Tag Archives: coconut

Desserts and Sweets

Banana or Coconut Cream Pie

Easy-to-make banana and/or coconut cream pie in an unbaked Graham cracker crust.

Cream pie filling

  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1/2 cup flour
  • 1/4 t salt
  • 3 cups milk
  • 3 egg yolks, slightly beaten
  • 2 T butter
  • 1 t vanilla
  • 1/2 cup shredded coconut and/or 1 or more sliced bananas

In double boiler top, mix sugar, flour and salt. Stir in milk and cook 15 minutes over hot water until thickened. Add egg yolks. Cook 3 minutes. Add butter. Cool. Add vanilla and 1/2 cup coconut for coconut cream pie, or line pie plate with sliced bananas before pouring in filling for banana cream pie. Fill graham wafer pie crust.

Can make a meringue by beating the 3 egg whites stiff with about 6 T of sugar and a pinch of salt. Mound on top and place until broiler for a few minutes until the peaks begin to turn golden.

Graham wafer pie crust

  • 1 cup graham wafer crumbs
  • 1/4 cup melted butter
  • 2 tbsp sugar (optional)

Combine all ingredients and press into a pie plate. Chill 5 minutes before filling.

Desserts and Sweets

Walnut Squares

  • 2 cups flour
  • 3/4 cup margarine
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 cup chopped walnuts
  • 1-1/2 cups brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup coconut
  • 2 T flour
  • 1 t baking powder
  • 1 t vanilla
  • pinch salt

Cream together the margarine and sugar. Add the flour. Press into lightly buttered 8″ pan and bake at 300F for 15 minutes. Remove from oven. Beat eggs with sugar. Add walnuts and coconut.

Mix flour with baking powder and salt and add to egg mix with vanilla.

Pour on top of base and bake at 300 F for 40 minutes more.

Desserts and Sweets

Brazileiras

Brazilian Coconut Cookies

  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1/2 cups water
  • 4 egg yolks, beaten
  • 1/4 cup flour
  • 2 cups flake coconut
  • 1/2 t vanilla

In a ,combine sugar and water until dissolved. Cook without stirring to 230F (hard thread).

Mix yolks and flour and add 2 T of the hot syrup. Pour into syrup, stirring. Add coconut and simmer, low, until thick and stiff. Do not boil. Remove from heat and add vanilla. Cool.

Set oven to 375 F. Shape mix into balls. Arrange 1″ apart on a buttered cookie sheet and bake for 15 minutes or until delicately browned.

This type of Coconut cookie is also very common and popular in parts of Mexico. When we travel up into the Patzcuaro area I always pick up a golden coconut cookie, looking like a volcanic cone of toasted coconut, from the street vendors around the square and market there.

Desserts and Sweets

Nanaimo Bars

Nanaimo is a city on Vancouver Island, B.C., Canada. It touts itself as the city so beautiful that it’s all right to stare.

The Nanaimo bar, said to be the product of local culinary ingenuity, is a no-bake chocolate-based bar that bridges the gap between a cookie and candy. Nanaimo bars are a typically Canadian dessert and incredibly decadent.  You can read about the possible origin of Nanaimo bars at Wikipedia: Nanaimo Bar.

  • 3/4 cups butter
  • 10 T cocoa
  • 2 cups coconut, unsweetened
  • 1/2 to 1 cup walnuts, chopped
  • 10 T sugar
  • 4 cups graham cracker crumbs
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 t vanilla

For custard layer:

  • 5 T butter
  • 1/4 cup milk
  • 1 pkg. instant vanilla custard or pudding powder
  • 2 cups icing sugar

For chocolate topping

  • 5 squares semi-sweet chocolate

Melt butter and add cocoa powder. Beat eggs with sugar, add cocoa butter mix, vanilla, coconut, walnuts, and cracker crumbs. Press into bottom of greased pans.

Mix vanilla custard powder with 1/4 cup milk, 2 cups icing sugar, and 5 T butter to make a pasty thick custard. Spread on top of graham cracker base.

Melt semi-sweet chocolate squares and spread evenly on top.

Servings:  two 8×8″ pans

For vegans, here’s a vegan version of the Nanaimo bar:  http://about.spud.com/blog-nanaimo-bars/

Nanaimo, B.C., Canada: Nanaimo Bars
Nanaimo, B.C., Canada
Desserts and Sweets

Our Dad’s Cookies

I have no idea if these cookies were based on the oatmeal cookies from Dad’s Cookie Company out of St. Louis that started making them shortly after the turn of the 20th C. All I know is that Mom used to make them regularly, and they do contain rolled oats.

Ingredients for our Dad’s cookies

  • 1 cup butter or margarine
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 1-1/2 cups rolled oats
  • 1-1/2 cups flour
  • 1 cup coconut
  • 1 t baking soda
  • 1 t baking powder
  • 1 T molasses
  • 1 t cinnamon
  • 1/2 t vanilla
  • 1/2 t each allspice and nutmeg

Cream together the margarine and sugars. Sift all dry ingredients together. Work in the butter and sugar mix and form balls. Do not press. Bake at 325 F for 12 minutes.

Dad's cookies
Paper batik, Carol
Desserts and Sweets

Bread Pudding

Old stale bread and breadcrumbs can be baked into something heavenly with ingredients that almost anyone has in the kitchen.  This simple dessert is popular all over the world and has hundreds of variations

Ingredients for Bread Pudding

  • 2 cups coarse dry bread crumbs
  • 1/4 cup butter
  • 1 quart hot milk
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 2 beaten eggs
  • 1/2 t salt
  • 1 t vanilla

Options: 1/2 cup coconut, nuts, raisins, dates

Preparation

Butter a baking dish. In it put the bread crumbs, butter, and hot milk. Mix and cool.

Add sugar, beaten eggs, salt, and vanilla. Stir well.

Add 1/2 cup of any of the suggested options, or devise some of your own.

Bake for 1 hour at 325 F. Serve with milk or sweet cream.


Desserts and Sweets

Carob Nut Balls

Variations of these healthy carob-based sweets, sometimes called Bliss Balls, Power Balls, or Energy Balls, were always on the shelf by the cash register at Annie’s Health Food Store, Grand Forks, B.C. (no longer in existence). Vary the ingredients in any way you want, as long as your proportions of dry to wet allow them to hold firm without being sticky.

Carob Nut Balls

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup honey
  • 1/2 cup carob powder
  • 1/2 tsp. vanilla
  • 1/2 cup peanut butter
  • 1/4 cup dry milk powder
  • 3/4 cup mixed chopped walnuts, pecans, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds
  • Unsweetened coconut

Combine all ingredients except coconut, adding enough nuts and seeds to form a mixture that will stick together. Add extra milk powder if necessary. Mix well and press into balls 1 inch in diameter. Roll in coconut or additional carob powder. Store in sealed jar.

Vegan version

For a vegan version, substitute the honey for agave syrup, maple syrup, or processed dates, omit the milk powder (or use finely ground rolled oats or oat flour instead), and add a bit of coconut oil or more peanut butter if the mixture needs more moisture.

Family, by Anna (carob nut ball recipe)
Family, by Anna