super easy apple crisp

This super easy apple crisp can be eaten at room temp (or warmed) with yogurt for breakfast, warmed with vanilla ice cream for dessert or if you're like my Dad and I, it can be eaten anytime of the day. 

Super Easy Apple Crisp

adapted from Smitten Kitchen

INGREDIENTS

8 medium apples - peeled & chopped into 1/2 inch cubes  ***I used Fuji apples here. Granny Smith would be great or any combo of baking apples will be just fine. Also if you're using organic apples, skip peeling and just chop***

1 tablespoon lemon juice

2 tablespoons corn starch

1 tablespoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

for the CRISP TOPPING

1/3 cup brown sugar

1 cup oats  ***Whole or Quick. I used Quick oats***

1 cup sliced almonds

1/2 cup coconut ***Sweetened or unsweetened. This time I used sweetened***

1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

4 tablespoons unsalted butter - cold & cut into 1/2 inch cubes.

Preheat oven to 375°F. In an oven-safe baking dish, combine chopped apples and lemon juice to prevent browning. Sprinkle in the corn starch, sugar, cinnamon and vanilla extract. Toss so that the apples are thoroughly coated.

In a medium bowl, combine the brown sugar, oats, sliced almonds, coconut, sea salt and cinnamon. Add the butter and with your finger tips pinch the butter pieces into the brown sugar & oat mixture so that it resembles crumbs.

Crumble the crisp topping over the apples.

Bake for 35 -45 minutes or until the top is browned and the apples are soft.

toasted almond scones

It's February 1st and it feels strangely like spring is in the air. The norm would be freezing cold and snowy, but today's forecast is a crazy high of 60˚F and a chance of a shower.


I'm meeting up with some of my bestest girlfriends this morning for a play date with their kids. I of course will be flying solo but will have toasted almond scones in tow.....


These scones have a quadruple threat of almond in them: ground toasted almonds, chopped toasted almonds, almond extract and sliced almonds sprinkled on top. I spooned raspberry jam in the middle of half of them because I just love a combo with almond and raspberry.


Toasted Almond Scones
taken from the app Baking with Dorie
Makes 12 scones


INGREDIENTS
1 cup blanched toasted almonds (whole, slivered, or sliced)
2 tablespoons of sugar
1 large egg
1/3 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup milk
1/8 teaspoon almond extract
1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder (double-acting)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 stick of unsalted butter (chilled and cut into small pieces)
1/4 cup sliced almonds (optional)
2 - 4 tablespoons of raspberry jam (optional)


Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 400˚F.


Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.


Divide the toasted almonds in half. Finely grind 1/2 cup in a food processor or blender with a generous pinch of sugar, taking care not to over grind the nuts and end up with almond butter. Finely chop the other 1/2 cup.


Whisk the flour, ground almonds, remaining sugar, chopped almonds, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Set aside. ***Or pulse a couple of times in your food processor***


Stir together egg, heavy cream, milk, and almond extract. Set aside.


Drop the 1 stick of butter into your flour mixture and using your fingers, toss to coat the pieces of butter with flour. ***Since my food processor was already being used, I dumped my flour mixture back in and then I dropped my butter cubes right on top*** Quickly, working with your fingertips or a pastry blender, cut and rub the butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture is pebbly. ***Or if using your food processor, give the butter and flour mixture a few pulses. There should be big and little "pebbles" of butter throughout*** 


Pour the liquid ingredients over the dry ingredients and stir with a fork just until the dough., which will be wet and sticky, comes together. ***I poured my wet ingredients over the dry ingredients and pulsed a few times until the dough came together slightly. Be careful not to over process***


Still in bowl, gently knead the dough by hand or turn it with a rubber spatula 8 to 10 times. ***I lightly floured my surface, turned the dough out, and gently gathered it together***


Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and divide in half. Working with one piece at a time, pat the dough into a rough circle that's about 5 inches in diameter, cut into 6 wedges and top each scone with a few sliced almonds, if you're using them. (At this point, the scones can be frozen on the baking sheet, then wrapped airtight. Don't defrost before baking - just add 2 minutes to the baking time.)

***If you want to add raspberry jam to them, gently press your thumb into the middle of each scone and spoon a heaping teaspoon into the indentation. You can also sprinkle with sliced almonds too!***


Place the scones on to your prepared baking sheet and bake for 20 - 22 minutes or until their tops are golden brown. Transfer the scones to a wire rack and cool to room temperature. 

coconut macaroons

drizzled with bittersweet chocolate 

or with an almond and half dipped


I really do LOVE anything made with coconut!!! So while spending a long and rainy weekend on the tip of Cape Cod my very good friend offered to make me a sweet and special treat. And a sweet and special treat it was indeed!!!


A good coconut macaroon recipe is hard to find. Some have egg whites in them and some call for unsweetened coconut. Well, this recipe is GREAT and it calls for neither. These macaroons are chewy on the inside and have a similar texture to a Mounds candy bar and flavor profile of an Almond Joy.


I love sharing easy recipes as well as receiving them. I'm not entirely sure where my friend got this recipe, but let's just say the person's initials are JZ. And no it's not that Jay-Z.....


Coconut Macaroons
yields 90 


INGREDIENTS
2 (14 oz.) packages of sweetened coconut ***my friend and I both used Baker's Angel Flake Coconut***
1 (14 oz.) can of sweetened condensed milk
2 tablespoons heavy cream
2 tablespoons sour cream
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon kosher salt ***Do not use regular table salt. But if that's all you have, cut the amount to 1/2 teaspoon. This was NOT in the original recipe and it's my own touch, but salt always enhances sweet things***
whole toasted almonds ***optional*** 
1 (12 oz.) bag of bittersweet chocolate


***Before you dump everything in a bowl, you may want to consider doing the following step. It's not needed, but if you want to cut "some" of the sugar out of this recipe, then do it!***


Preheat oven to 250˚.
Dump one (14 oz.) bag of coconut in a mesh strainer or colander. Run water over the flakes to wash off the majority of the sugar. Press out any excess water or spin dry in a salad spinner. Spread out onto rimmed cookie sheet and dry out in the oven, 20 - 30 minutes or until the flakes are dry, but not browned. Once dried, remove from oven and cool completely.


