Bready or Not Original: White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Pie
Welcome to MACADAMIA NUT MONTH! Why is this Macadamia Nut Month? Because next month on the 23rd, the final book in my Blood of Earth trilogy comes out! Hawaii is a major setting in Roar of Sky, and I did a research trip to Oahu and the Big Island last year. That included a stay at a lovely bed & breakfast on a macadamia nut farm near Kona. I’ve loved macadamia nuts my entire life, but there’s nothing like cracking through those double layers of shell to eat a macadamia nut fresh off the tree.
If you love macadamia nuts as well, get ready to bliss out. This month you’ll get recipes for:
White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Pie (today)
White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies
Lemony Macadamia Nut Bars
Mini Fruit Cake Loaves to make now for the holidays (macadamia nuts optional)
Macadamia Nut Pie. This pie is unquestionably decadent, but it is so very worth it.
I looked at about five recipes to formulate my own original take on this recipe. I confess, I was pretty nervous about this experiment.
After all, I didn’t want to waste these delicious nuts, even if I did buy two big bags at a good price from the Kona Costco during my novel research trip. Not like I can fly back there to stockpile nuts again soon (alas).
For years now, I’ve loved white chocolate macadamia nut cookies–hence I am featuring that recipe again next week. To me, that pairing of chocolate and nuts is sheer perfection. I just wasn’t sure how it would translate to pie.
The results genuinely surprised me.
That’s because the white chocolate melded with the corn syrup and brown sugar during the baking process, creating a kind of smooth caramel sauce.
Caramel and macadamia nuts is an awfully good pairing, too. But a very sweet one. This pie necessitated the purchase of a tub of vanilla ice cream.
I then served the pie to my husband with ice cream on the side, and I spooned caramel from the pie plate over both. Oh yeah.
You won’t need big slices of this pie. It’s just too rich. The good news is, it keeps well in the fridge for up to a week.
Come back next week for one of my favorite cookie recipes, and please preorder Roar of Sky!
Bready or Not Original: White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Pie
Ingredients
- 1 deep dish pie crust 9-inch unbaked, homemade or store-bought
Filling:
- 2/3 cup white chocolate chips
- 2 cups macadamia nuts raw, coarsely chopped
- 4 eggs room temperature
- 1 cup light corn syrup
- 1/3 cup brown sugar packed
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400-degrees. Place a cookie sheet in the oven to heat up as well; this will help prevent a soggy bottom on the crust.
- Place white chocolate chips and macadamia nuts in the unbaked pie crust, and place it in the fridge to chill.
- In a mixing bowl, lightly whisk the eggs, then add the corn syrup, brown sugar, vanilla, and salt. Pour the filling over the white chocolate and macadamia nuts. Cover the pie crust edges with foil.
- Bake for 15 minutes at 400-degrees. Remove the foil.
- Reduce the oven temperature to 350-degrees and bake for another 25 to 30 minutes, until the top is lightly brown and the filling is set. Cool to room temperature before cutting.
- OM NOM NOM!
Bready or Not: Homemade Twix Bars
If you’re craving candy bars–a lot of candy bars–this recipe will result in a casserole dish of Twix-like yumminess.
These are a bit softer than Twix, but the similarities are there. The crust is like cakey shortbread topped with caramel-sweet dulce de leche. Chocolate finishes off the top.
As the pictures show, there are some crumbs. Very delicious crumbs. I found the chocolate layer on top stayed soft, even after chilling.
This is the perfect recipe for feeding a large crowd. If you cut them into long rectangles, like Twix, you’ll have a lot!
But if you have leftovers, no worries–these keep well for days in the fridge, and you can also freeze them between waxed paper layers. Just thaw them in the fridge when your craving strikes again.
Modified from Twixy Shortbread Bars in Better Homes & Gardens.
Bready or Not: Homemade Twix Bars
Ingredients
Cookie base:
- 1 1/2 cups unsalted butter 3 sticks, softened
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
Middle:
- 13.4 oz dulce de leche can
Chocolate top:
- 3/4 cup whipping cream
- 6 Tablespoons unsalted butter
- 3 Tablespoons light corn syrup
- 12 ounces semisweet chocolate chips 1 bag
- 3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Line a 13x9-inch pan with aluminum foil and apply nonstick spray.
- In a large bowl beat the 1 1/2 cups butter until soft and creamy. Add the sugar and vanilla. Beat in the flour. Press the dough into the prepared pan and set in fridge to chill for at least 30 minutes.
- Preheat oven at 350-degrees. Bake the pan with dough for 20 to 25 minutes, until set and turning light brown. Cool on rack.
- Spread contents of dulce de leche can evenly over the crust.
