Finally?!

Here's something I want y'all to take a look at:

MMM
UGH
OH GOD
So good.

Try it yourself!

Chocolate & Coconut Rum Cupcakes
Recipe from Half Baked Harvest


For the Cupcakes:
1 cup coconut flavored rum (ie Malibu)
1 cup unsalted butter
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 cups sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
2 large eggs
2/3 cup greek yogurt

For the Frosting:
1 cup butter, softened
4 1/2 – 4 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup coconut rum
1 tablespoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F, and line 2 standard cupcake pans with 24 liners.

In a large saucepan over medium heat, simmer coconut rum and butter. Slowly whisk cocoa powder into saucepan until mixture is creamy. Remove from heat and allow to cool.

Meanwhile, whisk sugar, flour, salt and baking soda in a large bowl.

In a separate bowl, beat eggs and greek yogurt with an electric mixer. Slowly add coconut rum and cocoa mixture. Combine on low speed.

Slowly add flour and sugar mixture, combining on low speed until completely incorporated.

Fill baking cups three-fourths full. Bake for about 22 minutes. Cool.

To make the frosting cream butter until smooth. Gradually add powdered sugar, alternating with rum and vanilla, until desired consistency is reached. Feel free to add more or less sugar or liquid based on how thick you want your frosting.

Coconut Cookies

After finals period at my college, we had this thing called "senior week". For a week, seniors just chill out: there are events, some free & some expensive. There are friends with no obligations or work so you can just hang out. It was still pretty stressful, because I felt like there were an overwhelming number of people to see and things to do before it was too late. The first day of senior week was actually the last friday of exams, a couple weeks ago. Our college version of "prom" was that night, and my friends decided that was too expensive (I was going to go, but you have to be 21, and my boyfriend wasn't 21 yet) so they threw their own and invited everyone. Their twist on it was that everybody who came had to bring something to show: a song, a skit, food. Of course I brought food. I made these cookies and they were gone in a second. They were super delicious and super easy, I'll definitely make these again.

Coconut Cookies
Recipe from allrecipes.com

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/3 cups flaked coconut

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C.) Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside.

In a medium bowl, cream the butter, brown sugar, and white sugar until smooth. Beat in the egg and vanilla until light and fluffy. Gradually blend in the flour mixture, then mix in the coconut. Drop dough by teaspoonfuls onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Cookies should be about 3 inches apart.

Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until lightly toasted. Cool on wire racks.

Almond Joy Cookies

Some of my friends liked these, but I thought they were a little too dark-chocolate for my taste...I didn't get the flavor of almonds or coconut. I don't think I'll make these again but they were fine if you like dark chocolate. I guess they just didn't do well against the other two chocolate cookies that I made as part of the four batches of cookies I made for my friends before winter break!

Almond Joy Cookies
Recipe from Can you Stay for Dinner?

6 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1 1/3 cups sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup chopped almonds
1 cup sweetened, flaked coconut

Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. Set it aside.

In a small bowl, microwave the chopped chocolate and butter for 1 minute at high power. Stir and continue to microwave at 15 second intervals until the mixture has melted. Be careful not to burn your chocolate.

In a large bowl, beat eggs with sugar and vanilla until well blended, about 3 minutes. Stir in melted chocolate mixture. Scrape down the sides of the bowl to mix well. Stir in flour mixture. The dough will be thick. Add chopped almonds and coconut and stir to incorporate.

Cover the dough and refrigerate it for 30 minutes. This will allow it to firm up and rest, for a chewier cookie center.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper and set aside. Shape the dough into balls roughly 2 tablespoons in size. Roll them between your palms and flatten them slightly with your fingertips. Space two inches apart on the baking sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes, until they’ve puffed and begun to look dry and cracked on top. Remove to cool on a wire rack.

Black-Bottom Coconut Bars

Sorry for taking so long! I actually made these with a friend the week before Thanksgiving, so....a while ago. I guess I've been slacking off a little. These were really good, I think probably better the day after, but still deliciousss. They were also really easy--I definitely want to try making these again!

Black-Bottom Coconut Bars
By Martha Stewart, found here

FOR CHOCOLATE BASE:
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, plus more for pan
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 large egg
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 cup all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)

FOR COCONUT TOPPING:
2 large eggs
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
1 package sweetened shredded coconut (7 ounces), 1/2 cup reserved for sprinkling

For chocolate base: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a 9-inch square baking pan with aluminum foil, leaving a slight overhang; butter bottom and sides of foil (not overhang).

