Toasted coconut chocolate chip cookies

Aah! These are my new favorite cookies! I love everything about them, from their crispy-chewy texture to their rich, caramel flavor. And that toasted coconut? Seriously to die for. You should never make a cookie without it! These are the kinds of flavors that get better and more intense as you chew. In the beginning, you’re thinking, “yeah, these are pretty good,” and by the last bite you’ll be begging for more. You obviously have to love coconut, but if you do, I think you’ll love these cookies too!

Hazelnut lemon-lime coconut bars

A while back I had a serious craving for lemon bars. It came completely out of left field. Jérôme makes an amazing lemon tart, and that has satisfied our lemony needs for the last few years. But I wanted a bar. Something that reminded me of my childhood but that was different and better at the same time. I had a lime and a few lemons, and knew that I wanted some coconut thrown in as well. This recipe from Bon Appétit was exactly what my taste buds were yearning for, and it turned out to be one of my most favorite desserts ever.

Chocolate coconut milk cake

Poor Jérôme is always being subjected to my endless food experimentations. I obviously do have dishes that I make time and time again, when I don’t feel like thinking too much or over-exerting myself in the kitchen. That being said, there is so much out there to discover and I have so many recipes ready to be tested in my Evernote, that I have a hard time making the same things all the time. In the beginning of our relationship, I couldn’t get over his French chocolate cake. More of a brownie, it was rich and simple and amazing. I still love it, but when he wanted to make one a few weeks ago with out one remaining bar of baking chocolate, I couldn’t help but scan my recipe list to make sure there wasn’t something better, newer, more interesting. I found this chocolate coconut milk cake, and once Jérôme was on board, I was in the kitchen making it.

Thick coconut hot chocolate

You know when a craving hits, and all of sudden you’re racing into the kitchen and rummaging in your cupboards, crossing your fingers that you happen to have everything you need to satisfy it? Yeah, that happened to me a couple of weeks ago. I was home alone and in need of something sweet. Something chocolately. Something warm. I’ve been on a coconut kick lately (these double coconut cupcakes were amazing!) and so I hoped and prayed that I had some coconut milk tucked away somewhere. I did. The only thing I didn’t have was any actual chocolate! The dilemma fresh in my mind, I decided to make hot chocolate anyway. I remembered a recipe from the Food Network where cornstarch was used to make an incredibly thick hot chocolate, and hoped that mine would be rich enough to stay my craving even though there was no actual chocolate involved.

Coconut vanilla bean cupcakes with coconut buttercream

I love me some coconut. I love adding some into a chocolate cake, or using coconut milk in savory dishes or to make salad dressings. There’s just something so refreshing and bright about it. This was my first 100% coconut dessert and I’d been excited about trying it for weeks. Thanksgiving seemed like as good a time as any to bake my very first batch of cupcakes since it wouldn’t just be the two of us (well, OK, pretty much just ME) eating them all for days on end. I LOVED these cupcakes. They were perfectly coconut-scented without being overly sweet (the buttercream was very sweet, but I added a touch of lemon juice to calm it down a bit). Reduced coconut milk in the cake batter and the frosting added just enough flavor while the toasted coconut flakes stuck on the finished product were nutty and delicious.