Hawaiian Pineapple Coconut Cheesecake Bars

I was in the mood for making something new for our church coffee service on Sunday and these bars were a big hit. Sometime I want to try making these bars with fresh mango, substituting 8 ounces of mango for 8 ounces of pineapple. I just wasn't sure about doing it this time as some folks may be allergic to mango so I didn't want to risk it.

I'm sorry I didn't take a picture. I didn't realize they would be such a big hit. The next time I bake these bars I will add a pic. They were very festive!

Hawaiian Pineapple Coconut Cheesecake Bars

Ingredients

Shortbread Crust

2 cups flour

1 cup granulated sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup butter at room temperature

Pineapple Cheesecake Filling

16 ounces cream cheese at room temperature

1/4 cup granulated sugar

2 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

16ounces crushed pineapple well drained

Coconut Topping

2 cups shredded sweetened coconut

2 tablespoons butter, melted

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 °F.  Line a 9x13 with tinfoil allowing excess tinfoil to drape over pan lengthwise. Spray lightly with baking spray. This will allow you to remove the bars after baking for easier cutting.

Combine the flour, granulated sugar, salt  and butter until well combined and crumbly. Press the mixture into a 9 X 13 pan. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes or until starting to turn golden. Remove and let cool slightly while prepping the other layers.

Beat the cream cheese until smooth, then add in the granulated sugar, eggs and vanilla. Stir in the drained pineapple. Spread over the baked crust.

Combine the coconut and the melted butter. Sprinkle over the pineapple layer filling and lightly tamp down.

Cover the pan with tinfoil.

Return to the oven and bake for 25 minutes. Remove the tinfoil and bake another 15-20 minutes until the coconut is well browned. Cool to room temperature

Refrigerate overnight. Remove from pan. Cut into bars and serve.

Doubletree Hotel Signature Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe

I haven’t been to a DoubleTree Hotel in years, but I do remember that we used to go to lunch at one in Tucson, Arizona when I lived there in the 1980s. I also remember that they always had a platter of delicious chocolate chip cookies in the lobby and I would always swing by to get “one for the road” on the way out after lunch. I just happened to stumble on the recipe for those chocolate chip cookies, which is supposedly being released for the first time. My first thought was just to  pass it on by. Who needs another chocolate chip cookie recipe, I thought. But I tried it anyway and they are delicious! The secret, believe it or not, is a quarter teaspoon of lemon juice. The lemon juice supposedly keeps the cookies moist, while the edges crisp up. I don’t know the science behind it, but it sure  makes for a great cookie!

There is nothing better than the smell of chocolate chip cookies
fresh out of the oven!

DoubleTree Signature Cookie Recipe

Makes 26 cookies

½ pound unsalted butter, softened (2 sticks)

¾ cup + 1 tablespoon granulated sugar

¾ cup packed light brown sugar

2 large eggs

1 ¼ teaspoons vanilla extract

¼ teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

2 ¼ cups flour

1/2 cup rolled oats

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

Pinch cinnamon

2 2/3 cups Nestle Tollhouse semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 3/4 cups chopped walnuts 

Cream butter, sugar and brown sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer on medium speed for about 2 minutes. 

Add eggs, vanilla and lemon juice, blending with mixer on low speed for 30 seconds, then medium speed for about 2 minutes, or until light and fluffy, scraping down bowl. 

With mixer on low speed, add flour, oats, baking soda, salt and cinnamon, blending for about 45 seconds. Don’t overmix. 

Remove bowl from mixer and stir in chocolate chips and walnuts.

Portion dough with a scoop (about 3 tablespoons) onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper about 2 inches apart. 

Preheat oven to 300°F. Bake for 20 to 23 minutes, or until edges are golden brown and center is still soft. 

Remove from oven and cool on baking sheet for about 1 hour.

Easter 2021 - Banoffee Pie

Polish and Ukrainian Easter eggs on display. The newest pysanki surround the hen. The hen, made of straw and feathers, is a treasured gift from my late cousin, Marie Wacht. Here is a link to the company that sells these beautiful eggs and more... https://www.bestpysanky.com/

I decided to make a different dessert for Easter and this English-inspired pie recipe jumped out at me. I found it on the New York Times recipe section and revised it to suit my taste. The Banoffee Pie has layers of dulce de leche, bananas, coffee-flavored whipped cream topped with mini milk chocolate chips in a graham-cracker crust. Dulce De Leche (sweetened carmelized canned milk) is common in Poland and is used for a Mazurek Pie often made for Easter. The Banoffee Pie was quite yummy and fits right in with Polish traditions!

A Banoffee Pie makes a statement at your dessert table!

Banoffee Pie

INGREDIENTS

1 1/4 cups graham cracker crumbs (about 9 whole graham crackers)

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

3 tablespoons granulated sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 1/2 cups (1 can) store-bought dulce de leche (about 20 ounces)

3 large bananas, peeled and sliced about 1/4-inch thick

FOR THE WHIPPED CREAM:

1 1/2 cups cold heavy cream

2-3 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar to taste

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon instant coffee granules (optional)

Chocolate shavings

PREPARATION

YIELD One 9-inch pie

Step 1 - Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Make the crust: In a medium bowl, combine graham cracker crumbs, melted butter, sugar and salt. Stir until fully incorporated and sandy. (When you pinch a bit of it between your fingers, it should hold together.) Transfer to a 9-inch pie plate. Using your fingers or a flat-bottomed cup, press the mixture into the pie plate and up the sides. Make sure it is well packed. Bake until set, 12 to 15 minutes. Let cool at room temperature.

