coconut Archives | Marisa's Italian Kitchen

I have been away from my blog for most of the month for a couple of reasons…but first let me share these deliciously simple tropical biscotti with you!

Last weekend we celebrated my beautiful, bright and vivacious daughter’s birthday. It was such a fun filled evening spent with close family members and only about 35 amazing friends of hers…lol.

She chose to organize her own birthday bash and did so very well I might add. From choosing the restaurant, the menu and the D.J. We dined on Moroccan food and danced the night away to a tropical themed birthday party.

She also opted out of a traditional birthday cake and instead requested mini vanilla cupcakes with a buttercream frosting and chocolate cream cheese cake pops, dipped in yellow candy melts.

Inspired by the tropical theme, I made dozens of the these light and crisp biscotti, studded with sweetened flaked coconut, diced crystallized pineapple and chopped roasted almonds. Truly wonderful flavors of the tropics in every bite!

These tropical biscotti are incredibly easy to make. No stand mixer is required. Just two bowls, one for stirring the dry ingredients and the other to whisk together the wet ingredients which are then combined together in one bowl to form the biscotti dough. Now, some might find rolling the dough into logs a bit tricky but what helps is having your work surface and hands dusted with flour. Also make sure your cookie sheet is ready and nearby to quickly transfer the rolled logs effortlessly and don’t worry if it is a less then perfect log because it will spread anyhow during the first baking.

I am often asked how to get ends that do not break off while slicing. First thing is that I only let them cool 15 minutes before slicing. This way they are still warm and more pliable to a sharp knife. Pointing the tip of the knife down and slicing in one fluid motion also works best for me and because these tropical biscotti are not the rock hard variety I do not use a serrated knife.

These tropical biscotti got rave reviews at my daughter’s birthday party! Although they will keep well in an airtight container for up to two weeks they will disappear oh so quickly!

Now, on a slightly different note. I embarked on this blogging journey one year ago, shortly after my mom passed away. It is a wonderful learning experience and I feel extremely blessed to share my space with the blogging community. However just this past summer my dad was diagnosed with metastatic lung cancer which simply means a cancer that originated in the lungs and spread to other parts of the body. I mention this because I may not be able to share recipes as frequently as I wish to because his health is deteriorating.

But rest assured, I will be back as often as I can…

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Tropical Biscotti

A crisp and light biscotti with the sweet flavors of the tropics.

Course: Biscotti

Cuisine: Italian

Servings: pieces

Author: Marisa

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup roasted almonds coarsely chopped
1/2 cup sweetened flaked coconut
2/3 cup chopped crystallized pineapple
1/2 cup unsalted butter melted
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1 egg white
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract
For brushing:
1 beaten egg white

Instructions

Preheat oven to 325*
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a medium sized bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, and salt with the chopped almonds, coconut and chopped pineapple pieces.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the melted butter, granulated sugar, egg, egg white and both extracts then stir into the flour mixture until thoroughly combined.
transfer the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and divide equally in half. With lightly floured hands roll each half into a log about 12 inches long . Transfer to the prepared cookie sheet. Brush the logs with the beaten egg white.
Bake for 30 minutes, until the logs are golden brown. Let the logs cool for 15 minutes.
Transfer the logs one at a time onto a cutting board and slice diagonally into 1/2 inch pieces.
Return the sliced biscotti to the baking tray, laying them upright. Place the tray back into the oven and bake for an additional 15 minutes or just until they start to brown around the edges.
Let the biscotti cool completely before storing in an airtight container. They will keep for about two weeks.

An easy to bake Tropical Chocolate Banana Pecan Bread and simply heavenly!

The very first time I brought this banana bread in at work, a co-worker took one bite rolled her eyes and uttered “orgasmic”! It’s most certainly that good.

This tropical chocolate banana pecan bread will be a huge hit at your next family gathering or potluck. It has always been my go to banana bread recipe whenever a craving hit and a no fail recipe. Even beginners will appreciate the simplicity of this sweet loaf as its not complicated to put together and yet so amazingly delicious you’ll want to bottle the tropical aromas.

While the mashed bananas render this sweet loaf moist, the pecan and coconut topping adds a lovely crunchy bite in contrast to the loaf itself.

When using bananas for baking, make sure they are ripe with brown freckles but not bruised. If you have an abundance of over ripe bananas you can freeze them, with the peel on, sealed in a ziplock bag. When you’re ready to use them, simply bring them out to thaw. Peel the bananas and add them to your favorite recipe.

Consequently, you will need approximately 3 medium sized ripe bananas to equal one cup of mashed bananas for this recipe. Although a potato masher comes in real handy when mashing the bananas, a fork will do just fine.

I omitted the raisins from the original recipe and added the chocolate chips and pecans simply to suit my personal tastes. I’m just not a fan of raisins in my desserts!

Alternately, walnuts can be substituted for the pecans if that is what you have on hand.

Bake this Tropical Chocolate Banana Pecan Bread today and enjoy with your favorite cup of tea, coffee or simply a cold glass of milk.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup packed brown sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 cup mashed bananas
1 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup pecans, chopped

Topping:

1/2 cup shredded coconut
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 tbsp butter softened
1 1/2 tsp all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup pecans, chopped

For the topping: Combine all ingredients until nice and crumbly into a small bowl and set aside

Grease a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan and set aside. Preheat oven to 325*F (160*C).

In a large bowl beat together the butter and sugar on medium speed just until light and fluffy.

Next, beat in the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. If you are using a stand mixer make sure to scrape down the mixture a couple of times. Stir in the vanilla.

In a medium sized bowl combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon. Stir the flour mixture into the butter mixture alternately with the mashed bananas just until combined. Do not over-mix.

Fold in the chocolate chips and chopped pecans.

Pour the batter in the prepared loaf pan and sprinkle with the coconut topping.

Bake in preheated oven for about one hour. The loaf should be golden brown. I always check to see if it is done by inserting a toothpick in the center. If it comes out clean it is done. If it is wet, bake a little longer.

Adapted from Canadian Living Magazine (with a few tweaks)