Place butter in a large microwave-safe bowl; melt in microwave. Add sugar and salt; whisk to combine. Whisk in egg, then cocoa and flour until smooth. Spread batter in prepared pan.

Bake just until sides begin to pull away from edges of pan, 10 to 15 minutes (do not overbake). Let cool slightly while preparing coconut topping. Keep oven on for topping.

For coconut topping: In a medium bowl, whisk eggs with sugar and vanilla. Gently mix in flour and coconut (except 1/2 cup reserved for sprinkling).

Drop mounds of mixture over chocolate base; spread and pat in gently and evenly with moistened fingers. Sprinkle with reserved 1/2 cup coconut.

Bake until golden and a toothpick inserted in center comes out with moist crumbs attached, 25 to 30 minutes. Cool completely in pan. Lift cake from pan, peel off foil, and cut into 24 bars. Store in an airtight container 3 to 4 days.

Lemon Coconut Bars

I was really scared when making this recipe because I wasn't sure what it was supposed to look like. The color seemed a little uneven when it came out and some of them tasted a little too much like flour, but I don't know if that was all in my head, because these were a hit! I feel like I'd want to change them around a little bit but people really liked them. Very lemony--I'd like a little more coconut flavor, which seemed more prominent when they were just baked other than after being refrigerated, but overall they were good and super easy to make!

Lemon Coconut Bars
Recipe From My Baking Addiction

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar
3/4 cup cold butter or margarine
4 eggs
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup lemon juice
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup flaked coconut

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a 9 x 13 x 2 inch pan with foil or parchment paper and spray with non-stick cooking spray.

In a bowl, combine flour and confectioners’ sugar; cut in the butter until crumbly (I used my food processor and pulsed the ingredients until thoroughly combined).

Press into the bottom of a lightly greased 13-in. x 9-in. x 2-in. baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees F for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a mixing bowl, beat the eggs, sugar, lemon juice and baking powder until well mixed. Pour over crust; sprinkle coconut evenly over the top.

Bake at 350 degrees F for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.

Cool on a wire rack. Cut into bars.

Chocolate Cupcakes with Coconut

I've been kind of distracted lately, but I'm still baking every now and then! Back on the day that I made those whoopie pies, I also made these chocolate cupcakes with coconut. They were good: I used the same recipe I did for this chocolate coconut cake a while ago. I think it would have been better if I'd filled the cupcakes or used a different cupcake recipe. As a cake, this was GREAT. As cupcakes, I think I expected a little more. Nonetheless, they were still pretty good and were definitely pretty! As you can see, I added sprinkles to some for the friends who don't like coconut so much.

Coconut Snowballs

I love coconut, so I also made these in December. My favorite cookies of all time are my mom's Christmas Nut Cookies (also snowballs, mexican wedding cakes, etc), and these were pretty close in texture since they melt in your mouth. The recipe is a Martha Stewart recipe, found here.

Dorie Greenspan's Chewy, Chunky Blondies

Finally I baked again. I'll probably bake once a week and update on the weekends from now on until I get a break from school. For this recipe I used butterscotch chips, left out the walnuts, and for the chocolate used chopped up pieces of Ghiradelli 70% cacao for 4 ounces that was the bar, and then about a fourth a cup for semi-sweet chocolate chips. I'd been wanting to make something with coconut and butterscotch for a while, so I'm glad I finally got around to doing it!

Chewy, Chunky Blondies
Recipe from Dorie Greenspan's
Baking: From My Home to Yours
2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups (packed) light brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped into chips, or 1 cup store-bought chocolate chips
1 cup butterscotch chips or Heath Toffee Bits
1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts
1 cup sweetened shredded coconut

Getting Ready: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Butter a 9×13-inch baking pan and put it on a baking sheet.
Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the butter on medium speed until smooth and creamy. Add both sugars and beat for another 3 minutes, or until well incorporated. Add the eggs one by one, beating for 1 minute after each addition, then beat in the vanilla. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the dry ingredients, mixing just until they disappear into the batter. Using a rubber spatula, stir in the chips, nuts and coconut. Scrape the batter into the buttered pan and use the spatula to even the top as best you can.

