coconut oil

Lavender Biscotti

June 22, 2012 By bigfatbaker 14 Comments

After making the lavender shortbread a few months ago, I was inspired to use edible lavender more often.

Recipes like honey lavender ice cream and honey lavender creme brûlée were calling my name for weeks.

Once I finally got around to making something I settled on lavender biscotti.

I must admit, I was a bit underwhelmed by the thought of a lavender biscotti – but this recipe surprised me.

The biscotti are floral but not overwhelming. I also used organic turbinado sugar and organic coconut oil to make the biscotti softer and more like a cookie.

If you have never used lavender in any baked goods I recommend giving it a try! The lavender buds are pretty, smell good and add lovely purple flecks to your recipes.

You can find out where to buy edible lavender buds here!

Coconut Candy Bars {Tropical Traditions Review}

December 13, 2011 By bigfatbaker 11 Comments

Coconut oil is one of the most recent food trends to take the market by storm.

In 2009 people started whispering about the potential health benefits of tropical oils. Then they started to really want them. And now you can find coconut oil and palm oil just about anywhere.

But back in 2000, in a small community in the Philippines, a husband and wife worked together to make coconut oil the traditional way.

The founders of Tropical Traditions, Brian and Marianita Shilhavy, believe that the coconut oil is best when produced the way of the generations before them.

According to their website the process goes something like this…

“Grate the fresh coconut meat to extract the coconut milk…

Move the coconut milk to a covered container. Allow the coconut milk to sit for 24 hours…

After about 24 hours, the oil naturally separates from the water producing a crystal clear oil that retains the full scent and taste of coconuts.”

I have been a fan of Tropical Traditions for a few years.

In 2010 I jumped on the coconut oil bandwagon, and after doing a little research found TropicalTraditions.com. I read about their product and ordered a quart of their certified organic virgin coconut oil.

I was instantly hooked on the light coconut flavor and scent of the oil. I started using it for everything kitchen and skin care related.

So a few weeks ago when they offered to send me a quart of their certified organic gold label virgin coconut oil I was delighted!

For some reason I had never ordered their gold label before and I was eager to try it.

After looking through some of the different recipes on their website I found a Mounds like candy bar recipe that sounded good. I switched up the recipe a bit with the graham cracker crumbs & chocolate layer.

The Gold Label Virgin coconut oil was amazing. It was a bit more buttery in texture and had just a hint more coconut flavor. I highly recommend this one over their other oils, if you can afford it. If not their green label also wonderful!

Organic Banana Cranberry Oatmeal Muffins

January 19, 2011 By bigfatbaker 15 Comments

If you are at all like me, you have a hard time eating breakfast in the morning.

Breakfast is one of the most important meals of the day! Skipping it is the opposite of what we should be doing.

To break that nasty habit I have started thinking of ways to eat something quick, while keeping it somewhat healthy. Muffins are great for this purpose. They are easy to carry and are the perfect size for a morning meal.

And no, the muffins at the deli/coffee shop do not count. Those muffins are closer to 2 servings, and full of sugar. You might as well eat a cupcake!

I don’t know about you but bananas have been a staple breakfast food for me since I was really little. They are easy to eat and take with you when you are in a rush. Exactly like what I wanted my muffins to be like…

I really wanted to make something banana so it would feel like breakfast. Banana bread isn’t easy to eat in the morning, so muffins it was.

Banana muffins are great on their own, but [Read more...]

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Boxed Brownies – BFB’s Way

September 29, 2010 By bigfatbaker 2 Comments

As you all know, I am all for making my baked goods from scratch. But sometimes box mixes can be just as delicious.

This time I switched some things up. I decided to make the boxed mix a bit more interesting.

I added a mashed organic banana, chopped walnuts, swapped out organic virgin coconut oil for the vegetable oil, and sprinkled some chocolate chips on top.

I decided to try coconut oil in brownies because in my mind chocolate and coconut = Mounds like flavor. Unfortunately (or fortunately for those that don’t like coconut!) the coconut oil doesn’t add any coconut flavor to the brownies.

I still like to use the coconut oil over vegetable oil in my brownies. Coconut oil has way more health benefits then the traditional vegetable oil.

The little changes I made to the boxed mix turned out wonderfully. The brownie was light, but still fudgey. And it definitely felt like a sweet treat!

You can taste the banana but it is not an overwhelming banana flavor. And I thought the walnuts added a much needed texture change. And the chocolate chips are a must!

Organic Banana Bread

September 12, 2010 By bigfatbaker 3 Comments

Recently, when I was home visiting my parents my dad asked me to make one of his all-time favorite baked goods…banana bread. I happily agreed, who doesn’t love banana bread?

Before I started, I was trying to think of ways to make mine different but still keep it close to the kind of banana bread that my dad knows and loves.

I did a little research on recipes and read that a lot of people like to add nuts such as cashews, macadamia nuts, pecans, and walnuts.

I also read of people adding chocolate chips, peanut butter, dried fruit and frosting. All that sounded good to me, but I knew my dad wouldn’t want anything to get in the way of the banana flavor.

I decided to go with a little of orange zest, brown sugar, spices, and whole wheat flour for a heartier version of banana bread.

This turned out to be a crowd pleaser. Very similar to the classic banana bread recipe with an added orange aroma, and a bit of a caramel-y flavor. The whole wheat flour also gives the bread a wonderful texture. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Bread Recipes Tagged With: bake, baking, banana bread, banana recipes, Bread Recipes, coconut oil, easy banana bread recipe, healthy banana bread, homemade bread recipes, organic, organic baking, organic banana recipe, organic bananas, organic coconut oil, organic food, organic recipes, organic virgin coconut oil, recipe for banana bread, recipes

Coconut Candy Bars {Tropical Traditions Review}

Organic Banana Cranberry Oatmeal Muffins

Boxed Brownies – BFB’s Way

Organic Banana Bread

About the Author

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Lavender Biscotti

You can find out where to buy edible lavender buds here!

Related Posts

Coconut Candy Bars {Tropical Traditions Review}

Related Posts

Organic Banana Cranberry Oatmeal Muffins

Related Posts

Boxed Brownies – BFB’s Way

Related Posts

Organic Banana Bread

Related Posts

About the Author

Top 5 Most Popular Posts

Recent Posts