Tag Archives: nuts

White Chocolate Pineapple Macadamia Cookies

23 Jan

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The white chocolate macadamia nut cookie got a little fancier today.

Partially whole wheat, with big chunks of chopped white chocolate (Callebaut brand), roasted macadamia nuts, dried pineapple chunks. You could use chips, but if possible, I recommend buying a block of good quality chocolate and chopping it yourself. It looks nicer, especially when using white chocolate, to have those uneven blobs of chocolate all melted and shining. Tastes better, too, what with the oozing chocolate hugging the slightly salty macadamias and pineapple bits.

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Browned butter adds an extra rich, nutty element to the cookies. Using browned butter makes things easier since you don’t have to wait for butter to soften…which can take hours in the cold weather temperatures.

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Macadamia nuts, eaten in moderation, are rich in the minerals calcium, iron, magnesium, manganese, and zinc. Alright alright, so we are about to chow down on some cookies, but…at least we can get a little pumped about the macadamias…

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White Chocolate Pineapple Macadamia Cookies

adapted from Joy the Baker

yields about 30-36 smallish cookies

1/2 cup (1 stick or 4 oz) butter

1 cup (200 grams) light or dark brown sugar

2 tablespoons milk (I used 1% milk)

1 egg (if possible, try to use an organic egg; even better, purchase your eggs locally at the farmer’s market or another reliable source…)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 3/4 cup flour (I used 1 cup ap flour + 3/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour)

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup roughly chopped macadamia nuts

1/2 cup roughly chopped dried pineapple chunks

1 cup roughly chopped good quality white chocolate (a serrated knife works well for chopping chocolate)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Brown the butter: in a medium saucepan, melt the butter, swirling and stirring until nice browned bits appear in the bottom of the pan. This may take 5-7 minutes. Once the butter is browned, remove from heat and set aside to cool a bit while you measure out the dry ingredients.

In a bowl of a stand mixer, add the brown sugar and slightly cooled browned butter. Beat on medium speed for about 2 minutes. Add the egg and beat for another minute. Add the milk and vanilla and beat until incorporated.

Turn the mixer off, scrape down the sides, and add flour, baking soda, and salt all at once. With either the stand mixer on low or by hand with a spatula, incorporate the dry ingredients until just mixed in. Fold in the chopped nuts, pineapple chunks, and white chocolate.

Scoop two teaspoon size balls onto a parchment lined baking sheet (this should use two baking sheets). Bake for 9-11 minutes, rotating once through baking, until the cookies are soft and golden. Remove from the oven and cool completely on a wire rack.

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Vegan Fettuccine Alfredo

24 Jul

Fettuccine Alfredo. A classic childhood favorite.

Here’s a recipe that can satisfy your craving without weighing you down. Yep, this recipe is vegan, dairy-free, cholesterol-free, saturated fat-free. Now don’t you worry, there is still a heck of a lot of creaminess going on. Cashews=creamy, buttery, rich. Cashews get soaked in water, drained, and blended with aromatic onions and garlic. Unctuous, silky sauce.

The Alfredo sauce really comes together with a few dashes of lemon juice and white miso paste (Chloe says this is optional, but I love white miso and I would not skip it; you can purchase white miso at Whole Foods).

I added some peas and a few halved grape tomatoes to my noodles, and slurped it all up alongside roasted asparagus spears.

I kid you not, this tastes like traditional fettuccine alfredo. Maybe even better since I know how much healthier this version is…

Vegan Fettuccine Alfredo

From Chloe’s Kitchen

serves 4-6

1 pound fettuccine

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 large onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup raw cashews or blanched almonds*

2 cups water

2 teaspoons white miso paste

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 teaspoon sea salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

optional: chopped Italian parsley, frozen or fresh peas, halved grape tomatoes…

*Soak your cashews or almonds in water overnight to soften. This ensures that the sauce will blend up nice and smooth. Alternatively, you could boil the nuts for 10 minutes and then drain.

Bring a large pot of heavily salted water to a boil. Add fettuccine and cook according to the package directions. If you are using frozen peas, drop them (I used about 1/2 cup?) into the water about 2 minutes before the pasta is done cooking. Drain and return to pot.

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions and let cook until soft. Add garlic and let cook a few more minutes. Remove from heat.

In a blender, combine the onions and garlic, cashews, water, miso paste, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Process on high until very smooth, about 2 minutes.

Toss the hot pasta with the sauce until the noodles are evenly coated. Adjust seasoning to taste. If the sauce gets too thick, add a little water, 1 tablespoon at a time. Garnish with fresh tomato slices and parsley, if using.

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Charoset: A Passover Delight

9 Apr

Happy Passover everyone. Have you made Matzo Lasagna yet this year? There are still 5 more days left of the holiday, so get your cheese on! And if you have a hankering for dessert, try my Kiss n’ Swirl meringues (just use Kosher for Passover vanilla, or omit it altogether).

I love Passover because the food is so unique and holds so much meaning and tradition. Charoset comes from the Hebrew word for clay, and is meant to symbolize the mud which the Israelite’s used to hold the bricks together when they were enslaved in ancient Egypt. You can read more about the story of Passover here.

