Coconut Cherry Bars

I like these bars because they are sweet and jammy and the crunchy coconut is pretty great, too!  I got this recipe from my mom who got it from her friend Josh.  He's a caterer, so he knows what is good. We have also made them with raspberry jam and they are delicious, of course.

Instructions:

First, make the crust.  Preheat oven to 350. Lightly grease a 9''x 13'' baking pan.

Place flour, butter, sugar, almonds, and salt in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until combined and mixture is crumbly.

Press crust mixture evenly into prepared pan.

Bake 15 to 20 minutes, or until the crust just begins to brown. Set pan on a wire rack while you prepare the filling.

Now, make the filling:

Carefully spread jam over partially baked crust, leaving about 1/4 inch around the edges.  I know I used more than 1/2 cup!

Place eggs in a mixing bowl and beat lightly. Add sugar and vanilla, and whisk to combine. 

Add flour and mix until combined.

Set aside 1/2 to 3/4 cup coconut. Add remaining coconut to filling mixture and stir to combine.

Transfer filling to partially baked crust, spreading evenly. 

Sprinkle reserved coconut over the top of the filling.

Bake 30 to 35 minutes, or until filling is set and coconut is lightly toasted.  Make sure the top layer is firm and done in the middle.

Cool bars in pan on a wire rack before cutting into bars.

Makes 24 2-inch bars.

Coconut Cherry Bars

Ingredients

For the crust:

1 1/2 cups flour

1 cup unsalted butter, cold & cut into 1/2-inch pieces

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup slivered almonds

1/4 teaspoon salt

For the filling:

1/2 generous cup cherry jam (or any kind of delicious jam)

4 large eggs

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 cup flour

3 cups sweetened coconut, divided

Instructions

To make the crust

Preheat oven to 350. Lightly grease a 9''x 13'' baking pan.

Place flour, butter, sugar, almonds, and salt in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until combined and mixture is crumbly.

Press crust mixture evenly into prepared pan.

Bake 15 to 20 minutes, or until the crust just begins to brown. Set pan on a wire rack while you prepare the filling.

To make the filling:

Carefully spread jam over partially baked crust, leaving about 1/4 inch around the edges.

Place eggs in a mixing bowl and beat lightly. Add sugar and vanilla, and whisk to combine. Add flour and mix until combined.

Set aside 1/2 to 3/4 cup coconut. Add remaining coconut to filling mixture and stir to combine.

Transfer filling to partially baked crust, spreading evenly. Sprinkle reserved coconut over the top of the filling.

Bake 30 to 35 minutes, or until filling is set and coconut is lightly toasted.

Cool bars in pan on a wire rack before cutting into bars.

Makes 24 2-inch bars.

The Best Cornbread

This recipe came from a cook book that the ladies in our church made. It is our family's favorite because it is sooo good and sweet. Sometimes we jokingly call it “corn cake” because it has more sugar than cornmeal. We usually grind our own cornmeal from popcorn kernels. I think it also makes it taste really good! 

This recipe makes an 8” square pan. But we have a big family and we really like it. So we usually triple it and bake it in a huge 11 x 15” roasting pan for 40 minutes.

Sweet Cornbread

from Stefanie Gover

1/2 cup cornmeal

1 1/2 cup flour

2/3 cup sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup oils (I usually use olive oil or a mix of olive and coconut oil)

2 eggs

3 tablespoons melted butter

1 1/4 cups milk

Grease an 8-inch pan.  Mix the dry ingredients.  Mix the wet ingredients.  Add the dry to the wet. Pour the batter into the pan. Bake at 350' for 35 minutes, or until a tester comes out clean.

Judi's Chocolate Chip Cookies

Our family got this recipe from our neighbor and friend in Las Vegas.  Since she only lived two doors down, she sometimes invited my older sister to come bake with her.  I was very young at the time!  But I do know that she was legendary for making really good treats.  

Judi's Best Chocolate Chip Cookies

from Judi Brennan

3 soft sticks of butter

1 1/4 cup brown sugar

1 1/4 cup white sugar

1 tablespoon vanilla

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

2 large eggs

4 cups flour

3 cups chocolate chips

Pre-heat oven to 350'.

In a mixing bowl cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy, for about 3 minutes. Add vanilla, baking soda, salt, and eggs. Mix well.

Blend in flour. Once it is all mixed together, turn off mixer and add the chocolate chips. Stir them in with a wooden spoon.

Scoop balls of dough onto a cookie sheet covered with parchment.

Let them bake for 10-12 minutes, or until barely done. Then put them on a wire rack to cool. Enjoy!

Makes 8 dozen.

Notes: I used an extra 1/4 cup flour because we live at high altitude.

Judi always recommends that you add 1/4 – 1/2 cup extra flour to your cookie recipes (she's already done that for this one) and to always underbake the cookies; they are done when the cookies are just barely dry and the edges are starting to get golden. They will firm up after you take them out.