Coconut-Chocolate Haystacks

It's been so hot this summer. And as if that isn't bad enough, we're out of chocolate-chip cookies. Oh, the horror! I started browsing Martha Stewart's website for no-bake recipes and found these. Strictly speaking, they aren't no-bake, since you have to toast the coconut, but I got around that by using the toaster oven. You can also use a skillet; just watch the coconut very closely.


Chocolate-Coconut Haystacks (from marthastewart.com):
Makes 18-20, depending on how much of the coconut you eat

Ingredients:

1-1/2 cups sweetened shredded coconut

3-3/4 ounces (106.310712 grams) semi-sweet chocolate
5 drops almond or vanilla extract


Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. If using small baking pan, use convection oven. (The coconut won't be in a single layer, so it would take longer to toast in a normal oven.)
Place coconut onto baking sheet in a single layer (unless using small pan) and put into oven.

Toast for about 10 minutes until golden, stirring occasionally.

Allow to cool completely.

Meanwhile, melt chocolate in double boiler or microwave. Allow to cool for 5 minutes.

Combine chocolate, coconut, and almond extract in medium bowl; stir until well-combined.

Place mixture by tablespoons onto parchment-covered baking sheet.

Refrigerate for 20 minutes.

Store in fridge.

These are absolutely delicious. Crisp and crunchy, the coconut isn't overwhelmed by the chocolate. It still shines out. They'll keep for quite a while in the fridge, but I never found out exactly how long they'll stay fresh. They got eaten too fast. No one seemed to miss the almond extract that the original recipe called for. (We didn't have it, so I used vanilla instead.) Though the original recipe claimed to make 20, I wound up with 18 because... Well, you know how much I like cookie batter. The same principle applied here.
Oh well.

Chocolate Caramel Mug Cake

Here's a revelation I had a couple of days ago: It's possible to have chocolate cake in less than 5 minutes.
You probably are thinking, "No way! That's not possible!"
Well, it is. You use the microwave.
Now you're thinking, "Blasphemy! No cake can be made in the microwave and still taste good!"
Well, it can be. You mix batter for an individual cake and pour it in a mug and and bake it in the microwave. And it's good.
"..."
Exactly.

Here's how, using NomNomBlingBling's recipe found through the Huffington Post:

Chocolate Caramel Mug Cake

Ingredients:

4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
4 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

The bananas lurking in the background are not part of the recipe.

1 beaten egg
3 tablespoons skim milk
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 salted caramels (If you don't have salted caramels, press a few grains of sea salt into the tops of normal caramels. BOOM! Instant fancy salted caramels.)
1/8 cup chocolate chips (The original recipe doesn't call for this. Look below to see why I added it.)


Preparation:

Mix flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, salt, egg, milk, and oil in a bowl.

Me being a rebel and mixing it in the mug

Pour into a coffee mug and drop caramels in center one at a time.

"Noo!!" *glub glub glub*

Microwave on high for one minute and 15 seconds. It will rise above the mug edge and appear to be boiling over, but don't panic–it's not. By the time the batter gets to the top of the mug, it will have turned into cake.

It took a lot of willpower to leave it in when it rose.

If it's not cooked through, microwave for 7-15 seconds more.

Despite being made in a microwave, this cake was great! It was moist and tasty, although I feel that there could have been a more intense chocolate flavor. That's why I added the 1/8 cup of chocolate chips to the recipe. The texture is a little different than a conventional chocolate cake–it's slightly rubbery. Also, the caramels sank to the very bottom and melted, so most of it was just chocolate cake. It may have been because I took a bunch of pictures before putting it in the microwave, giving them time to sink all the way to the bottom. Along with the caramel at the bottom, there was a big flour pocket because I was too lazy to mix it in a bowl like the recipe said and just mixed it in the mug. Bad idea.

The bottom quarter of the cake had streaks of flour and the side of the mug had batter on it from the whisk.
Anyway, this cake is perfect if you get struck by a sudden chocolate craving and don't want to turn the oven on–or just can't wait long enough for a cake to bake. (It was above 90 degrees outside the day I made this. It's not fun to have a 350 degree oven spewing heat inside an already hot house. Thus, the mug cake.)