- In a saucepan on medium heat, warm up the whipping cream, 6 tablespoons of butter, and corn syrup until they are just boiling. Remove from heat. Add the chocolate and vanilla but don't stir! Let it sit for 5 minutes. Stir until nice and smooth. Cool another 10 minutes, then pour chocolate over the dulce de leche. Spread it evenly over the top. Cover and chill for an hour or two.
- Use the foil to lift contents of pan onto a large cutting board. Slice into bars.
- These homemade candy bars keep best in the fridge, and can also be frozen (and later thawed in fridge). If at room temperature for a prolonged period, the bottom crust may get soggy.
- OM NOM NOM!
Bready or Not Original: Nutty Bites
I present to you my recipe for Nutty Bites. These are a fantastic snack or breakfast.
Plus, they are super-healthy, loaded with nuts and seeds, totally gluten-free, with honey as the sweetener and binding agent.
This is an easy recipe to customize, too. Keep the amounts of nuts and seeds the same, but switch in peanuts, hazelnuts, walnuts, wheat germ, sunflower kernels… whatever you like!
You can toast the nuts first, if you choose. I actually preferred it untoasted. Do note that some smaller add-ins like pepitas can burn quickly, and burned pepitas don’t taste that great. (Voice of experience here.)
I can report that these keep well in the freezer for at least a month, too. Just make sure to have something like waxed paper between the layers–and even then, in a few spots with heavy honey, the bars might stick.
Oh, and did I mention that this is entirely made on stovetop? No need to heat up the house by turning on the oven! Whip out your candy thermometer and you’ll have Nutty Bites ready in no time flat.
Bready or Not Original: Nutty Bites
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup macadamia nuts
- 1/2 cup pecans
- 1/2 cup almonds
- 1/2 cup pepitas
- 1/4 cup chia seeds
- 1/4 cup ground flaxseed
- 3/4 cup honey
- 1/4 cup water
- sprinkle salt
Instructions
- Mix the nuts and seeds together in a large glass or metal bowl. Prepare an 8x8 pan with parchment paper or aluminum foil, and grease well.
- Heat the honey and water in a medium saucepan on medium-high. Use a candy thermometer to track the temperature as it rises to 275-degrees (soft crack stage). Stay close to the pan at all times! Once the honey starts boiling, it will bubble excessively, so keep stirring and use great caution.
- As soon as it reaches 275-degrees, pour the honey mix over the nuts and seeds. Stir to coat. It will harden quickly, so move fast! Pour everything into the ready pan and press out evenly.
- Let set out for an hour. Use a knife or bench knife to chop into squares. Store at room temperature in a sealed container between wax paper layers; they can also be frozen.
- OM NOM NOM!
Bready or Not: Bourbon-Glazed Pound Cake (Tube/Bundt Cake)
Bourbon. Glazed. Pound. Cake. This thing is easy to make and tastes like a boozy version of a cruller.
Yes, a cruller. Those yummy braided-style glazed donuts. Slathered in bourbon.
Do I have your attention now?
I based this recipe on one in Bake From Scratch Magazine (Holiday 2016) but I altered it a good bit, especially in regards to the glaze.
When I use a thin, sugary glaze on a bundt cake, I like to use a method I learned from the Great British Bake Off. I use the pan to help me make sure the glaze soaks into the entire cake.
I’ve had too many cakes where the bottom middle of the cake ends up devoid of glaze. Not so with this technique!
Yes, you can taste the bourbon in the end result. No, I have no substitutions to offer. I don’t know what this recipe would be without that particular reinforcement.
Bready or Not: Bourbon-Glazed Pound Cake (Tube/Bundt Cake)
Ingredients
Cake:
- 2 cups unsalted butter 4 sticks, softened
- 2 3/4 cup white sugar
- 6 large eggs room temperature
- 3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 cup milk or half & half
- 1 lemon zested
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Bourbon Glaze:
- 1 cup white sugar
- 1/2 cup bourbon
- 7 Tablespoons unsalted butter
Instructions
The Cake:
- Preheat oven at 325-degrees. Grease and flour a 10-inch-or-larger tube pan or bundt pan.
- In a large bowl, beat butter until creamy, about 2 minutes. Add sugar, and beat until fluffy and white, about 7 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
- In a separate bowl, sift together flour, nutmeg, and salt. Gradually add it to the butter mixture, alternating with the milk. Follow up with the zest and vanilla. Pour into the ready pan.
- Bake until it passes the toothpick test, about 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes. Let cool in pan for 15 minutes, then upend onto wire rack. Set aside the pan--don't wash it! Let the cake completely cool for a few hours.
The Glaze:
- Combine the sugar, bourbon, and butter in a small saucepan. Constantly whisk at a low heat until the butter melts and sugar dissolves. Take off heat. It will look like a lot of liquid, but the cake will soak it up.
