Christina's Coconut Lime Sugar Cookies

adapted from The Girl Who Ate Everything

2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup coconut oil, heated until barely melted then cooled1 ½ cups white sugar
1 egg
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
zest of two large (three small) limes
3 tbsp lime juice
1 cup coconut
½ cup sugar for rolling cookies

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper. If you haven't already toasted your coconut just put a layer of coconut on a cookie sheet and bake it at 350 degrees for 5-7 minutes. Watch out. It goes from white to burnt really quick if you aren't watching closely.
2. In a small bowl, stir together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
3. Using a mixer, beat together the butter and sugar until smooth and very fluffy.
4. Beat in egg, vanilla extract, lime juice and lime zest.
5. Gradually blend in the dry ingredients and toasted coconut.
6. Roll rounded teaspoonfuls of dough into balls, and roll in sugar. Place on lined cookie sheets about 1 1/2 inches apart. I made mine too big and they ran together. These do spread quite a bit.
7. Bake 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until lightly browned.
8. Let stand on cookie sheet two minutes before removing to cool on wire racks.

Fantastic served with cream cheese frosting with the zest of a lime or two.

Christina's Double Coconut Muffins

from Smitten Kitchen


1/2 cup virgin coconut oil
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon table salt
1 cup full fat Greek-style yogurt, at room temperature is best (or use coconut cream)
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg, at room temperature is best
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup sweetened shredded coconut, divided

Preheat oven to 375°F. Either grease 10 muffin cups with butter or coconut oil, or line them with papers.

In a small saucepan, warm your coconut oil just until it melts. It should still be on the cool side.

In a medium bowl, whisk together your flours, baking powder and salt. Stir 1/2 cup shredded coconut. In a separate bowl, whisk together egg, sugar, coconut oil, yogurt and vanilla. Stir into dry ingredients until just combined. Divide batter among prepared muffin cups then sprinkle the top with remaining 1/4 cup coconut, about 1 to 2 teaspoons on each.

Bake until a tester inserted into the center comes out batter-free, about 20 minutes. Transfer muffins to a rack and let cool.


You could make mango-coconut muffins by adding a cup or so of diced mango chunks to the batter; pina colada muffins would use the same volume of pineapple chunks. You could replace the yogurt with mashed banana or banana puree to make a banana-coconut muffin and if you’re into that whole lime-in-the-coconut thing, you could add a teaspoon of lime zest. Chocolate chips? (1 cup), Macadamia nuts? (1/2 to 3/4 cup, toasted and chopped). If adding a moist ingredient like mango or pineapple, reduce the amount of yogurt or coconut cream by 1/3.

Christina's Super Granola

from my mom

9 cups rolled oats--not quick oats or instant
1 cup chopped raw peanuts or almonds
1 cup hulled sunflower seeds or chopped pecans
1 cup wheat germ
1/2 cup sesame seeds (or 1/4 each of chia and sesame)
1/2 cup coconut
1/2 cup coconut oil or olive oil--NOT extra virgin as you want the flavor to not be strong
1/2 cup honey
2 TBSP vanilla
2 TBSP molasses

Preheat oven to 275.

Mix all dry ingredients together. Whisk liquids together and add to dry ingredients. Mix until dry ingredients are coated, but not lumped together. Spread onto two cookie sheets. Bake for 20 minutes, then stir thoroughly. Bake for another 15 minutes and stir again. Bake another 15 minutes then allow to cool completely before storing.

After cooling, you can add up to 1 cup of All-Bran cereal (I don't do this since my children's digestive tracks don't handle it well) and any dry fruit you like.

Christina's Raw Apple Cake

adapted from Simply Recipes by Elise

Cake:

• 1 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 2 cups of sugar
• 3 eggs
• 3 cups of white flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon cardamom 
• 3 cups chopped, peeled apples (varieties that are good for baking)
• 3/4 cup of sweetened coconut
• 1 cup of chopped nuts - walnuts or pecans

Glaze:

• 1/2 stick sweet butter
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 3 tablespoons milk

Preheat oven to 350 degree F. Place coconut in a bowl and add 1/4 cup water. Set aside.

Beat together the sugar, applesauce and butter. Add the eggs and beat. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and cardamom. Add dry ingredients to oil sugar eggs mixture in thirds, beating to incorporate after each addition.

Press excess liquid out of coconut with paper towels. Mix the vanilla, apples, coconut, and chopped nuts into the cake batter.

Bake in a greased and floured bundt cake pan or angel food cake pan 1 hour to 75 minutes. Test around the centers with a long thin bamboo skewer or toothpick to make sure the cake is done.

When cool enough to handle, gently remove from pan. Let sit on a rack to cool completely.

Add glaze ingredients to a small saucepan and cook until melted. Place the cake on its serving dish. Prick all around the top of the cake with a fork so that when the glaze is applied it easily seeps into the cake. Pour glaze onto cake slowly, making sure it enters holes.

