Light Bites -Toasted Coconut Chocolate Cookies

I don't really like coconut. I like the flavour occasionally but....the texture just bugs me. I did really like these cookies. I doubled these with hopes to put most in the freezer. Well, these went fast but I did get some in the freezer. This is another recipe from Cooking Light for our Light Bites Cooking Group. I am so glad that these were picked because they were delicious and because of the coconut I would never have thought about them. I did change one thing; I didn't have the right kind of chocolate so I went with semi-sweet chocolate chips. I personally think I made the right decision.


Ingredients
from Cooking Light
1 cup flaked sweetened coconut
4.5 ounces all-purpose flour (about 1 cup)
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large egg
1/2 cup chocolate chips
Cooking spray

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. Arrange coconut in a single layer in a small baking pan. Bake at 350° for 7 minutes or until lightly toasted, stirring once. Set aside to cool.
3. Weigh or lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl; stir with a whisk until blended. Place sugar and butter in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended. Beat in vanilla and egg. Add flour mixture, beating at low speed just until combined. Stir in toasted coconut and chocolate.
4. Drop by level tablespoons 2 inches apart onto baking sheets coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 10 minutes or until bottoms of cookies just begin to brown. Remove from pan, and cool completely on wire racks.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip

Today I used up the last of the pumpkin with this neat recipe.  I liked it because it used the pumpkin puree instead of butter.  I also cut down the sugar, added some vanilla and milk.  These turned out great!  Mike loved them, especially because I added more chocolate chips because he was complaining that there never is enough.

INGREDIENTS:

3 1/3 cups all-purpose flour 2 teaspoons baking soda 2 cups white sugar 1 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg 2 cups canned pumpkin puree 4 eggs, beaten 2/3 cup water 1/3 cup milk 1 teaspoon vanilla 1 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips  DIRECTIONS: Makes 24 muffins.  Preheat oven to 350 F.  Combine wet ingredient and then dry.  Then spoon into muffin tins 2/3 full.  Bake for 25-30 minutes.

Absolute Best Banana Muffins Ever!

Last week got away from me and I only made one batch of muffins.  This week I am  back at it and will continue with Banana week or weeks as it turns out.

I love weekends.  I love having my husband home and relaxing.  We have been busy and really enjoying our weekends as a family.  The major down side is that we relax and not keep the house clean.  So I spend all week getting the house clean and then the weekend comes and it is turned into a sty.  So last week in revolt I did nothing.  But the joke is on me because guess who is cleaning this week?  Me.

I do love when the house is clean and I am motivated to clean and cook.  It is almost noon and already I have made some amazing muffins, prepared supper and put it in the crock pot, clean the kitchen and washed the floor.  It feels great!  Now I am going to fix lunch and tackle more laundry and the living room.

But first here is my absolute favorite banana muffin recipe.  This is the recipe that turned me on to using apple sauce to subsitute for butter.  These muffins are delcious and have an interesting texture.  They are not as bready as some muffins.  They are almost creamy if that makes sense.

I got the original here.  I did not change a thing.  I liked this recipe because it used lots of bananas.  I originally searched out a recipe that had more than one banana because I really wanted to used up the brown bananas I had.

Ingredients

·         3 large bananas, mashed

·         1/2 cup white sugar

·         1 egg, beaten

·         1 teaspoon baking soda

·         1 teaspoon baking powder

·         1 cup flour (you can use whole wheat for a change if you like)

·         1/2 cup rolled oat (instant is fine)

·         1/3 cup applesauce

·         1/2 teaspoon salt

·         1/2 cup chocolate chips

Directions

Add sugar to mashed bananas and mix. Add beaten egg and apple sauce then mix.  Add dry ingredients to the banana mixture and mix well. Add chocolate chips and Stir.  Spoon into medium size muffin tin (I use paper muffin cups so they won't stick) and fill 3/4's full. Bake for 20-25 minutes at 350.

Mocha Chocolate Chip

Here is the second installment of muffins for 'Chip Week'.  I wanted to try something with coffee for Mike because he has been working really long hours and tons of overtime and I thought muffins with coffee in them would be the perfect fix.  I got the original here.  I didn't change much except to cut the oil and add apple sauce.  These are great and nice and fluffy.  A lot of my muffins are really dense but these are nice and light.  And even though they are chocolate I do like them.  Believe it or not I am not a big fan of chocolate.

Mocha Chocolate-Chip Muffins 

1 3/4 cups all purpose flour

 2 tsp baking powder 

1/2 tsp baking soda 

1/4 tsp salt 

3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips, and more for sprinkling on top 

3 Tbsp good quality cocoa powder 

3/4 cup sugar 

3/4 cup milk 

1/4 cup strong coffee, room temperature 

1/6 cup, plus 2 Tbsp vegetable oil

1/6 cup of applesauce - don't worry about being exact as long as there is 1/3 and 2 tbsp of oil and applesauce

 1 egg 

1 tsp vanilla extract 

Sift all dry ingredients together in a bowl. In a large measuring cup, mix all wet ingredients. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir  till moistened.  Line a muffin tin with paper liners and fill with batter.  I sprinkled with some of the remaining chocolate chips and then baked for 18 minutes in a 400 degree oven.

Chocolate Chip Avocado Muffins

 On my quest of finding more ways of getting vegetables into my family, I started to look for a way to get them to eat avocados.  Avocados are one of the healthiest vegetables out there.  A friend once told me that if a person was to only eat one food that it should be avocados.  Avocados are high in fat, potassium, fibre and vitamins B, E and K.  I found the original recipe here.  I was a little wary because it is a vegan recipe.  Not that I am against vegans it is just I occasionally find the recipes to be lacking in sweetness which is something I love in a muffin.  Also Mike has been asking for muffins with chocolate chips and these muffins are fabulous!  I am not a huge chocolate fan but they are delicious!

Ingredients

    1/3 cup butter

    1/3 cup applesauce
    3 teaspoon vanilla
    1 cup sugar
    12 tablespoon ground flax seed + 1 1/3 cup water
    3 1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
    1/2 cup cocoa
    2 teaspoon baking soda
    4 teaspoon baking p1/2 tablespoon salt
    3 avocados, mashed (eat the other half in an avocado-dilla!)
    a few handfuls of chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat to 350. Cream the margarine, sugar, and vanilla together. Then add your flax, then the avocado. (I just added it straight up and let the mixer do the work) add the baking soda, baking powder, salt, flour, and cocoa powder.  You may need to add a splash of  milk depending on the texture. After all is mixed, add in your handfuls of chocolate chips. Bake for 25 minutes! Makes 10 giant muffins or 12 normal sized ones.


Serves: 24-36

Preparation time: 35 minutes (25 baking)