Coconut Bread

This seems like a good thing to make for my mother on Mother's Day. But really, who are we kidding? She lives 1000 miles away...I made this for me! I cut this out of the NY Times a few years ago, but the recipe originates from a Bill's Cafe in Sydney, Australia (sadly, a place I've never visited). I usually eat it toasted, sometimes for breakfast--but plenty of other times of the day as well!

2 eggs
1+1/4 cup milk
1 tsp. vanilla
2 1/2 cups flour
2 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 cup sugar
1+1/2 cup flaked coconut
6 tbsp. melted butter

Heat oven to 350°. Whisk together eggs, milk and vanilla. In another bowl, sift together flour, baking powder and cinnamon. Mix in sugar and coconut. Make a well in the center and pour in egg mixture. Mix until just combined, then stir in melted butter and mix until smooth (but don't overmix). Grease & flour an 8+1/2" x 4" loaf pan and pour in batter. Bake for 1 to 1+1/4 hours, until toothpick comes out clean. Cool in pan for 5 minutes, then finish cooling on a rack.

Oatmeal Coconut Crispies

I made these recently for my friend Sally's 85th birthday and she liked them so much I thought I would make her some more. When you're 85, you can have as many cookies as you want!

My brother and I have made these since we were kids. They are from a cookbook I practically memorized as a kid, and still enjoy today: Betty Crocker's Cooky Book (still in print, I think). These are on the sweet side--you could probably cut the sugar a bit. And sometimes I use a combination of white and whole-wheat flour to pretend they're healthier.

1 cup butter, softened

1 cup sugar

1 cup brown sugar, packed

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 3/4 cup flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats (maybe you could use quick cooking--I've never tried)

1 cup flaked coconut

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cream butter, sugars, eggs & vanilla until fluffy. Blend in flour, soda & salt; then rolled oats and coconut. Drop rounded teaspoons on a parchment-lined cookie sheets. They will spread, so make sure there are 1.5"- 2" inches between drops. Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until lightly browned. Cool on wire racks.

Coconut Shortbread

An extremely simple yet addictive recipe! This is adapted from Food & Wine, though I have no idea when I cut out the recipe.

2 cups sweetened flaked coconut

1 cup flour

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened

1 teaspoon almond extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly butter a springform pan or tart pan with removable bottom. Mix all ingredients together until well combined. (I start with a wooden spoon and end up with my hands--as with any shortbread, it's very crumbly!). Pack dough into pan. Bake until golden brown, about 20-25 minutes. Remove pan sides and cut into 12-16 wedges. Place wedges on a cookie sheet and bake until crisp, another 5 minutes.