Bake for about 40 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the center of the blondies comes out clean. The blondies should pull away from the sides of the pan a little and the top should be a nice honey brown. Transfer the pan to a rack and cool for about 15 minutes before turning the blondies out onto another rack. Invert onto a rack and cool the blondies to room temperature right side up.

Cut into 32 bars, each roughly 2-1/4 x 1-1/2 inches.

Chocolate Cake with Coconut

So my friend Kerri, who I made the Burnt Sugar Cake for at the beginning of summer, wanted a chocolatey-coconuty cake before I left for school. So this was a little while ago. But I love coconut too, and since it wasn't just a chocolate cake, I decided to see my friends one last time before leaving across the country again by making a cake and inviting them over.

The cake batter for this recipe was so, so, SO easy, especially since it was all made in one bowl. It took about five minutes longer than the recipe required to bake in the oven, but it turned out DELICIOUS. And to think, I'd almost used the chocolate cake recipe that I made for Steven's cake because I knew that one was good. Now I can't decide which one was better. This one is a Hershey's recipe and is so moist and goes perfectly with the light meringue frosting and the almond ganache filling. I want to make this cake again, just as it is, no other mixing and matching, right away!

I got this combination of recipes from 2 Stews. To grind my almonds I used a mortar and pestle, and I didn't have 8 ounces of bittersweet chocolate on me for the ganache, so I used 2 oz bittersweet, 6 oz semisweet, and a bit of cocoa powder.

Chocolate Cake
Adapted by 2 Stews from Hershey's "Perfectly Chocolate" Chocolate Cake

2 cups sugar
1 3/4 cups flour
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup boiling water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease, flour and line with parchment a 9 inch cake pan or line a muffin tin with cupcake baking cups.

Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl. Add eggs, milk, oil, and vanilla; beat on medium speed for 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water (batter will be thin). Pour into lined muffin tin. Bake 30-35 minutes for cake and 20-25 minutes for cupcakes or until wooden toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack.

Makes 30 cupcakes or 2-9 inch layer cakes.





Chocolate Almond Ganache
Recipe from 2 Stews

8 ounces bittersweet chocolate
1 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup ground almonds
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract

Break up the chocolate into a medium bowl. Heat the cream until just boiling and pour over the chocolate. Let it sit until the chocolate is melted. Stir to combine evenly and stir in the vanilla and almond extract. Let sit at room temperature until thick and creamy, but not too firm to spread.

Makes about 2 cups.







Meringue Frosting With Coconut
Recipe from 2 Stews

2 cups sugar
2/3 cups water
6 egg whites
pinch of salt
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
About 1-1 1/2 cups shredded coconut for the top and sides

Combine the sugar and water in a heavy medium saucepan and bring to a boil without stirring. Boil until it reaches the soft ball stage, 240 degrees on a candy thermometer.

While the syrup is cooking, beat the egg whites with the salt and cream of tartar until stiff peaks form. When the syrup reaches 240 degrees, pour 1/4 cup of the syrup into the stiffly beaten egg whites, drop by drop, beating at high speed. Gradually add the rest of the syrup in a fine stream and beat for 8 to 12 minutes, or until the mixture is cool. Beat in vanilla extract. The mixture should be glossy and thick, but not dry.

Makes about 6 cups.





Assembly

Place one layer of the cake on a serving platter. Spread an even layer of the ganache on top. Place the second layer on and frost with the meringue frosting. Sprinkle the shredded coconut on top and lightly pat on the sides.

Coconut Macaroons

I don't know how these turned out because I didn't get to try one and nobody really told me. But these were the easiest things in the world to make...I just threw together the few, simple ingredients and scooped 'em out and baked them right after I baked those chocolate cookies. These were the last cookies I made to send...probably not a very good idea to send these (or the meringues I made) but they needed to be done!

Coconut Macaroons
Recipe from Martha Stewart's Cookies, found on A Chica Bakes

3/4 cup sugar
2 1/2 cups unsweetened shredded coconut
2 large egg whites
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a large bowl, combine sugar, coconut, egg whites, vanilla and salt. Using your hands, mix well, completely combining ingredients. Dampen your hands with cold water. Use 1 1/2 tablespoons to form mounds; place on prepared baking sheet, spacing about 1 inch apart. Bake until golden brown, 16-17 minutes, rotating halfway through (mine took about 15 minutes). Let cool on a wire rack. Cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature up to 3 days.