- Place the cake back in the pan. Poke holes all over the base with a chopstick or skewer. Spoon about half the glaze over holes and sides of cake. Let sit a minute. Upend cake onto a serving platter or plate. Poke more holes all over top. Spoon rest of glaze into holes and over sides. Use a basting brush to mop up drippings and make sure cake is fully glazed.
- Store under a cake dome at room temperature or in fridge. Can also be cut into slices and individually frozen. Eat cold, at room temperature, or warmed in microwave.
- OM NOM NOM!
Bready or Not: Oatmeal Caramel Bars
I’d like to thank my past self for setting me up to re-discover this Oatmeal Caramel Bars recipe.
When I was home last Thanksgiving, my mom gave me a stack of her old recipes and food magazines to go through. A lot of the material dated to the 1970s and ’80s and went straight in the recycle pile.
Mixed in with everything else, though, I found some little food magazines I had bought back in 1999 as I looked toward getting married. One of them highlighted favorite recipes from the Pillsbury Bake-Off.
This recipe, originally titled Oatmeal Carmelitas, dated from the 1960s. I knew I had to make it.
The recipe essentially makes a big, fat candy bar. Oatmeal forms the crust, while the middle consists of chocolate chips and gooey caramel.
Yeah. This isn’t a health recipe, but wow, is it good. This was worth being published again in 1999–and again now, with some new tweaks.
Bready or Not: Oatmeal Caramel Bars
Ingredients
Crust:
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 cups quick oats
- 1 1/2 cups brown sugar packed
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/4 cups unsalted butter 2 1/2 sticks, room temperature
Filling:
- 14 ounce caramel jar
- 4 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup pecans chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven at 350-degrees. Line a 13x9 pan with aluminum foil and apply nonstick spray.
- In a large bowl, combine all crust ingredients until crumbly. Reserve half, about 3 cups, for the topping, and press the rest into the bottom of the pan. Bake for 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, stir together the caramel and 4 Tablespoons of flour.
- When the crust is done baking, sprinkle chocolate chips and pecans over the top, then drizzle evenly with the caramel mixture. Add the reserved crumb mixture on top.
- Return to the oven for about 20 minutes, or until golden brown. Cool for an hour or so, then set in fridge to completely chill for several hours or overnight. To cut, use the foil to lift contents to a cutting board. Slice into bars.
- Store in sealed container in fridge with layers between pieces of parchment or wax paper. Bars will stay more cohesive if chilled; they are gooier at room temperature.
- OM NOM NOM!
Bready or Not: Homemade Beef Jerky
Beef jerky is expensive to buy. If you can catch a good sale on an eye of round roast, this recipe makes cheap and delicious Homemade Beef Jerky.
It’s really amazing how easy this recipe is. Cut up roast into chunks. Cover pieces in spices. Marinate for a day in the fridge. Bake for 6 to 7 hours. Done.
I’ve made this recipe a couple times now, and honestly, the weirdest thing is keeping the meat at room temperature after baking.
I mean, I’m used to doing that with store-bought jerky, but it feels weird to do that with home-cooked meat. However, I haven’t sickened or killed myself or various loved one with my homemade jerky, so I take that as a positive.
Most of the eye of round roasts I find on sale tend to be over 2 1/2 pounds. I just use more generous measures of spices for the rub. This isn’t a recipe where everything needs to be exact. Just make sure there’s enough rub to cover everything.
Also, the amount of cayenne looks like a lot, but the heat in this recipe is pleasant, not set-your-mouth-on-fire level. I can testify that myself and others who can’t stand spicy-hot have eaten this jerky without any issues.
And if you want more heat, by all means. Dump in more cayenne!
Modified from Michael Symon’s Beef Jerky recipe in Food Network Magazine, December 2017.
Bready or Not: Homemade Beef Jerky
Ingredients
- 2 - 2 1/2 pounds eye of round roast trimmed of fat
- 1 1/2 Tablespoons kosher salt
- 2 teaspoons white sugar
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 teaspoon chipotle chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon coriander
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
Instructions
- Slice the beef against the grain into chunks roughly 1 inch by 3 inches long. If the pieces look large, that's fine; they'll shrink a lot as they cook.
- In a mixing bowl, combine all of the spices. Liberally cover the beef pieces, using the entire mix. Place beef in a gallon bag, and keep sealed in the fridge for 24 hours or so.
- Preheat oven at 250-degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil and place a metal rack on top; apply nonstick spray. Set the meat on the rack so that no pieces are touching.
- Bake for 6 to 7 hours, until quite dry. If you want pieces chewier, remove closer to 6 hour point.
- Let cool completely to finish drying. Store in sealed container at room temperature for up to several months.
- OM NOM NOM!
