White Chocolate Macadamia Cookies with Toasted Coconut

Congratulations to Sandie C. - You've won the mini cheesecake pan!!!

Thanks to everyone else who entered! 

Behold... a white chocolate macadamia nut cookie that won't leave you disappointed!

I've been avoiding baking this type of cookie for quite some time now, mainly because I've never found a recipe that I really love. I thought to myself, what could make these better??? Then came the aha moment. I should add both soft sweetened coconut and toasted coconut! The addition of these ingredients really helped bring these cookies to life along with the extra egg yolk and cornstarch which helped to thicken them up and gave them nice chewy texture. I also think laziness on my part was key too. Since I didn't feel like turning on the hot oven yesterday, I tossed the dough into the refrigerator and let it chill overnight. Perhaps it was a stroke of genius? Probably not, but I'd like to think it made some sort of a difference. Anyway, these cookies turned out exactly how I wanted them to- they're a keeper! Enjoy :)

White Chocolate Macadamia Cookies with Toasted Coconut
Ingredients
1½ c. all-purpose flour
½ c. sugar
½ c. brown sugar
8 tbsp. (1 stick) butter, room temperature
1 egg + 1 egg yolk
½ tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. cornstarch
½ tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla
¼ c. sweetened shredded coconut
¼ c. toasted sweetened shredded coconut
½ c. white chocolate chips
⅓ c. macadamia nuts, coarsely chopped

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or a baking mat, set aside.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together butter, sugars and vanilla extract (about 2 minutes until nice and fluffy). Add in egg, mix, then egg yolk, mixing until just combined.
3. In a medium size mixing bowl, combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, cornstarch and salt, whisk to combine. With mixing speed on low, gradually add the dry ingredients, mix until just combined. Remove bowl from stand and fold in coconut, toasted coconut, white chocolate chips and chopped macadamia nuts. NOW- you can either bake the dough right away, or allow it to chill overnight (which I did).
4. Scoop dough onto prepared sheets using a standard size cookie scoop. Place in oven and bake for 10-12 minutes or until the edges become lightly golden brown in color. The centers might still look soft, but that's ok, you don't want to overbake these or they'll be hard! Allow to cool on sheet for 3 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Stephen + Natalie, Life Made Simple | Makes approximately 16 cookies

GIVEAWAY: Mini Cheesecake Pan

Ahh! I can't believe we've reached 1,000+ fans on Facebook!!!
In celebration I'd like to give one lucky reader one of my favorite pans- the Chicago Metallic® 12 Cup Mini Cheesecake Pan. In case you don't know... I'm kind of obsessed with miniature cheesecakes! I've made Mini Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecakes,  Mini Pumpkin Cheesecakes with Gingersnap Crusts, Mini Eggnog Cheesecakes, and Mini Coconut Lime Cheesecakes. They've all turned out beautifully thanks to this pan!

If you were to win, what kind of miniature cheesecakes would you bake up?

Just follow the guidelines below and check back on Monday, May 20th to see who won!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Homemade Cream Puffs

Happy Mother's Day!

I've been trying to hold back for quite some time now, but I guess it's finally time to share our good news :) We're having a little boy this September!!!

I'm sure that those of you who are frequent readers probably thought something was up. I have been busy with work and other projects, but I've also been lacking a sweet tooth lately. Crazy, huh?! 

This pregnancy has been really good to me so far- no morning sickness! That has been a huge blessing, especially because I work in a kitchen most of the time. I haven't had any weird cravings yet and I feel as good as I did before, just with a little person kicking, punching and tumbling in my tummy. It's been fun to feel him move- and yesterday Stephen felt his kicks for the first time, it was the perfect Mother's Day gift!

Anyway, I thought I'd share these homemade cream puffs with you today. They're easy to make and they look really elegant! I filled mine with homemade whipped cream and lightly dusted them with powdered sugar. I love how light they are- you could definitely eat a few of these in one sitting, and let me tell you, I did! I think they'd be great with a drizzle of chocolate on top or even filled with some lemon curd! Enjoy!

Homemade Cream Puffs

Pâte â choux:

1 c. all-purpose flour

1 tbsp. granulated sugar

8 tbsp. (1 stick) butter

4 eggs

1 c. water

¼ tsp. salt

1 egg, lightly beaten

Vanilla bean whipped cream:

¼ c. powdered sugar

2 c. heavy whipping cream

½ tsp. vanilla bean paste

pinch of salt

Powdered sugar, for dusting (optional)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 400˚F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, set aside.

2. To make the pâte â choux, place a medium size saucepan over low heat. Add butter, sugar, water and salt, stirring frequently. Turn heat up to a low boil, remove from head and add in flour. Stir vigorously until the mixture forms a thick paste and no flour pockets remain. Place over medium heat and cook for 1-2 minutes stirring constantly to prevent burning (a thin film will form on the bottom of your pan, and that's ok).

3. Place the hot paste into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat on medium speed for 2 minutes until it becomes slightly cooler. Then add the eggs one at a time until incorporated. The mixture will look shiny and will stick to the sides of the bowl. Beat for an additional 2 minutes on medium. Scoop dough into a large piping bag fitted with a large tip (around a ½" in diameter). Pipe 1½"circles onto the prepared baking sheet (about ¾" in height), spacing each two inches apart to reduce the risk of them baking into each other. Gently brush a light layer of beaten egg over each, try not to allow any of the wash to drip onto the parchment (if this happens, just wipe it up so it doesn't make the cream puffs stick).

4. Place the pan in the oven and bake for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, open the oven, rotate the pan and reduce the heat to 350˚F, bake for an additional 20 minutes. Reduce oven heat to 300˚F and bake for 20 minutes to allow the pastry shells to dry out. That makes a total of 60 minutes or 1 hour at three separate temperatures. Remove from oven and allow to cool for 30 minutes.

5. Meanwhile to make the whipped cream, in a chilled bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, combine powdered sugar, heavy cream, vanilla bean paste and salt. Beat on medium-high until the cream becomes stiff, about 1-2 minutes. Place in the refrigerator to keep cold until needed.

6. When the pastry shells have cooled, slice the top off of each one. Place the chilled whipped cream into a large piping bag fitted with a large round tip, pipe and fill each bottom. Place the top on each one, then lightly dust with powdered sugar. Serve immediate or store in the refrigerator for 1 day.

Recipe adapted from The Art and Soul of Baking, by Cindy Mushet | Makes approximately 25 cream puffs