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.

Dutch Oven Bread

Today I am going to tell you about one of my favorite breads.  We call it "crusty crust" bread because the crust is so crusty but the inside is soft and yummy.  

My mom taught me how to make this bread and it is so simple to make. She got the recipe from my Great-Aunt Maralee.  My dad says it reminds him of bread in Europe. 

The ingredients are so simple that it's easy to memorize the recipe. This bread uses only a tiny amount of yeast and it has a very long rise.  That makes it better for you.

Maralee's Dutch Oven Bread

AKA”Crusty-Crust Bread”

Makes 4 big round loaves.

12 cups flour

1 teaspoon yeast

2 Tablespoons salt

6 cups water

Mix dry ingredients.

Add water. Mix with a wooden spoon just till combined. 

Do not knead, this is a very loose dough.

Cover bowl and leave on counter for 14-18 hours.

When you are ready to shape the bread, flour the counter and 

set out four squares of parchment paper.

Pour out onto the generously floured surface.  

With dough cutter, fold dough into itself two or three times.  

It will still be very loose.  

Cut into 4 balls.  

Place each ball on parchment and cover with a cotton cloth.  

Let rise on counter for about another two hours.

Preheat oven with Dutch oven inside to 510'.  

When heated, plop the parchment and dough into the Dutch oven and put the lid on top.

Bake, covered, for 30 minutes.  

Then remove lid and continue baking until nice and brown, for 10-15 minutes.  

Turn onto cooling rack.

It is delicious hot or cooled. If you want to eat it hot, slice it as soon as you can stand to touch it.

Serve warm, slathered in butter or dunked in hearty soup.

Here's a printable version:

Maralee's Dutch Oven Bread

AKA"Crusty-Crust Bread”

Makes 4 boules.

12 cups flour

1 teaspoon yeast

2 Tablespoons salt

6 1/2 cups water

Mix dry ingredients. Add water. Mix just till combined. Do not knead, this is a very loose dough.

Cover bowl and leave on counter for 14-18 hours.

Turn out onto a generously floured surface.  With dough cutter, fold dough into itself two or three times.  It will still be very loose.  Form into 4 balls.  Place on parchment and cover with cotton cloths. Leave undisturbed on on counter for another two hours.

Preheat oven with Dutch oven inside to 510'.  When heated, plop the parchment and dough into the Dutch oven and put the lid on top.

Bake, covered, for 30 minutes.  Remove lid and continue baking until nicely browned for 10-15 minutes.  Turn onto cooling rack.  As soon as you can stand to touch it, slice it.  Serve warm, slathered in butter or dunked in hearty soup or cool.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

Note: This is a re-post of a recipe I had posted a long time ago.

This recipe is part of my Hero Collection, and it represents my Dad. I chose this recipe because they are my Dad's favorite and he always asks me to make them and snitches them as soon as they are cool enough to touch!

Last fall and winter I made these cookies almost once a week! They always went so fast! And pumpkin is good for you, so don't feel bad for eating them.  They are very simple to make, and we usually have canned pumpkin in the pantry in the fall and winter.  

My Dad is a hero to me because he is funny, kind, loving, wonderful and caring. 

Instructions:

In a large bowl, combine all of the ingredients except the flour and chocolate chips, mix well with a wooden spoon.

Doesn't that look like a cranky pumpkin?!

Add in the flour and mix well.  Then add in the chocolate chips and mix until it is all mixed together.

Drop the batter onto a cookie sheet covered with parchment.  I use a large cookie scoop so the cookies are big.  Bake at 350' for 15 minutes.

Let them cool a little on the pan before you move them to a rack to finish cooling.  Then eat them or take some to your neighbors!  They make a great gift and they are perfect for fall!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

Adapted from Ivory Family Favorite Recipes

1 29-ounce can of pumpkin

2 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 cup olive oil (or a mixture of olive oil and melted coconut oil)

2 teaspoons nutmeg

2 teaspoons cinnamon

2 teaspoons baking soda

2 teaspoons baking powder

3 cups sugar

1 teaspoon salt

5 cups flour

2 cups chocolate chips

In a large bowl combine pumpkin, eggs, vanilla, and oil, nutmeg, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, sugar and salt.  Stir in the flour and chocolate chips. Drop scoops of batter onto pans covered with parchment and bake at 350' for 15 minutes. Let them cool on the pan for a few minutes, then put them on wire racks to finish cooling. Enjoy!

Notes: If you use a large scoop only put about nine cookies on a pan. Also, since these cookies are actually the consistency of pumpkin bread, they don't stack well for storing or giving. Lay them in a single layer!

Yummy Focaccia

I love this bread because it is so crusty and oily and delicious.  When you are making it, your hands get all oily and messy.  It's fun!  It is also really good with a chicken and bacon salad, which I will post in the future.

Yummy focaccia with sea salt and half rosemary.

It is not hard, but I will explain the complicated part.  

You start out by mixing a pretty basic olive oil dough.  We use a Bosch.  Let it knead for about 5 minutes until it is very smooth.

Then let it rise.  After the first rise, you have to spread it into the pan.  

This is the oily and messy part!  You have to pour oil into the pan and then spread the dough out.  

This shows you how to stretch and spread your fingers to make the dough fit the pan.

While you are spreading, you separate your fingers and poke holes in the dough.  I know it sounds weird, but that is what gives the focaccia the right look.

This is the loaf after the second rise.  It has been sprinkled with coarse salt and rosemary (on half) and is ready to bake!

Yummy Focaccia

Adapted from Anne Burrell on foodnetwork.com

1 3/4 cups warm water

1 tablespoon yeast

1 tablespoon sugar

5 cups flour

1 tablespoon salt plus course sea salt for sprinkling

1 cup extra-virgin olive oil, divided

Optional add-ons: rosemary, whole crushed garlic cloves, chopped kalamata olives

In mixer bowl combine salt, yeast, 1/2 cup olive oil, water, and sugar.

Turn on mixer and add flour until dough cleans the sides of the bowl.

Once the dough has come together, continue to knead for 5 to 6 minutes on medium speed until it becomes smooth and soft.

Coat the inside of a large bowl with olive oil and put dough into the bowl. Cover it with plastic wrap or a lid and put it in a warm place until the dough has doubled in size, at least 1 hour.

Coat a jelly roll pan with the remaining 1/2 cup olive oil. 

(Chef's Note: This may seem excessive, but focaccia is a oily crusted bread. This is why it is soooooooooo delicious!) Put the dough onto the pan and flip it over to coat the other side. Then begin pressing it out to fit the size of the pan. As you are doing so, spread your fingers out and make finger holes all the way through the dough. 

(Chef's Note: Yes, this seems strange. But when the dough rises again, the holes will seal and the focaccia will have crags and creases and nooks and crannies. It you don't make the holes all the way through, the dough will “heal” too much and will end up smooth.)

Cover and rise again until the dough has doubled again, about 1 hour. While it is rising a second time, preheat the oven to 425'.

Liberally sprinkle the dough with coarse sea salt. (You can also add rosemary, whole smashed garlic cloves, chopped kalamata olives, if you like them, like my mom. But not me. I prefer it with just salt.) Bake until the top of the loaf is golden brown, about 25 to 30 minutes. Allow to cool before cutting and enjoying.