Breakfast, Sweet

Best Batch Granola

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Starting the weekend with a batch recipe that is worth its weight in gold, or champagne…or chocolate. This is my lifeline. Mornings in our house are not smooth, despite what I strive for as a mom. Chaos ensues, rushing happens, and with this recipe I can always feel nourished (and healthy) with literally three minutes to eat – this is never not in my cabinet. NEVER.

I love real granola.  It means I can eat a healthy breakfast with zero effort every day, and it has become one of my favorite food items to gift to friends.  This stems from years ago when I was sick and my good friend, Jean, brought me a fresh pressed carrot juice and a container of this granola.  I think the two items alone healed me more than the antibiotics (it was pneumonia).  Food wasn’t appealing when I wasn’t feeling well, and this nourished me.  When I felt better, I asked her for the recipe and what she shared surprised me.  She told me it was a “No-nut granola” recipe from Bon Appetite.  It made me laugh because half of this is nuts.  She made it work with her own changes.  The original recipe has a lot of dried fruit, and she replaced it with nuts.  This is a great morph, so thanks Jean, and BA!  I have tweaked it a bit with extra coconut.  I. Love. Coconut..

There are loads of granola recipes, and this one is inherently simple and full of real ingredients that work well together to make a greater sum of all parts. That’s the magic with granola – it must be perfectly balanced (not too sweet, a little bit salty) but basic ingredients can complement one another in simple harmony. I like dried cranberries in my granola, but omitting them from the recipe makes this much more suited for storage over a few weeks.  I add them when desired, alternating between fresh and dried fruit depending on what is on hand.  If the cranberries were combined at the outset, they would turn hard – nobody wants that.  

The best trick I have with this, after years of making it, is to use coconut oil spray on the pan, fill it to the brim, and let the granola cool completely on the pan, (for up to 24 hours) to create the clusters that everyone loves.  It’s the opposite of roasting vegetables where everything needs space to create the desired consistency – this one is a big batch of one pan deliciousness!

Best Batch Granola

Print Recipe
Wholesome, perfect granola - you will never need another recipe. Balanced, and delicious.
Course Breakfast, Snack
Cuisine American
Keyword granola, nuts, oats

Ingredients

  • 3 cups organic rolled oats , not quick cooking
  • 1 cup sliced or slivered almonds
  • 1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts
  • 1 cup pepitas
  • 1 cup sunflower or sesame seeds
  • 1 cup shredded coconut
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 tsp kosher salt
  • 1/2 cup melted coconut oil
  • 1/2 cup maple syrup

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
  • In a very large mixing bowl, toss the granola ingredients through the salt, until well combined.
  • In a glass bowl or pitcher, combine the coconut oil and maple syrup, then pour over the dry ingredients and stir until coated. Pour the granola onto a 1/2 sheet pan, coated with cooking spray (I use coconut oil spray here). The sheet pan will be full, but not overflowing. This will allow for even cooking and clusters to form.
  • Cook on middle rack for 22-25 minutes, until the edges are toasted and the entire pan is golden. Leave the sheet pan to cool on a safe surface until completely at room temperature.
  • When fully cooled, break into clusters and store in an airtight container for up to 3 weeks.

Notes

It's important to let the granola cool on the pans fully so that it forms clusters and clumps, which are the best part for snacking.  Also - all the ingredients are open for substitution - 2 cups of nuts (any kind) and 2 cups of seeds (any kind) are the only things to consider.  If you don't like coconut (sorry if you don't, your loss) you can just add another cup 0f nut/seed mix.  
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Sweet

Naked Coconut Carrot Cake

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My spin on carrot cake removes the raisins, nuts and pineapple, instead favoring toasty coconut and loads of flavor from brown sugar and freshly grated carrots. Traditional cream cheese frosting layers the naked cake with a shower of extra coconut to top it off. Delish!

Carrot cake is often a source of heated debate in the culinary world.  People have strong opinions and sincerely defend their stance on what goes into the cake, and how they like it.  I skew off the norm on this one, skipping over many of the traditional ingredients, including nuts, raisins, and pineapple.  In place of this, I use a ton of shredded coconut.  Using only brown sugar deepens the hint of spice that balances the sweetness of the rich cream cheese frosting.  Having tested the recipe on some devout carrot cake fans in our family, I think we have a winner!

Ingredients above on the left are for the cake, and on the right is the frosting.  I’ve made loads of carrot cakes, and had some fails, almost always due to the fact that the carrots sank and deflated the cake.  It is crucial to freshly grate your own carrots (never buy pre-shredded for baking) using a small grate size, and toss them in cornstarch before incorporating into the batter.