Step 2 - Spoon the dulce de leche into the pie crust and spread into an even layer. Pile in banana slices into a relatively even layer (they should overlap). Transfer the pie to the refrigerator while you make the whipped cream.

Step 3 - Make the whipped cream: Using a handheld mixer or stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, whip the heavy cream, sugar, vanilla extract and instant coffee, if using, on medium-high speed until firm peaks form, 1 to 2 minutes. Spread the whipped cream on top of the bananas, making sure to spread the whipped cream to the edge, totally covering the bananas (this will help prevent them from browning). Chill the pie, uncovered, for 2 hours and up to overnight.

Step 4 - To serve, sprinkle the pie with chocolate shavings

I thought the pie would be too sweet because of the dulce de leche,
but the recipe works as written!

Note: I made this pie on Easter Sunday and served it that day. If I make this pie again, I would make it the day before serving so that the bananas would meld into the dulce de leche. It's the Tuesday morning after Easter, and as I write this I am eating a leftover piece of pie--so delicious.

Great Northern Bean Soup (Zupa Fasolowa)

Ham for Christmas usually means that there is a nice ham hock along with some scraps of leftover ham ready to be made into a delicious soup. I used to use Navy beans for this soup, but I found the Great Northern bean be a nice substitute because of the way the beans hold their shape. I like to serve this soup with a lightly buttered deli rye bread on the side. In Polish, this soup is known as Zupa Fasolowa. I can't say if this is truly a Polish recipe, but it was a common recipe that my mom made when I was growing up in Michigan.

Great Northern Bean Soup (Zupa Fasolowa).

Basic Ham and Bean Soup

Ingredients

1 pound dry Great Northern beans

8 cups water

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 ham bone

1 generous cup carrots, coarsely chopped

1 generous cup celery, coarsely chopped

1 generous cup onion, coarsely chopped

1 teaspoon garlic, minced

1 teaspoon marjoram

2 bay leaves

1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper

2 generous cups ham, cubed

Salt to taste

Directions

Rinse the beans, sorting out any broken or discolored ones. In a large pot over high heat, bring the water to a boil. Add the salt and the beans and remove from heat. Let beans sit in the hot water for at least 60 minutes. Alternatively, soak beans overnight. Rinse before using.

After the 60 minutes of soaking, return the pot to high heat and place the ham bone, carrots, celery, onion, garlic, marjoram, bay leaves, and white pepper in the pot. Stir well, bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer for 60 more minutes.

Stir in the chopped ham and simmer for 30 more minutes. Remove ham bone and discard.

Season with salt to taste.

Optional: Serve with lightly buttered deli rye bread on the side.

Pork Roast (Pieczeń Wieprzowa) in the Polish Style

I love a pork roast (pieczeń wieprzowa in Polish) and the one I made last night was one of the best. I call it "In the Polish style" as it is heavy on the garlic. Don't cut back on the garlic, though, because, as the roast bakes the garlic cloves caramelize and become sweet bits of goodness within the roast. 

Pork Roast (Pieczeń Wieprzowa) in the Polish Style--Perfect for Sunday dinner!

Ingredients

1 package Lipton Mushroom Onion Soup mix

1 cup of water

Olive oil spray

1 3-to-4 pound Publix Boneless Boston Butt Roast

1 large onion, halved

3 stalks celery, coarsely chopped

4 cloves garlic, halved

1 teaspoon garlic powder

4 medium potatoes, cut into chunks

4 carrots, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks

2 tablespoons fresh rosemary, finely chopped

2 teaspoon fresh thyme, finely chopped

2 tablespoons olive oil

Salt and coarse black pepper to taste

2 tablespoons corn starch dissolved in 1/2 cup water

Directions

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix Lipton Mushroom Onion Soup mix with 1 cup water and set aside.

Spray a Dutch oven with olive oil spray or coat with olive oil.

Coarsely chop 1/2 of the onion. Put onion and celery in bottom of Dutch oven. Place roast on top. Make 8 1-inch slits about 1-inch deep in top of roast and place a half clove of garlic in each slit.

Pour soup mix over roast. Sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon each of salt and coarse black pepper. Sprinkle 1 teaspoon garlic powder on top of roast.

Cover Dutch oven and place on top of stove and heat just until it just comes to a boil. Remove from heat and place Dutch oven into oven and bake for 90 minutes. Remove from oven.

Combine potatoes, carrots, and 1/2 onion coarsely chopped in a large bowl. Add rosemary, thyme, and salt and pepper to taste, and stir to combine. Add to pork roast.

Return pork roast to the oven and bake covered for an additional 60 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool for about 15 minutes. Place pork on cutting board and remove strings. Cut pork into 1/2 inch slices. Removed vegetables from Dutch oven and place in serving bowl.

Roast pork, sliced for serving.

Add corn starch slurry to Dutch oven, stir to combine with drippings in the pan and bring to a boil on top of stove. Reduce heat and simmer for about 5 minutes or until gravy thickens. Plate pork roast and vegetables.  Top with gravy if desired or serve on the side. Leftovers make great pork barbeque sandwiches!

Sliced pork sandwiches with BBQ sauce and a side of coleslaw. Yum!