Per Nana:
This is such a simple recipe to make.
If you have coconut on hand, adding the rest of the basic ingredients is a snap.
A wonderful dessert to make if someone calls to drop in for a quick visit.
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Since I had only sweetened coconut in the house I
reduced the amount of sugar called for in the recipe and
my friands were not too sweet at all.
I baked them for about 22 minutes and they turned out lovely.
The next time I prepare this recipe I would like to try some of
the additions that Dorie mentions in her bonne idee.
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All in all, this is a great recipe and hubby and I enjoyed them.
Per Tricia:
My contribution, in addition to taste testing duties, will be to
share a story about Nana's "Basel" plate in the above photo.
I too have a matching plate from the same store in Basel, Switzerland
purchased at the same time. It was 20 years ago and I joined both parents
on a trip to France where we focused mainly on the Alsatian
Rue de Vin (the wine road). We enjoyed a magnificent trip through
the wine country, consuming enough Choucroute to last a lifetime.
We did not tire of it and washing it down with the local Riesling
and Gewurztraminer certainly helped. One day we decided to cross
border and investigate the nearby "big city" of Basel, Switzerland.
We had a lovely time exploring the town, but when we returned
to the parking garage we found we needed Swiss coins to pay the meter !
Shops were now closing so we tried to find anything we could
buy in order to receive the precious Swiss currency. A local
antique and decor shop accommodated us and we each bought a plate.
This was "pre-Euro" and life has gotten much easier since then.
A special souvenir for sure, perfect for getting back into France
or for serving Coconut Friands :)
Happy French Friday ~
What a fun post this week. I too was impressed both by how tasty these were and by how easy they were to prepare. I love the look of your cute little mini friands, all I had to use was my regular muffin tins so mine were a bit larger.
ReplyDeleteAnd Tricia, I really enjoyed your story about your trip to Basel and what a lovely memory to have when you use those plates. But I am sad to say that the Euro has not changed anything in that regard. I was actually in Basel last week for work and completely forgot until I arrived that Switzerland still uses the Swiss Franc! Had to run off to find an ATM machine to get through the day.
They look very pretty and you had very nice light when you took the pictures.
ReplyDeleteCute story. Currency woes can create quite the challenge, can't they?
Easy and tasty. And what a lovely story we got in addition to the post this week!
ReplyDeleteI also used sweetened coconut and they turned out great. Great post, you two!
ReplyDeleteI am glad to hear the friends are easy to make, I will make them later after work.
ReplyDeleteCute story! I have a similar story after a stay in Rye...needed bus fare.
Your friends look cute & tasty! I was surprised by how much I liked these since I am normally pretty anti-coconut.
ReplyDelete*friands - damn autocorrect!
DeleteJust lovely! I was surprised how easy these were to make, too! They are so impressive that we could fool anyone! LOL!
ReplyDeleteSouvenirs that have stories attached are the best kind! Your friands look great. I must investigate this Wine Road of which you speak. Mmmmmmmm
ReplyDeleteNana - lovely looking friands. And the photos are wonderful. Great job!
ReplyDeleteTricia - what a great story about the plate and your visit to France and Switzerland. I loved reading it.
Hi ladies - I've been a bit absent but might even find time to make this little gems if not today, then tomorrow. They are lovely and I especially love the story that goes with the plate. Lovely - all of it!
ReplyDeleteWonderful work, Nana! I have some coconut to use up and now I know where it's going!!
ReplyDeleteLovely memory and perfect photos. And more perfect are the friands. This recipe is terrific for coconut lovers...agree, quick and the results are good enough to serve to visitors. I was surprised by how great these are for minimal effort.
ReplyDeleteWe enjoy it too especially I added cranberries to it. Lovely ! and yours looks delicious too. Mine was more browned with the edges crispy and moist and soft inside :)
ReplyDeleteNice plate to share your memories and friands with! Like that you made your friands in the baking cups. I am going to reduce the sugar too as I only have sweetened coconut in the house. Thanks for that tip, Nana. I am late baking this week!
ReplyDeletewhat a cute story!! I totally suggest the add-ins, I did a couple and they were really tasty!
ReplyDeleteAlice @ http://acookingmizer.wordpress.com
I love reading your posts every week. They honestly make me feel like we're friends chatting over cake! I loved the story about the plates, and we also really enjoyed the cakes.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful friands and story!
ReplyDeleteSo light and fluffy! It's important to have a trust worthy set of testers too! What a great story about the plates :)
ReplyDeleteI love the stories about your travels together. What a nice shared souvenir (both the plate, in English, and the memory, in French). I'll admit that the friands are pretty, but I don't eat coconut so had my sister make them, eat them, enjoy them, and write about them.
ReplyDeleteThat's a wonderful story, Tricia! Nana, you did a lovely job on the friands.
ReplyDeleteHow did the paper wrappers work out? I was nervous they'd stick. Reading about your trip made me calculate how many years it will be until we can bring our daughter on a trip like that. It will be several, but how wonderful to share a culinary adventure as a family!
ReplyDeleteYour friands look so incredibly light and delicate!
ReplyDeleteAnd I love the story of the plate and the memories it brings with it.
Nana, You did a great job on the friands…they look absolutely lovely! And Tricia…enjoyed your story of your European adventure!
ReplyDeleteThese look adorable and tasty! Well done, Nana. Have a great week.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great story! I love stories like that, they are such good memories. I agree that this recipe was so easy and good, perfect for a quick dessert! Have a great weekend!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful friands and I love the story .
ReplyDeleteWhat a fun story, and such a beautiful plate! Glad you enjoyed the friands, I loved how easy they are.
ReplyDeleteThe friands look delicious - of course, I'll eat anything with coconut.
ReplyDeleteI loved your Basel story - I remember visiting relatives in Italy as a child, and we decided to take a quick drive up to Switzerland. I remember the hotel in Brig with unbelievable down comforters...and being chewed out by a restaurant manager because we were short on francs (we had been told by our hotel that they would take lira, but no...). At least you got a lovely plate out of your trip!
Tricia, Love the Swiss coin story. Isn't it nice to have those memories? And, Nana, your friands looked delicious. I also used sweetened coconut because that's all I could find in the grocery stores but I didn't cut the sugar. Ohhhh, nooooo, not me. I plopped a big blackberry on the top of it and it was tasty.
ReplyDelete