Naked Coconut Carrot Cake

Print Recipe
No nuts, no raisins, all the carrot cake flavors with loads of toasty coconut and epic cream cheese frosting.
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Keyword carrot cake, cream cheese frosting, coconut, cake
Servings 16 people

Ingredients

  • 3 cups AP flour
  • 2 tsp baking soda
  • 2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1 tsp ground nutmeg
  • 1/4 tsp allspice or ground cloves
  • 1 tsp kosher salt I use Morton's
  • 1.5 cups Canola Oil
  • 3/4 cup buttermilk any fat content works, but I prefer full
  • 3 large eggs
  • 2 cups lightly packed brown sugar
  • 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
  • 3 cups grated carrots use a small to medium grate size
  • 1 tbsp cornstarch to toss with the carrots before stirring
  • 1.5 cups shredded coconut

Cream Cheese Frosting

  • 16 oz cream cheese in blocks, not tubs - room temp
  • 1/2 cup butter room temp
  • 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
  • 8 cups sifted confectioner's sugar
  • 2 Tbsp heavy cream or full fat coconut milk
  • 1/2 cup shredded coconut for topping the cake

Instructions

Coconut Carrot Cake

  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Prepare three cake pans with butter and parchment paper to line the bottom.
  • In a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients (flour through salt), whisking thoroughly and using a sifter if needed.
  • Using a stand mixer, combine the oil, buttermilk, eggs, brown sugar, and vanilla. With the mixer on low, slowly add the dry ingredients to make the batter. Toss the grated carrots with the cornstarch (to prevent them from sinking to the bottom of the pans in the batter), and fold into the mixed batter. Add the coconut at the end, and pour evenly into the prepared cake pans.
  • Bake for 25 mins for 3 cake pans, slightly longer for 2. The cakes should be set in the middle, but be careful to not overbake. Remove from the pans soon to stop the cooking process - cool on a wire rack until ready to frost.

Cream Cheese Frosting, and finishing that cake!

  • Combine the cream cheese and butter with vanilla, then slowly add the confectioner's sugar, 1 cup at a time, until well blended. Add the cream, and whip until desired consistency is reached.
  • Place one cake piece down on the cake platter, and top with a generous amount of frosting - this is a "naked cake" with no frosting on the sides, so go heavy on the layers. Add the next cake piece, and repeat until you have three layers with lots of frosting on the top - a little can overhang. Top the cake with the shredded coconut and leave at room temp or chill until ready to DIG IN!

Notes

I like a three layer naked cake, but this recipe would work for a fully frosted two layer cake as well.  
The cornstarch step with the carrots is key, but you can also use regular AP flour if you don't have cornstarch.  
This recipe was based on testing using a combination of about 17 different versions, including Martha Stewart, Half Baked Harvest, Barefoot Contessa and Cooks Illustrated.  
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Sweet

Sea Salt Chocolate Chip Cookies

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A lifetime of testing and tasting qualifies me to say they are unequivocally the BEST chocolate chip cookies EVER.  Crispy on the edges, chewy in the center, and salty sweet at the height of perfection!

When faced with choosing a recipe to start this blog project, this was an easy choice.  This is the original cookie from the North End of Boston’s Volle Nolle Cafe, which had a cult following for it’s tiny space on Hanover Street.  We were lucky to live in the North End for many years, and after moving out of the city, Volle Nolle was one of the places I missed most.  The small cafe, owned by Tori Crowell, was a grab and go spot for me, and I went back for cookies as often as I could after we moved.  One day, she offered me the recipe as I lamented my cookie commute – she grabbed a sharpie and in 4 seconds scribbled the ingredients on a sheet of parchment right on the counter.  I carefully transported the precious paper home and immediately framed it – it sits on my counter to this day, making it easy to share with friends who often ask for the recipe.  No eggs – it’s not a mistake.  This also makes it a safe dough to eat raw…

The ingredients are straight forward and the key is the salt – that tablespoon in the batter helps, but I sprinkle Malden sea salt flakes on top of the dough before baking as well – it’s a texture thing on top of the flavor. 

Sea Salt Chocolate Chip Cookies

Print Recipe
distinctivley salty and sweet - the ultimate chocolate chip cookie!
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 12 minutes
Servings 28 cookies

Equipment

  • Stand or hand held mixer.

Ingredients

  • 3.5 sticks butter room temp
  • 1 cup white sugar
  • 1 cup brown sugar, packed
  • 2 Tbsp Pure Vanilla Extract
  • 4 Tbsp Heavy Cream
  • 4 Tbsp Light Corn Syrup
  • 3.5 cups AP flour
  • 1 Tbsp Kosher Salt
  • 1.5 tsp baking soda
  • 24 oz chopped good dark chocolate
  • 2 Tbsp Malden Sea Salt flakes

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees, and position two racks in the middle of the oven.
  • Combine the first three ingredients in a stand mixture with paddle attachment. Mix well until smooth and creamy. Combine next three ingredients (cream through vanilla), then add to the butter and sugar, mixing thoroughly. Whisk dry ingredients in a bowl, then slowly add to the dough, mixing minimally until combined. Stir in the chocolate chunks by hand.
  • Scoop cookies into 2 tbsp sized balls, sprinkle with malden sea salt and bake for 11-12 minutes. Tap the pans on the counter when done, to flatten the cookies a bit. Let cool and enjoy! Cookies will be best within a day, but will keep for several days in airtight container.

Notes

I highly recommend chopping your own block of chocolate, as the small shreds that mix into the batter give the cookie a great texture after baking.  Trader Joe's GIANT 70% bars are a great option for this recipe.
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