Valentine's Day The Coconut Way

Luisa offered me a choice of two recipes for Valentine's Day and I (uncharacteristically) chose the recipe  that did not include chocolate (as I gave up chocolate for 40 days to help me grow closer in my walk with the Lord).

I made this recipe: http://www.fifteenspatulas.com/coconut-lime-dulce-de-leche-bark/ for our monthy potluck luncheon at work.

It was delicious!

If you love coconut, which I do, then this is the pefect treat for you.

These four pieces are all thats left from the lunch:

 

Hey Lu! What's my next challenge?

Chocolate Filled Valentine's Day Challenge!

My most recent baking challenge was perfectly timed for Valentine's Day, which I very much appreciated because I needed an excuse to indulge! This was my first Valentine's Day without my close friends and special someone nearby to celebrate so I needed a lot of chocolate as a pick me up! I found a recipe for a delicious Triple Chocolate Truffle Cake made with Ghiardelli Chocolate. The recipe was very easy and VERY rich, and I would very much recommend it because of how simple and sweet it was. It involves milk, semi-sweet and white chocolate topped off with a chocolate ganache. Additionally, this recipe involves using a water bath, which is something I use when I make my Cheese Flan and other desserts that don't need direct heat and are more delicate, like cheesecake and other custards. Enjoy the pictures below! I also added one that includes some Birthday/Valentine's Day love, which I greatly appreciated! Can't wait to see Rachel's coconut challenge!

PB Butterscotch Chips Coconut Bars

I think these babies may be my new favorite dessert. I like them better than brownies.

Thats not entirely fair. I usually don't like plain chocolate brownies, they have to be s'more or peanut butter or some other tasty combination. But they do contain chocolate so that usually puts them one step ahead on the dessert ladder when it comes to bars.

The recipe is a tweak on a recipe I found on pinterest. You can find the orginal recipe here.

Here's what I did:

Cream 1/3 cup of butter, 1/2 cup of pb and 1 cup of sugar. (And it is possible to cream with out an electric mixer, just takes a bit of elbow grease.)

Add 2 eggs and 2 teaspoons vanilla.

Mix in 1 cup flour until combined.

Stir in 2/3 cup coconut and 2/3 cup butterscotch chips.

Spread into a buttered 8X8 pan. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes. Sprinkle (a heavy, even coat) with powdered sugar.

Mmmmmmm......