Charoset is made from grated apples, nuts, dried fruit, and sweet wine…all whizzed up in the food processor or blender (or by hand if you are feeling rustic). I find Charoset utterly delicious, so sweet and full of my favorite ingredients. I like to use dried figs and raisins, but in the past I have also used dried apricots/dates/prunes. Fugi apples are my go-to because they are so crisp and sweet. And the wine has to be Manischewitz Concord Grape. People either love Manischewitz wine or they hate it. I can’t seem to get enough of the sweet stuff.

Charoset

Makes about 5 cups

*Note: you do not have to follow these measurements exactly. I just add ingredients to my liking, using these ratios as a guide. You can use whatever nuts/dried fruit/apples/wine/spices you like. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

3/4 cup walnuts

1/2 cup slivered almonds

1/2 cup dried figs, I like to use Turkish figs

1/2 cup raisins

3 fugi apples

1 cup Manischewitz wine (you can use grape juice or another sweet red wine)

2-3 tablespoons cinnamon

pinch of ground cloves

pinch of ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

Method:

In a blender or food processor (I used a blender because that is all I have), pulse the nuts until roughly chopped. Empty the nuts into a large bowl. Now place the dried fruit in the blender. Pulse until chopped and add to the bowl with the nuts.

Chop the apples by hand, halve them, quarter them, and chop each quarter into about 4 or 5 small chunks. Add the apples (you may have to add one at a time if using a blender) and wine to the blender and pulse just until roughly chopped into small pieces. Add the apples to the bowl with the nuts and dried fruit. Add the spices and stir everything together by hand. Taste and add more wine or spices as needed.

Let the charoset sit for a few hours in the fridge to let the flavors develop. Enjoy with matzo and horseradish, or mix it into yogurt.

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I’ve Got A Special on Bananas: Bananas Foster Bread

20 May


I had a special on bananas.

A banana bread bake-off thus ensued.

Alongside my go-to Peanut Butter Banana Bread, my fellow baker friend Amy and I also decided to try out Cooking Light Magazine’s Bananas Foster Bread.

I think the consensus was that we both have a new go-to favorite banana bread recipe. Let’s just say that if it includes rum in the recipe, it is already a winner ;)

Bubbly Bananas, Dark Rum, Butter, and Brown Sugar Goodness

This Bananas Foster Bread is packed with good-for-you ingredients like nonfat plain yogurt, ground flaxseed, bananas, and cinnamon and allspice. There is an appropriate balance of butter and brown sugar to tenderize and sweeten the bread just the right amount. And the smell of the warm rum mixture is simply to die for.

Oh yes, and after baking, an easy glaze of more rum, powdered sugar, and 1 tablespoon of butter is poured over the warm bread.

Amy and I have decided that we loved the edges of the bread because they taste just like French Toast soaked in a boozy batter. Ooo yeah baby!

I’ve had such a great day hiking, eating lunch from my favorite sandwich shop at the top of Mt. Tam, and baking my now two favorite banana bread recipes with my good friend Amy.

Left: Bananas Foster Bread Right: Peanut Butter Banana Bread

Bananas Foster Bread

makes 1 loaf

From Cooking Light Magazine

Ingredients:

  • 1 1/2 cups mashed ripe banana
  • 1 cup packed brown sugar, divided
  • 6 tablespoons butter, melted and divided
  • 1/4 cup cognac or dark rum, divided
  • 1/3 cup plain fat-free yogurt
  • 2 large eggs
  • 6 3/4 ounces all-purpose flour (about 1 1/2 cups)
  • 1/4 cup ground flaxseed
  • 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
  • 3/4 cup walnuts, chopped
  • Cooking spray
  • 1/3 cup powdered sugar

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 350°.

2. Combine banana, 1/2 cup brown sugar, 5 tablespoons butter, and 3 tablespoons cognac in a nonstick skillet. Cook over medium heat until mixture begins to bubble. Remove from heat; cool. Place banana mixture in a large bowl. Add yogurt, remaining 1/2 cup brown sugar, and eggs.

3. Weigh or lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour and next 5 ingredients (through allspice) in a small bowl. Add flour mixture to banana mixture; beat just until blended. Stir in the walnuts. Pour batter into a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 1 hour or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove from oven; cool 10 minutes in pan on a wire rack. Remove bread from pan; place on wire rack.

4. Combine remaining 1 tablespoon melted butter, remaining 1 tablespoon cognac, and powdered sugar; stir until well blended. Drizzle over the warm bread.

Maureen Callahan, Cooking Light
OCTOBER 2010

Nutrition Information:

Serving (1/16th of a loaf=1 slice)

  • Calories: 194
  • Fat: 5.8g
  • Saturated fat: 3g
  • Monounsaturated fat: 1.5g
  • Polyunsaturated fat: 0.9g
  • Protein: 2.9g
  • Carbohydrate: 31.1g
  • Fiber: 1.5g
  • Cholesterol: 34mg
  • Iron: 1.1mg
  • Sodium: 181mg
  • Calcium: 32mg



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