pecans
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
2 Tbso. packed dark brown sugar
1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1 large egg
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 small to medium-sized ripe bananas, mashed
3/4 cup milk (not skim)
1/4 cup plain yogurt (not nonfat)
8-oz. can crushed pineapple, not drained

1. Preheat oven to 200ºF. In a small bowl, combine both flours, cornmeal, oat bran, pecans, baking powder, salt and brown sugar; mix well. In a large bowl, whisk together oil, egg, vanilla, bananas, yogurt and milk. Add dry ingredients to banana mixture and stir until just moistened. Fold in pineapple, stirring until just mixed (do not over mix).

2. Warm a griddle over medium heat; butter griddle. Drop batter by 1/4 cupfuls onto hot griddle; cook until bubbles form and undersides are light golden, about 3 to 5 minutes. Flip pancakes and cook until light golden, about 1 minute longer. Place pancakes on a plate and keep warm in oven while cooking remaining pancakes. Serve hot with pure maple syrup.

Chocolate-chocolate chip gingerbread

Here we are, only 2 days to go until Christmas! If you're running around shopping, good luck out there! If you're home and you realize that you've baked baked baked for everyone else but didn't save anything for yourself, or you need a quick and easy dessert to bring to someone's party, try these soft, spicy chocolate-chocolate chip gingerbread bars. They offer all the warm, delicious spices that make the whole house smell like the holiday, and a bit of chocolate and cocoa because... well, do you really need a reason?

Enjoy! Merry Christmas to all!

Chocolate-Chocolate Chip Gingerbread
(Adapted from Martha Stewart Everyday Food)
Makes 16

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
Generous pinch ground cloves
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
4 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
1/2 cup packed dark-brown sugar
1/4 cup molasses
1 large egg
1/4 cup sour cream
1 1/2 Tbsp. finely chopped crystallized ginger
1/2 cup chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Butter an 8-inch square baking pan. Line pan with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on two sides. Butter parchment, then dust parchment and pan sides with cocoa.

2. In a bowl, whisk together cocoa, flour, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, baking soda and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk butter, brown sugar, molasses, egg and sour cream. Fold flour mixture into molasses mixture just until moistened. Gently fold in crystallized ginger and chocolate chips. Spoon batter into prepared pan; smooth top.

3. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 30 minutes. Place pan on a wire rack and let cool completely. Using paper overhang, lift gingerbread from pan. Transfer to a cutting board and cut into 16 squares. To store, keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.