Christina's Tropical Strawberry Shortcakes

adapted Our Best Bites and Throwdown with Bobby Flay

1 recipe Basic Baked Scones

4 C sliced fresh strawberries
½ C white sugar
4 T fresh-squeezed lime juice (about 2 limes)

Coconut Whipped Cream (from Throwdown)

1 1/2 cups cold heavy cream
1/4 cup coconut milk
2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar or granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

¾ C toasted coconut

Mix sliced strawberries, sugar, and lime juice. Stir well and set aside. Stir occasionally over about 15 minutes. You want the sugar to dissolve and form a light syrup.

For the coconut whipped cream combine the heavy cream, coconut milk, sugar and vanilla in a stand mixer and mix until soft peaks form.

Split scones in half (or slice angel food or pound cake) and layer on strawberry-lime mixture. Include some of the syrup. Place top half of scone on top and top with a generous dollop of the coconut whipped cream. Finally sprinkle with toasted coconut.

I also drizzled some sweetened condensed milk on the scones (underneath the whipped cream) and it was an awesome addition.

Christina's Cherry Macaroon Tart

adapted from 101 Cookbooks

1/2 pound (2 1/2 cups) cherries, washed
1 1/4 cups flour (can add some whole wheat flour if desired)
2 1/2 cup shredded coconut (divided)
1 cup brown sugar, lightly packed (divided)

scant 1/2 teaspoon fine kosher salt
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
3 large egg whites

Preheat oven to 350F degrees with racks in the middle. Butter an 9-inch tart pan and line with parchment paper. Pit the cherries, cut each cherry in half, and set aside.

In a large bowl combine the flour, 1/2 cup of the coconut, 1/2 cup of the sugar, and salt. Stir in the melted butter and mix until dough is crumbly but no longer dusty looking. Press the mixture into the prepared pan (it should form a solid, cohesive base), and bake for 15 minutes. Remove and set aside.

In the meantime prepare the coconut topping by combining the remaining 2 cups coconut and egg whites. Mix until well combined.

Evenly distribute most of the cherries across the tart base. Now drop little dollops of the macaroon topping over the cherries, and mush/press the coconut topping around a bit into the spaces behind the cherries. Be sure to let at least some of the colorful cherries pop through the topping for visual flair. Bake for about 20 minutes or until the peaks of the macaroon topping are deeply golden. Let tart cool, and garnish by sprinkling any remaining fresh cherry halves across the top.

Christina's Fruit Salsa with Cinnamon-Sugar Chips

Fruit Salsa with Cinnamon Chips - Our Best Bites

Choose your fruit based on color so it will be pretty.

Red: Strawberries, raspberries or pomegranate seeds could work.
Orange: Mango, peaches or nectarines.
Yellow: Pineapple, either fresh or canned.
Green: Kiwi or honeydew.
Blue: Blueberries. The original recipe also said blackberries, but I tried that and didn't like it.

If you are using any type of berries, you'll want to stir them in at the last minute so they don't dye the whole salsa.

If you want to add sweetener, you can add honey or sugar (white or brown), but I thought that the fruit with the cinnamon chips was sweet enough. You can also add extras like lime juice, coconut, mint or cinnamon. I think I added a little cinnamon and lime and I liked it.

Baked Cinnamon Chips

Flour Tortillas
Melted Butter
Cinnamon Sugar

Preheat oven to 350.

Lightly brush one side of each tortilla with melted butter. You could use cooking spray instead of butter.Then sprinkle on some cinnamon sugar.

Use a pizza cutter to cut those tortillas into wedges.

Place them on an ungreased baking sheet and bake them in the oven for about 10 minutes. You'll see them crisp up. Watch for the edges to turn up.
Remove from oven and let cool.

Christina's Spicy Thai Shrimp With Coconut Rice

This dish is not at all authentic in terms of Thai food, but it was so yummy that I didn't care! For you Thai food purists like me, just ignore the fact that it's supposed to be Thai and enjoy the fact that it tastes good!

from Rachael Ray

1 cup sweetened, shredded coconut
2 1/2 cups chicken stock or broth, divided
1 cup long grain white rice
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 red bell pepper, seeded and thinly sliced
1 fresh red chili, seeded and thinly sliced or 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 pounds jumbo shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons fish sauce or 2 to 3 tablespoons soy sauce
2 cups (a couple of handfuls) basil, torn
Zest and juice of 1 lime

Toast coconut in a saucepan over medium heat until it turns golden brown. Reserve 1/2 cup for garnish. To the remaining coconut add the chicken stock, rice and salt, and bring it to a boil. Once at a boil, reduce the heat to a simmer, place a lid on top and cook for 15 minutes. Let the mixture stand for five minutes off the heat then fluff with a fork.

While the rice is cooking, preheat a large, nonstick skillet over high heat with the canola oil. When the pan is hot, add the shrimp, red bell peppers and chili (or red pepper flakes), stirring frequently for about 3-4 minutes.

Add the fish sauce (or soy sauce), basil and toss to combine. Serve the shrimp and some of the sauce over the coconut rice and squeeze some lime juice over everything. Garnish with the reserved toasted coconut and the lime zest.