Pina Colada Cookie Bars

This month’s What’s Baking theme was bars. I make bars all the time and they are something that I really enjoy baking! I hadn’t actually planned to make the What’s Baking recipe this week, but I hadn’t made bars in a while and it was high time to do so. I knew I would be home, too, so I had picked these bars that take slightly more time because of the time it takes to bake and frost the bars. These bar cookies are quite special, so I thought that they fit the theme very well. Thanks to Nichole at The Cookaholic Wife for being this month’s host! 

These pina colada bars require two ingredients that are a little different: coconut extract and cream of coconut. I had the extract, but not cream of coconut. There are many coconut products on the market these days, but this is the traditional cream of coconut that is used to make the pina colada drink. I found it in the aisle with the drink mixers. It’s not super cheap, but it’s nice to splurge a little bit now and then. The cream of coconut comes in a can and it’s imperative to shake it really well or it’s just not the right consistency.

The bars are a variation on a sugar cookie bar, with coconut extract. I only used 2 teaspoons instead of the tablespoon the original recipe stated; too much extract can really be too much! The frosting is very soft, and I ended up adding an additional cup of powdered sugar to make it workable. The cream of coconut is fairly fluid, but it imparts such great flavor to the frosting. I think these bars were a great success, and they are a nice bit of sunshine on a gloomy day here in the Seattle area. 

Pina Colada Cookie Bars

1 ½ cups sugar

1 cup butter, room temperature

2 eggs

½ teaspoon vanilla

2 teaspoons coconut extract

2 ½ cups flour

2 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

1 cup butter, room temperature

3-4 cups powdered sugar

1 cup cream of coconut

1 teaspoon coconut extract

¼ teaspoon vanilla

⅛ teaspoon salt

½ cup crushed pineapple, well drained

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9” x 13” baking pan with nonstick cooking spray.

In a large mixer bowl, beat the butter and sugar on medium until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, vanilla and coconut extract. Beat again on medium until fully incorporated. Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix on low until the dough comes together. The dough will be sticky.

With lightly floured hands, press the dough evenly into the prepared pan.

Bake for 25-29 minutes, until lightly browned along the edges and the center is set. Allow to cool.

Make the frosting: in a large mixer bowl, beat the butter, 3 cups of powdered sugar, cream of coconut, coconut extract, vanilla, and salt on medium until smooth. If the frosting seems too fluid, add up to an additional cup of powdered sugar. Add the pineapple and mix on low to incorporate.

Spread the frosting on top of the cooled bars. You will likely have more frosting than you need. Chill for 30 minutes before cutting into bars.

  

Recipe from Mirlandra’s Kitchen

Pepperoni Pizza Quiche

This month’s What’s Baking theme is quiche, which really opens up a world of possibilities. I make quiche or frittatas for dinner every once in a while, and they are a great, quick dinner. My husband likes quiche, too, which is great. I went looking for something interesting, beyond the traditional ham and cheese quiche and I found this recipe for pepperoni pizza quiche. I figured that would be a winner since my husband is such a big fan of pepperoni pizza.

This recipe only uses 3 eggs, which isn’t a lot of for a quiche. The filling also has evaporated milk, which in the end gave this quiche a lovely consistency. This was very easy to make, and we really loved it. The ingredients can be whatever you have. I used turkey pepperoni since it has less fat, and used a combination of shredded mozzarella and shredded Mexican blend, as that was what I had on hand. We added mushrooms. You could really use any combination of meat, cheese and vegetable add in.

As I said, my husband and I really loved this. It was quick and easy to make and tasted wonderful. The texture was nice and creamy, but didn’t have the feeling of being under baked. This will now be my go to recipe for quiche, and I can change up the mix-ins depending on what we have on hand. Thanks to this month’s host, Liz of Hezzi-D’s Books and Cooks .

   

Pepperoni Pizza Quiche

1 unbaked 9-inch frozen pie shell

5 ounces sliced mushrooms

8 ounces shredded cheese, divided

2 ounces sliced pepperoni, quartered, divided

12 ounce can evaporated milk

3 eggs, beaten

2 tablespoons flour

1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning

1/8 teaspoon garlic powder

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Sauté the mushrooms over medium heat until cooked. Allow to cool slightly.

Into the bottom of the pie shell, sprinkle 1 cup of the cheese, half of pepperoni pieces and the cooked mushrooms. In a medium bowl, whisk together the evaporated milk, eggs, flour, Italian seasoning, and the garlic powder. Pour the egg mixture into the pie crust. Top with the remaining cheese and pepperoni. Place the quiche on a baking sheet.

Bake for 40 to 45 minutes or until knife inserted near center comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before serving.

Recipe from Nestle

Brownie Donuts with Peanut Butter Glaze

This month’s theme for What’s Baking is baked donuts. I was pretty excited for this challenge as I have a donut pan and I hadn’t used it in quite a while. I mentioned the challenge to my husband, and before I knew it he had emailed me this recipe for brownie donuts with peanut butter frosting. They sounded great, and pretty decadent, which is good as baked donuts can be not quite as good as the fried variety.

While I knew what donuts I wanted to make, I sure did wait until the last minute to bake them! Everything has been so busy lately and I just hadn’t gotten to baking them. Luckily, these take less than an hour from start to finish, so I was able to get them ready to go. I did decide to use a simpler glaze than the original peanut butter frosting, so that saved some time.

This recipe makes just six donuts, which was perfect. I was worried about the donuts containing no baking powder or baking soda, but they were fine. They are fairly dense, but in a brownie-like way. These are basically one bowl brownies in a donut form. They are very rich, and the peanut butter glaze adds just the right amount of sweetness. Thanks to this month’s host, Kate from Kate’s Recipe Box !

Brownie Donuts with Peanut Butter Glaze

6 tablespoons butter

2-1/2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped

¾ cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 eggs

6 tablespoons flour

1 tablespoon peanut butter

2/3 cup powdered sugar

4-5 teaspoons water

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Spray a 6 count donut pan with nonstick cooking spray.

In a large saucepan, or in a medium microwaveable bowl, combine the butter and unsweetened chocolate. Heat over medium heat or in the microwave, until melted and the mixture is smooth. Remove from the heat. Whisk in the sugar and vanilla, mixing until smooth. Add the eggs and whisk until combined. Add the flour and stir until the batter is smooth.

Spoon the batter into the prepared donut pan.

Bake for 12-15 minutes, until the donut springs back when touched. Allow to cool in the pan for 10 minutes and then remove from the pan onto a wire rack.

Make the glaze: in a medium bowl combine the peanut butter, powdered sugar, and 4 teaspoons water. Whisk until smooth; if the mixture is too thick, add an additional teaspoon of water. Drizzle over the cooled donuts.

Donut recipe from Nutmeg Nanny. Glaze recipe from All Recipes.