Hawaiian Raincoast Crisps - #CreativeCookieExchange

This time of the year many people in the Northern Hemisphere are looking to get away from the dark and relentless winter.  It has been many years since I experienced a true winter, but I remember quite well the feeling of it being bitterly cold and needing to go somewhere that the sun was shining at full strength to thaw out for a while.  Not everyone has the luxury of being able to do this so maybe some tropical treats will hit the spot. This month the #CreativeCookieExchange is taking us all on a virtual tropical vacation via cookies. It is true that a taste of a food can transport us to another time, so why not a tropical island getaway?

I love Raincoast Crisps but they can be kind of pricy here, and when I saw this months theme I knew that I could make them myself and substitute some of the ingredients for dried tropical fruits and nuts.  A quick trip to the bulk store and I had chosen dried pineapple, dried papaya, and some delicious dried apple banana. Dried fruit is not always the easiest the cut since it can be quite sticky, so if this happens remember that a pair of scissors will be your best friend. My pantry already had a big bag of macadamias so that was an easy decision too.  The original recipe had fresh rosemary and I wanted to keep that in my recipe so that I could balance out all of that sweetness with something a little savory.

Raincoast crisps are somewhat like biscotti in that they are twice baked, but biscotti starts out as a cookie and these crisps start out as mini loaves of cake. Honestly, when they came out of the oven I wondered if they would make it to the cookie stage because they smelled so good, and I was tempted to make a coffee and call it a day.  However, this is the #CreativeCookieExchange, so cake was just not going to cut it. I dutifully cooled them, wrapped them up in foil, and placed them in the freezer to harden slightly.  This step makes it so much easier to cut them into the thin slices you need so that they turn into crunchy cookies. To achieve this shape I used a square muffin pan (since I could not find my mini loaf pans despite pulling apart my pantry), but you could also use just a regular loaf pan and have slightly bigger cookies.

These cookies can be stored for a couple of days in an airtight container.  If they do become a little soft you can place them back the oven to re-crisp, although I did not get to try this as mine were gone within a day. They are also very adaptable and there are countless variations you could try - nuts could include walnuts, almonds, cashews, hazelnuts, pine nuts, or pecans; dried fruits could include craisins, crystallized ginger, dried apricot, dried apple, dried fig, dried pear, or dried blueberry; seeds could include hemps seeds, chia seeds, poppy seeds, or even puffed rice. I can't wait to try them again with all of these different flavor profiles.

If you would like to know more about #CreativeCookieExchange and see what the other bakers made for the Tropical Cookie Take Me Away theme please scroll down below the recipe. Thanks to Renee from Magnolia Days for getting us all organized for this month.

Hawaiian Raincoast Crisps
(Printer Friendly Recipe)

Ingredients

• 262g all-purpose flour
• 10g baking soda
• 5g salt
• 475ml buttermilk
• 40g brown sugar
• 85ml honey
• 65g pumpkin seeds
• 30g sunflower seeds
• 35g flax seeds
• 60g chopped macadamia nuts
• 1g finely chopped fresh rosemary
• 105g chopped dried pineapple
• 110g chopped dried papaya
• 50g chopped dried apple banana

Preparation

1. Pre-heat oven to 180℃.
2. Chop and measure all of the seeds, nuts, and dried fruit so they are ready to add to the batter.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer, blend together the flour, baking soda and salt on low speed.
4. Add the buttermilk, brown sugar, and honey and stir gently to combine.
5. Add the macadamia nuts, rosemary, seeds, and chopped fruit into the batter and stir until just blended.
6. Spray mini loaf pans or square muffin tin with baking spray, pour in the batter leaving some room as the loaves will rise a bit.
7. Bake for about 20-25 mins, or until golden brown. Insert a cake tester or a toothpick into the middle of a loaf and if it comes out clean, with no streaks of batter, it is ready.
8. Allow to cool slightly, then wrap the loaves tightly and freeze them for a couple of hours before slicing.
9. Pre-heat oven to 150℃.
10. Using a serrated knife cut each of the mini loaves into thin slices and lay them on a baking tray.
11. Bake them for 20 minutes, then flip them over and bake for another 15 minutes, until crisp and deep golden brown.
12. Cool on a wire rack. The crisps can be enjoyed with cheese, meats, or simply on their own as a nutty, sweet, crunchy snack. 
13. Store in an airtight container. 

Recipe inspired by Oh So Very Pretty
For US measurements please click here

It’s that time of year again, the time when many of us want to daydream about being somewhere else. A tropical treat is just the ticket! The Creative Cookie Exchange is going all tropical this February, and that could mean anything from fruit to spices to cut-out cookies. We’ve got you covered!

You can also use us as a great resource for cookie recipes. Be sure to check out our Pinterest Board and our monthly posts (you can find all of them here at The Spiced Life). You will be able to find them the first Tuesday after the 15th of each month! 

Also, if you are looking for inspiration to get in the kitchen and start baking, check out what all of the hosting bloggers have made:

• Chocolate Dipped Macadamia Nut Cookies by A Baker's House
• Coconut Mango Butter Cookies by Oven Delights
• Frosted Pineapple Shortbread Cookies by Magnolia Days
• Guava Lava Cookiess by Flours & Frostings
• Hawaiian Raincoast Crisps by All That's Left Are The Crumbs
• Key Lime White Chocolate Chunk Cookies by 2 Cookin' Mamas
• Lime Coconut Bars with Macadamia Nuts and White Chocolate Chunks by The Spiced Life
• Macadamia Nut and White Chocolate Chunk Cookies by Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Mojito Sugar Cookies by Upstate Ramblings
• Passion Fruit Curd Shortbread Cookies by Live. Bake. Love.
• Pineapple Coconut Cookies by A Shaggy Dough Story
• Pineapple Macadamia Nut Shortbread by Food Lust People Love