Biscotti Brings Me Back

Hello? Anybody out there? After all my time away, quite possibly not, but I'll cross my fingers that someone is still reading my little ol blog. There has obviously been no blogging for quite some time, but amid the fiascos that are my life, I have continued to bake, and bake some delicious things I have! Bear with me, and I promise to do my best to catch everyone up on my baking adventures, and mix in a few stories about my crazy life. Christmas, which is when I went on my most recent blogging hiatus, was of course filled with many day long kitchen adventures. One of my favorite new recipes, which I included in my foodie gift bags, is this Coconut Biscotti recipe. I love, love, love biscotti, and I think this is my new favorite. The coconut flavor is not overpowering, it's just right. I found myself sneaking one of these every morning with my coffee until suddenly there were no more. Thankfully the biscotti are pretty low fat, so I wasn't too ridden with guilt. Coconut Biscotti From Cooking Light 2 cups all-purpose flour 3/4 teaspoon baking powder 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon baking soda 1/8 teaspoon grated whole nutmeg 3/4 cup sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 2 large eggs 1 cup flaked sweetened coconut Preheat oven to 300°. Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour and next 4 ingredients (through nutmeg). Place sugar, vanilla, and eggs in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed 2 minutes or until thick. Add flour mixture and coconut; stir to combine (dough will be very sticky). Turn dough out onto a heavily floured surface; knead lightly 7 or 8 times. Shape dough into a 15 x 3-inch roll. Place roll on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, and pat to 1-inch thickness. Bake at 300° for 40 minutes or until roll is golden brown. Cool for 5 minutes on a wire rack. Cut roll diagonally into 20 (1/2-inch-thick) slices; stand slices upright on baking sheet. Bake 20 minutes (cookies will be slightly soft in center but will harden as they cool). Remove from baking sheet; cool completely on wire rack. Yield 20 cookies (serving size: 1 biscotto) 2.5 grams of fat *The original recipe called for 1 1/2 cups flour, but the dough was entirely too sticky.

Coconut Cream Pie Coffee Cooler

I'm a coffee junkie, that just goes without saying. I don't drink it to wake up or even to stay awake, I drink it because it tastes good to me, simply put. I drink the majority of my coffee hot, but I love a good iced coffee with it's creamy sweetness. Yum! And frappaccinos? Love them! Making a run to Starbucks isn't always convenient though, not to mention it can get expensive! So with this super-duper summer heat I often find myself wanting to whip up my own iced coffee and blended coffee coolers to satisfy my cravings. I've found that in order to build a nice creamy base that doesn't taste watered down using vanilla or other flavors of yogurt works best. And it's important that when brewing your coffee you brew it extra strong when making coffee coolers and iced coffee. Coconut Cream Pie Coffee Cooler 8 oz coconut cream pie flavored yogurt 3/4 cup crushed ice 2 tablespoons sugar, more or less to taste 1/2 cup strong brewed coffee, cooled 1/4 cup heavy cream or (fat free) half-and-half 2 graham crackers (usually half of a cookie sheet), crumbled Put all ingredients except graham cracker crumbs into blender. Blend until combined and smooth. Break graham crackers into small pieces and add to blender. Pulse to mix. Serve in a chilled glass with a straw. Yields 1 large serving. Stay tuned for my next coffee creation perfect for helping you beat the heat.