So why don't you use unsweetened coconut???
I love the chewy texture you get from "sweetened" coconut but not all the sugar. Even though you wash off most of the sugar and dry it in the oven, the process doesn't affect it's chewy texture.


Turn up your oven to 325˚. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Toast and cool almonds if using. Combine all of the ingredients (except almonds and chocolate) in a large bowl. With a rubber spatula, mix thoroughly to combine. Using a 1 1/2 inch diameter scoop, scoop macaroons onto parchment lined baking sheets. Space macaroons 1 inch apart. They will not spread. Top macaroons with an almond before placing them into the oven. Bake for 20 - 25 minutes or until set and some flakes have browned slightly. Completely cool on wire racks before dipping or drizzling.


Over a pot of simmering water, melt chocolate in a heat proof bowl. Remove bowl from heat and stir until cooled a bit, thick and glossy. I use Ghiradelli chocolate and their website has a "how to" on how to temper chocolate. Or use the microwave technique. ***I realize most of you won't want to temper your chocolate. I don't blame you. It's quite a process and if you mess it up, it's not pretty. But if you're up for a challenge, I challenge you.***


Dip or drizzle your macaroons and place on a clean parchment lined baking sheet. If you've decided to temper your chocolate, leave the macaroons at room temperature. If done properly, chocolate will "set". But if you're in a rush and need to "set" them, place in the refrigerator for a few minutes. Do not do this for long. Condensation builds up on the outside of the chocolate and dots will appear on the surface. Your chocolate dipped macaroons will look like they have an illness......There could be many reasons why your chocolate will look "ill" but not to worry, it all tastes the same.


The following two images are taken from the same sheet of half-dipped macaroons. The first image are the first macaroons I dipped after tempering the chocolate. These have set and the chocolate coating is firm. I feel comfortable sharing these for Easter.

These macaroons were dipped from the same batch of tempered chocolate, but the chocolate has cooled down considerably and some sort of moisture has gotten to it. This is what chocolate looks like when it has "bloomed". This will definitely happen if you place your chocolate dipped macaroons into the refrigerator. Again, not-so-pretty but still delicious. These macaroons will make it as far as to our bellies at home.

I am by no means a chocolatier, so don't judge.......

mounds of almond joy

So this post is not about a type of dough or batter, but just homemade joy!!! ALMOND JOY!!!!! (with sprinkles of Maldon Salt)

I've had this recipe saved on my desktop for months, plus my husband also likes to forward me recipes in hopes I might make them and in honor of Valentine's Day these were just begging to be made. I'll be totally honest and say that these aren't the easiest candies to make, but the ingredients are simple and maybe things you might have in your pantry already (well, at least I do!).

Enough chat and back to making joy!

Almond  Joy

this recipe is adapted from a great food blog I follow joy THE BAKER.

makes 26 -30 candies

7 ounces (1/2 can) sweetened condensed milk

1 cup powdered sugar

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

pinch of salt

1 1/4 cup unsweetened flaked coconut

1 1/4 cup sweetened flaked coconut

50 - 60 raw almonds

about 20 ounces (1 1/2 bags) semi-sweet chocolate chips ***I used 1 bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips and 1/2 bag of bittersweet chocolate chips*** 

Maldon Salt for sprinkling

Preheat oven to 350°. Spread raw almonds out onto a baking sheet and toast for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.

In a medium bowl, mix together sweetened condensed milk, powdered sugar, salt and vanilla extract. Stir in both of the coconuts. The mixture will be thick. Place the mixture in the freezer for 30 minutes. It's easier to work with when it's a little cold.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Remove coconut mixture from freezer. With clean hands, shape one tablespoon of coconut into a little log about 2 inches long and 3/4 inch thick. ***I roll it between my hands and the log shape happens naturally*** Place the log onto the lined baking sheet and continue to roll out the rest of the coconut mixture. ***Washing your hands between shaping 6 - 8 pieces helps them not get too sticky*** Press an almond on top of each coconut log. ***We LOVE almonds so I placed two almonds on top of mine*** The almonds might not completely stick, but that's OK...Place baking sheet into the fridge to chill while you melt the chocolate.

***I skipped this step and melted my chocolate in the microwave. If the chocolate gets thick while you're working with it, nuke for 15 seconds*** Place a medium pot with 2 inches of water over a medium flame. Bring the water to a simmer. Place chocolate chips in a heat proof bowl and place bowl over the simmering water. Stir the chocolate as it melts. Turn off the flame once chocolate has melted but keep the bowl over the hot water.

Remove the coconut candies from the fridge. Line another baking sheet with parchment paper. Dip fork into melted chocolate. Place one coconut almond log onto chocolatey fork. Using a spoon, pour melted chocolate over log. Tap or shake the fork several times on the edge of the bowl to release some of the excess chocolate. Scrape the bottom of fork along the side/edge of bowl and place candy onto parchment lined sheet. ***I used a skewer to help me get the candy off of fork*** Repeat until all the candy is coated. ***I sprinkled Maldon Salt on top of mine at this stage because I felt it needed just a little bump of salt*** If chocolate gets too thick, just turn on the flame and heat slightly.

Let dipped candies harden in the fridge for 45 minutes. Store in air tight container @ room temp.

En"joy"!!!