Honey & Rose Water Tapioca

Pudding is becoming one of my very favorite things to make. I like that it’s a slow process, if you’re doing right. It’s mindful cooking, not a 5 minute meal on your way out the door. It requires attention, and time. I like that it forces you to slow down for just a bit, to really enjoy the process.



So when I started flipping through Heidi Swansons new cookbook, Super Natural Every Day, the first recipe that popped out at me was her Honey & Rosewater Tapioca. It’s the ultimate slow down and enjoy recipe, there’s lot of stirring, watching, tasting, chopping of pistachios. It’s one for a long saturday afternoon.

The end product is totally worth the wait, too. It’s creamy, with bits of chewy tapioca, brightened by lemon zest, and perfectly accented by the pistachios on top. I didn’t have any rosewater to add, but I can only imagine that it would make it even more luxe.



Also, I’m a bit smitten with Heidi’s book. It’s so beautiful, filled with her amazing photography. You can tell how much love and care when into it’s creation. I love the conversational nature of her recipes, they are so easy to understand and implement. I’m sure you’ll be seeing a lot more from Super Natural Every Day around here, and I definitely recommend picking up a copy for yourself.






Honey & Rosewater Tapioca

From Heidi Swanson’s Super Natural Every Day

Serves 4-6

3 cups / 710 ml milk

1/3 cup / 2.5 oz / 70 g small pearl tapioca

2 large egg yolks, lightly beaten

1/4 tsp fine-grain sea salt

1/3 cup / 80 ml mild honey (I used clover)
2 tablespoons muscavdo sugar (i used organic dark brown sugar)

Grated zest of 1 small lemon

1/4 to 1 tsp rose water (I didn’t use this)
Chopped toasted pistachios

Soak the tapioca in 1 cup of the milk in a medium, heavy saucepan for 30 – 60 minutes. Whisk in the yolks, salt, honey, and remaining milk.

Over medium-low heat, slowly bring the mixture barely to a boil over medium-low heat, stirring regularly. This will take about 15 minutes. Decrease the heat and let the mixture fall to a gentle simmer. Keep it there, sitting, until the tapioca is fully cooked, another 20 minutes or so. The time needed can be significantly longer (or shorter) depending on the size of the tapioca pearls you’re using. The tapioca will tell you when it’s ready, if you watch carefully the pearls will swell up and become almost entirely translucent. The custardy part of the pudding will thicken dramatically as well. Continue tasting and assessing at this stage. It is even more critical to keep stirring at this point to avoid scorching.

Remove from heat, stir in the lemon zest, then let the pudding cool a bit; it will thicken more as it cools. Stir in the rose water and wait another few minutes. The tapioca tastes best served warm, topped with toasted pistachios, but is delicious cold as well.

Samoa Blondies

I recently received a copy of The Newlywed Kitchen, a charming cookbook by Lorna Yee of The Cookbook Chronicles and Ali Basye. Though I’m not a newlywed, I was so excited when it showed up my mail box, with it’s lovely blue cover and adorable category titles like "Carry Me Over the Threshold" starters and snacks. Of course I headed right to the last one - "Happily Ever After” desserts and sweets.

There are so many recipes I wanted to try - and I will try most at one point or another, I’m sure. The one that really jumped out at me was this recipe for samoa blondies. I’m a huge fan of both the samoa cookie AND blondies, so this recipe sounded perfect.

And ohhhh, it is. These blondies are chewy and amazing. They are full of two of my favorite things - brown butter and coconut. Try them out this weekend! And be sure to pick up a copy of The Newlywed Cookbook, it would be perfect wedding gift, but don’t let the title stop you - this is fantastic even if you aren’t a newlywed!



Samoa Blondies
From The Newlywed Kitchen Cookbook


10 tbsp unsalted butter
1 cup dark brown sugar, packed
¼ cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
2 tsp vanilla extract
¼ tsp kosher salt
1 ¼ cup flour
1 ¼ cup sweetened flaked coconut
1 ¼ cup bittersweet or semisweet chocolate chips


Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line and grease an 8×8 baking dish.
In a pan over high heat, heat the butter until it browns and smells nutty. (Keep an eye on it, so it doesn’t burn.) Let the butter cool for a few moments, until just barely warm.
In a large mixing bowl, mix together the browned butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar. With a wooden spoon, mix in the egg, vanilla, and salt. Slowly mix in the flour, coconut, and chocolate chips until blended. Try not to eat too much of the batter.
Pour the batter into the greased baking dish, and smooth the top with a rubber spatula. Bake for 25-30 minutes—do not overbake! The center should still be soft. Let the blondies cool before turning them out onto a cutting board and slicing into squares.