Coconut Macaroon Cake Batter Shake {Sundays with Joy}

I am so excited about this post.

One, because it has the words cake batter and coconut all in the title. I mean, is there really anything better?

Two, because my child thinks I'm a magician, armed with a rolling pin and a wooden spoon that spits glitter and magical rainbows.

And three, because it means I finally got my Joy the Baker Cookbook: 100 Simple and Comforting Recipes and I can join in with Sundays with Joy, hosted by Carrie at Bakeaholic Mama and Ellen at Indigo Scones.

I have been gaping and drooling at Carrie's Sundays with Joy posts for a few weeks now. The premise is simple: once a week we make one of the recipes from Joy's book, and then we post it.

Have you read Joy's cookbook? It's beyond fab. If I could pick all of my favorite things to eat and bake and put it in one cookbook, this would be it. Seriously.

Now...the point of the group isn't to have all of Joy's recipes given away. That just wouldn't seem right. So...I'm not going to be posting her recipes. You'll have to get her book for that!

BUT...you all know how I am about recipes. I have a reeeaaallly hard time following them. I see something I want to make and the first place my mind goes is in ten different directions...figuring out how I can make it my own.

Once in awhile, I'll probably follow her directions. But, more often than not, I see myself changing or adding to her recipe, or making it my own.

Let's start with this shake.

It just so happened that the first week I could participate, the group was making Chocolate Covered Coconut Macaroon Ice Cream.

Could there be a more perfect recipe for me?

And, guys, she made her own chocolate shell. It's super easy. Jordan had never had magic shell before and, as she watched it harden on her ice cream, her face lit up and the smile was huge. To her, I created magic sauce, and was, thus, a magician.

My ice cream was a little icier than expected, no fault of Joy's. I think I need to learn not to buy the cheapest ingredients...like, hey, spring for the expensive coconut milk...flavors and texture don't always come cheap.

And then there's my forementioned recipe issue, a nagging little voice inside my head saying, "More! More! Do More!" So I made a shake.

With devils food cake batter.

And I added the chocolate shell too.

Bliss.

~Read More~

Frozen Almond Joy Mini Pies

{Yup. Still Almond Joy Week. Woot!}

I love the Dollar Tree. It's awesome.

I mean, where else can you buy cereal, greeting cards, bungee cords, an American Flag, and a pregnancy test for only $5 plus tax?

Although I do have reservations about some of the foods they sell at the Dollar Tree, (perishables? um, no thank you) I love finding hidden gems in the packaged food aisles, for only $1.

Like their maple cookie sandwiches.

Or the frosted animal cookies.

Or like the time I bought the entire shelf worth of Tapatio sauce for Mel's birthday party, whereupon I glued his face to the bottle and made him Mr. Tapatio.

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Kiss my Cookie Bark {Coconut Edition}

Last weekend Jordan and I went to run errands together. We went to the dollar store and the grocery store.

We've been trying to (remember) to pay her an allowance, in return for doing some extra chores around the house. She gets $5 per week that she puts in her piggy bank and I try to remember to make her pay for extra stuff, like those awesome toys you can get at Dollar Tree.

She's not too good yet about understanding saving her money or waiting to spend it until she has enough for what she wants. (Case in point: a few weeks ago she paid me $5 so she could style me for the day.)

But in the car on our way to shopping she asked me what it meant to "save up for something." So I told her that it meant she saved her money in order to buy something more expensive than what she has. I used the example that the Lego set she wants is $50 (side note: can we say outrageous?)

"How many 5's does it take to get to $50?" she asked me.

I made her count by five's to get to fifty. "Ten," she answered herself.

It was quiet for a minute.

"Mommy," she said, "you know what would be easier? ... If you paid me $10 instead of $5."

Smart kid. Future Donald Trump? Or she'll win an award for being the lead of her sales team.

Either way, when I'm old and poor, I hope she'll be able to afford to keep me in Hershey's Kisses.

As soon as I made this version of this bark at Christmas, I knew I was going to make it with my favorite Kisses of all time.

Coconut Creme. Oh, how I love you.

This bark starts with macaroons. You can buy them at the store or make your own. I cut down the recipe so it only makes 13. You need 12 for this bark. Do what you will with the 13th. I'm not telling where mine went.

Chop up the good stuff.

Lay out a lake of chocolate.

And top it with the good stuff. I added toasted almonds too.

Now we just need to start a petition to get the Coconut Creme Kisses in full-year rotation. Maybe I'll get Jordan on that. She can talk anyone into anything.



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Almond Joy Mountains

I was going to call these "Almond Joy Bites" but that doesn't exactly fit, does it? Almond Joy Mountains fits much better. They actually remind me of Mountain Bars (anyone remember those?)

I've been thinking of Halloween lately (thank you Michaels craft store for accosting me with fall items starting in July). Whenever I think of Halloween, I think of Almond Joy. You see, growing up I never liked coconut. At least I didn't think I did. You wouldn't have caught me within 10 feet of an Almond Joy candy bar.

Until last Halloween, that is.

For some reason last year I decided to try a mini Almond Joy. And it was love at first bite. I couldn't get enough. My daughter had gotten a whole bunch of them in her trick-or-treat bag and I ate them all. Myself. I couldn't get enough of them.

The funny part of the story is that my good friend Joann had the exact same experience on the same night. A few weeks later I happened to mention to her about my new infatuation and she laughed and told me she was now obsessed with them too. It was like we had a new angle to our friendship. We ate Almond Joys as often as we could. We bought them for each other and would buy them when we were together.

When Donsuemor contacted me and asked if I would consider making a recipe with one of their products and then write a post about it for their Dessert a Day campaign, I was intrigued. I went to their website to check out what they had to offer: French Almond Cakes, Mini Cakes, and Madeleines. They offer a variety of Madeleines: traditional, dipped, lemon zest, and chocolate.

As soon as I saw the chocolate madeleines, I immediately thought of Almond Joy. I'd been wanting to make Almond Joy bites for some time and knew these chocolate treats would be perfect for my recipe.

These chocolate coconut goodies are a breeze to make too.

They ended up a little larger than I had expected. They're small turtles, but they are so good. Every time I taste-tested one during (and after) making them, I was brought back to last Halloween and all my Almond Joy adventures since.

If you love Almond Joy as much as I do, you'll love these goodies. Go try some and start your own obsession!

{Oh...and if you still like me even after all the pestering, go HERE to vote for me!}

Almond Joy Mountains

Recipe by Crazy for Crust

Ingredients:

30 Chocolate Madeleines

1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk

1 bag (14 ounces) sweetened coconut

1 cup powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

30 whole almonds

3 bags (about 33 ounces) milk chocolate chips

Directions:

1.       Stir sweetened condensed milk, coconut, powdered sugar, and vanilla together in a large bowl. Mixture will be thick and sticky.

2.       Turn Madeleines upside down so that they lay somewhat steady. Scoop 2 tablespoons of the coconut mixture onto each madeleine. Add an almond to the top of each. Chill for 30 minutes.

3.       Melt your chocolate (work with one bag at a time and melt more as you need it). Place the coconut covered madeleines on a wax paper lined cookie sheet. Scoop a spoonful of chocolate onto the top of the madeleine, covering as much of it as possible. If needed, help the chocolate to spread with an offset spatula.

4.       Chill until hardened (about 1 hour, depending on the heat in your house.)

Yield: 25-30 almond joy mountains.

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Fine print:

Donsuemor provided me with a box of madeleines in order for me to create and write this post. Donsuemor products can be purchased here. If you do not have access to chocolate madeleines, email me and I will give you substitution options.