Almond Joy Candy Bars

Coconut never used to be a familiar word in my vocabulary nor did the fruit itself often find its way into my stomach. As landlocked as one could be, coconuts were as foreign of an idea as palm trees and tropical seas—the subject of many a daydream, but not of an everyday reality. I remember looking over the brown coconut shells in the supermarket, hard beneath my hands, and I was curious how long the coconuts had been sitting on the shelf (I had never witnessed a person purchase one before). A sign overhead asserted that the coconut could be opened best with an ice pick, pointed proof showing how far this little coconut was from home.

As I placed the coconut back on the shelf, I wondered if people in tropical climates carried around ice picks for this specific purpose. The thought struck me as silly, but I could not think of a tool better suited than the one for winter weather.

Eventually, my curiosity got the best of me and I bought a supermarket coconut of my own. I was skeptical of the coconut, as perhaps I should have been, but willing to keep an open mind. In the hot summer sun, I brought it back to my dorm room where my friends and I stared at it, wondering if we would be able to find an ice pick during this time of year. As we passed it between each other, pondering the usage of butcher knives and sharp rocks, my friend accidentally dropped it on the tile floor. Neatly splitting in two, the coconut water began to puddle around it.

A coconut, it seemed, hardly needed any motivation to open at all.

We stared at the coconut shell on the floor for a moment or two, in disbelief that the coconut was so fragile. My friend, who had lived in Hawaii the year before, took this as a bad omen. We scooped the supermarket coconut off the tile, trying to salvage as much as possible. The smell was musky and unpleasant. The taste, even worse. A bad coconut, my friend declared, as she cleanly tossed it in a nearby trash can.

Though my introduction to fresh coconut was less than ideal, it was the start of a coconut affair that would only grow and flourish. While fresh coconut may be out of the picture, dried coconut has become a pantry staple.

Homemade Almond Joy Candy Bars are much healthier and taste just as wonderful as the store-bought version. The coconut center is made with unsweetened shredded coconut, honey, and coconut oil to bind it together. With an almond on top and a chocolate coating, the candy bar is complete. While I placed almonds both inside and on top of the chocolate coating, I would suggest placing the almonds inside the chocolate coating. The almonds placed on top of the chocolate coating have a tendency to fall off during preparation. A no-bake treat, these candy bars can be ready in thirty minutes time.

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Coconut Raisin Granola

Lately, I have become a bit of an exercise nut. A month ago I was dragging myself to a gym after work, but now it feels like a treat. Until my love for sweating and sore muscles wears off (and, if history is any indication, it inevitably will), I have been looking for a power breakfast to help me sustain my long workouts. While I typically mix some fruit into oatmeal or quinoa, some mornings I just don't have the time to stir a hot pot on the stove. For these mornings, I reach for a bowl of cereal, but it never fills me up as a breakfast should. While I love a good, satisfying granola, I just can't get behind the boxed brands with too much sugar and strange preservatives.

It took a few weeks for me to realize that a robust, hearty, and filling homemade granola is the perfect food to fuel an afternoon run.

For several years now, I have been hunting down the secret to a good chunky granola. Though there is little comparison of flavor between boxed granola and a personalized batch fresh from the oven, it bothered me that I could not quite get the textures to match. My ideal granola has big chunks along with a smattering of stray oats—just as the boxed granola features. If there were any stray clumps of oats in my homemade granola, it was seemingly by accident. I played around with ratios, substituted different ingredients in and out, and waved around my magic spatula, but the secret to my perfect granola remained untold.

Untold, that is, until now.

The secret to a good chunky granola is egg whites. The egg whites help to bind the granola together, allowing it to clump together while it toasts in the oven, but the egg whites do not lend any flavor to the finished product. Traditionally granola is stirred while baking to keep it evenly toasted. Granola bound together with egg whites is not stirred while in the oven, so it is best to spread it out evenly on one or two baking pans so it toasts evenly. When you are ready to eat or store the granola, you may break apart the granola into as large or as small pieces as you desire.

Now this is my perfect granola.

Coconut Raisin Granola makes for a healthy and robust breakfast. The sweetness of the granola comes from a drizzling of pure maple syrup and the coconut oil is used to help give the granola a nice crunch (while adding a light flavor). Oats, raisins, almonds, and coconut flakes give the granola a hearty texture. A pinch of nutmeg helps bring the the flavors together in a wonderful blend. Serve plain, stirred into thick Greek yogurt, or as a cereal with a cup of milk.

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Toasted Almond Cookies with Dried Fig Filling

I made these cookies for my sweetheart. Whenever I create a flour storm in the kitchen, he keeps his mouth quiet, pretending as if the counter tops were not strewn with powdered sugar and there was not a pile of dishes in the sink stacked so precariously it could rival the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Rarely a peep is heard as I run around taking pictures and get crumbs all over the living room floor. Though he is always willing to give whatever comes out of the oven a fair try (even if he might need a little push), his favorite "experiments" to taste are, hands down, the cookies.

You could say that I am dating a cookie man.

It was our third anniversary of being together this past month. Worse than a television sitcom where the clueless husband forgets an important anniversary, we both completely spaced out the date, remembering two weeks later as the calendar was flipped over to a new month. I wonder if this is how an old married couple feels, forgetting the important dates as their time together grows. Is simply being around one another enough of a celebration? With the date so far past gone and Valentine's Day right around the corner, it just seems silly to go back and observe the much belated anniversary.

Perhaps I should circle the date with a big red marker on the calendar for next year.

Even though there was no fanfare, fancy dinner, or real recognition of the special day, there were these Toasted Almond Cookies. Cut out with hearts and filled with honey sweetened figs, they rested in the cookie jar on the counter top, unknowingly appropriate and deliciously celebratory. During the few days that these cookies lasted, the boy and I would sneak them when we thought the other was not looking, trying to hide the fact that we were eating a couple more cookies than we should.

I may be dishearteningly forgetful, but there may be something to be said about a baker's intuition.

Toasted Almond Cookies with Dried Fig Filling are a twist on the traditional linzer cookie. Almonds are toasted before being ground and turned into cookies. With a dash of cinnamon, the cookies have a bold, beautiful intensity. When sandwiched together with a filling made from dried figs, honey, and brown sugar, a truly unique flavor emerges. The cookies are firm on the first day and soften on the second, providing a range of textures to enjoy.

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