No Bake Chocolate-Coconut Bars

As I am sitting here with a thousand ideas in my head and nothing on the laptop.There was a commercial that stated that Julia Child did not publish her first book until she was 51. I just celebrated a birthday last week. I am not in my 50's, but they are rapidly approaching. Holding onto my forties with so much force. This is also why I am working on launching my sweets business. I have made several treats for a few different events. It is starting out slowly. As this blog progresses, I hope my life will continue to change.

Our trip to FLA was wonderful. My Mom is doing great. She looks fabulous. We walked on the beach everyday. It is always so much work to get to Florida, but I am always glad we went. My sisters and I  are so lucky there are so many great people in Florida.

My Husband and I were also fortunate enough to see my Florida sister twice. It was a blast hanging out with her. My Sister made this fabulous Strawberry Cake for me pictured above. Someday, I will post the recipe. She also made a lovely Meyer Lemon Cheesecake on my birthday. WE ate and drank way to much on vacation. I actually sleep all night. 8 hours of sleep is quite an accomplishment for me.

The Sunsets are always so amazing

So, we are back home trying to go back to regular food. Desserts were still screaming for me. I have always loved No Bakes. They are always such a wonderful little treat. When we were younger, my sisters and I used to make them and eat them out of the pan on the stove. Burned our tongues every time.

These bars are fabulous. I could really eat the whole pan. Little refrigerated snacks. They are also healthy, yes healthy. Coconut oil is so good for you. Peanut Butter, Oatmeal, Dark Chocolate, and Nuts, all good things. Talk about protein and fiber. This recipe can be modified a ton of different ways. Whatever floats your boat, or whatever you have in the pantry.  Most of all, these are bars are easy to whip up. Great for any short notice get together.

No Bake Chocolate Coconut Bars
adapted from eatgood4life.blogspot.com

Ingredients

1 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup coconut oil
2 cups old fashioned oatmeal
1 cup shredded coconut
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1 1/4 cup dark chocolate chips
1/4 cup flax seed meal

Directions
Line a 8x8, 9x9, or 10x10 pan with parchment paper. This will vary the thickness. Set aside.

Melt the peanut butter, honey and coconut oil in a medium size saucepan over medium low heat. Stir until mixture melts. When melted, add chocolate chips and continue to stir. About a minute or so.

Remove pan from heat and stir in remaining ingredients until combined.

Pour mixture into your pan. Refrigerate for 3-4 hours, until set up. Cut into pieces and pig out!

Stove top cooking in one pan ~~ EASY ~~

Pour into the pan. I used a 10 x 10 pan. A smaller pan would make thicker bars

At the Pier.. thanks Mom for the great Vacation.

Coconut Pecan Sandies

I realized in my last post, I swore I was not making anymore cookies. I am so weak. My Husband is still faithfully doing Insanity. There have been changes. He is less loose in the cage (firming up) and he is losing some inches and weight. After two weeks, there are some results. I have been doing some Insanity and still running outside. This week, it is very cold here. Today, it is in the single digits, so hard core Insanity for me. There are no results for me. It is a bit easier, I am getting coordinated, so those are my results.

After a two week delay, my Mom is in FLA. The weather is in the 70's. My Mom and sister went for a walk on the beach yesterday. They were searching for shells. I love looking for shells. During my years of shell collecting, I have found so many cool shells. This picture is a very small portion of my collection.

I decided to make Coconut Pecan Sandies. They slightly resemble a sand dollar. I thought that Florida needed a few cookies. They are probably not missing me, but I am missing them. The cookie's texture was soft and gritty just like a sandy shell. I ran the coconut and toasted pecans through the food processor. Small specs of intense flavor made this cookie delicious.

They are the perfect size. Just a basic butter cookie with loads of punch.

Coconut Pecan Sandies

adapted from singforyoursupperblog.com

Ingredients

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened

1 cup granulated sugar

2 tablespoons milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 1/2 cups flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 cup pecans, toasted, cooled and finely chopped

3/4 cup sweetened flaked coconut finely chopped

Directions

In a bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat butter and sugar together on medium speed until light and fluffy. For two minutes. Add milk and vanilla extract and mix.

Slowly add in flour, salt, cinnamon. Mix until just incorporated. Add in the finely chopped toasted pecans and minced coconut.  

Place dough in a container and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line your baking sheet with your Silpat or parchment paper. Scoop you dough with your cookie scoop or a teaspoon. Smash down dough balls with a wet glass. I actually used a wine glass.(that was available) All my cookies were that size of the rim of the glass. Bake cookies for 11-12 minutes, until lightly browned edges. Cool in pan for 5 minutes and move to a cooling rack. Place in a airtight container or just eat. Recipe make approximately 37-38 cookies.

These cookies are on there way to Florida. I hope they enjoy then as much a I did.