Banana Cinnamon Chip Cake

The only thing I can say about this cake from Two Peas and Their Pod is that I made it after breakfast, and it was gone by bedtime.

Totally gone. Like, in my belly. I can, of course, share blame with my husband and two boys, but still. But... it was that good.

This was my first experience with cinnamon chips, and oh boy. I have a new addiction. I even added some to my daily trail mix.


Banana Cinnamon Chip Cake
from Two Peas and Their Pod

• 3 very ripe bananas
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
• 1 ½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup cinnamon chips

For topping:

• 3 Tbsp. granulated sugar
• 1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Spray an 8-inch square pan with cooking spray.

In a medium mixing bowl, mash the bananas well with a fork or potato masher. Add in the eggs and vanilla and mix until combined. Stir in the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and sugar.

Add ¾ cup of the cinnamon chips, and stir briefly. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, and set aside.

In a small bowl, stir together the topping ingredients. Sprinkle the mixture evenly over the batter in the pan, and top with the remaining ¼ cup chips.

Bake for 3Proxy-Connection: keep-alive
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40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cool in the pan on a wire rack for at least 15 minutes before serving.

Apple Banana Bread

We took the kids apple picking last weekend, and I couldn't wait to start baking with our selection!  My husband has been asking for an apple pie, and I'll get there, but I needed something easy to do that first night.

I loved this recipe because it gave me a use for some of the bananas in my freezer.  It was nice and sweet and made a great breakfast the next morning.

Apple Banana Bread

very slightly adapted from cooks.com

Ingredients

• 1 c. sugar
  
• 1 egg
  
• 1 stick butter
  
• 3 ripe bananas
  
• 1 tsp. baking soda
  
• 2 c. flour
  
• 1 tsp. vanilla
  
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 2 or 3 peeled, chopped apples
  

Beat sugar, eggs and butter. Slice in bananas. Let mixer do the mashing. Add baking soda, vanilla, cinnamon, and flour. Fold in chopped apples. Fill greased and floured bread pans 2/3 full. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.

Choco-PB-Banana Panini

I love my panini press. You can take a pretty decent sandwich, pop it on the panini grill, and BAM - you have something absolutely fabulous.

Last night I planned on making a tomato-basil-mozzarella panini, but at the last minute, I wanted something a little more indulgent. I grabbed a banana, some chocolate chips, and peanut butter and made myself a delicious little treat.


Ingredients

• 2 slices bread
• 2-3 tablespoons peanut butter (I used this delicious dark chocolate variation)
• 1/2 banana, sliced
• 1 tablespoon mini chocolate chips

I don't really need to write out directions for a sandwich, right? ;)

Enjoy!

Monkey Oatmeal

My husband bought me Hungry Girl's latest cookbook, 200 Under 200, for Christmas, and so far I really love it. It's full of great breakfast, lunch, and snack ideas that are actually filling but guiltless.


This yummy little oatmeal dish actually seemed like a treat! I think I may have used too much chocolate, though; I have only a canister and not individual packets. I followed the can's instructions for a single serving, but it seemed like a lot. I would definitely cut back next time.


As I'm sure you can imagine, Ryan was pretty sold on this breakfast from the title alone. I doubled it for the two of us, and he actually ended up eating more than I did! He has requested it several times since.


Ingredients

• 1/3 cup regular oatmeal (not instant)
• 1 25-calorie packet diet hot cocoa mix
• 1/2 medium-sized banana, squashed
• 1/8 tsp cinnamon
• 1 no-calorie packet Splenda
• dash salt

Pour hot cocoa mix into glass with cinnamon, sweetener, and salt. Add 1/4 cup hot water and stir thoroughly. Once cocoa has dissolved, add 1/4 cup cold water and stir. Place in refrigerator to chill (note: I totally skipped this step and it was fine). Combine with mashed banana and oats in a medium-sized microwave-safe bowl, and mix well. Microwave for 2 1/2-3 minutes. Give it a stir, and then allow oatmeal to cool and thicken.

Pumpkin Banana Chip Muffins

I love baking muffins, and I couldn't wait to get going on some pumpkin flavors this fall. I have a great recipe courtesy of my friend Brooke, but I was in the mood to try something different. As usual, a trip to my google reader presented me with exactly what I wanted.


These muffins from Cooking and Eating in the Windy City were exactly what I was looking for. I had some bananas that needed to be baked and an eager three-year-old to help me lick the spoon.

The only change I made was, as usual, to add some chocolate chips instead of the topping listed below.

These were gone in NO TIME. Seriously, I don't think they lasted 24 hours in my house. Delicious.



Ingredients

• 1/2 cup pumpkin
• 1/2 cup mashed bananas
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 egg
• 1 3/4 cups flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
• 1/2 tsp salt

Topping

• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup oats/nuts
• 1/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice

Mix the wet ingredients in a medium bowl. Mix the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Make a well in the center, and add the wet ingredients. Mix until just combined. Spoon into greased muffin tin, and top each muffin with 1 Tbsp of topping. Bake at 375 for 18-20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Banana Peanut Butter Granola

I have made this granola (courtesy of Annie's Eats) a few times, but this is the first time that it has lasted long enough for me to photograph it!

I used to eat a yogurt for breakfast every morning. Then, early on in my pregnancy with Ryan, I had such an aversion to it. I don't know if it was the texture or what, but it would make me gag. Long after Ryan was here, I still couldn't bring myself to eat yogurt.

About 3 weeks ago, I grabbed one of Ryan's yogurts when I made the first batch of this granola. I took this breakfast to work, and it was unreal. I'm not only psyched to eat yogurt again, but doubly thrilled to have found this delicious accompaniment.

I love that it's so versatile; each time I make it, I throw different things in there. This time, as you can see, I added some mini-M&Ms, which made my vanilla yogurt full of colorful swirls!


Ingredients

• 3 1/2 cups rolled oats
• 2 1/2 cups puffed rice cereal (I don't know if this is the same as Rice Krispies, but that's what I've used!)
  
• 2 tbsp. honey
• 1/3 cup applesauce (I have used a single-serving cup of cinnamon applesauce - yum!)
  
• 1/3 cup mashed bananas
• 1/3-1/2 cup creamy peanut butter, warmed slightly (I have been using Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter)
• 3/4 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1-1 1/2 cups dried banana chips (I've omitted)
• 1/2 cup honey roasted peanuts
• 3-4 oz. bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped (optional)

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, combine the rolled oats and puffed rice cereal. In a medium bowl, whisk together the honey, applesauce, mashed banana, peanut butter, salt, cinnamon and brown sugar until smooth. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir with a rubber spatula until the oat mixture is evenly coated. Spread onto the prepared baking sheet in a thick even layer.

Bake for 30 minutes. Then, using a large spatula, turn the granola over in segments. Bake for an additional 15 minutes. Depending on the size of your baking sheet, the center may not be fully dried. If necessary, remove the edges of cooked granola and bake the remaining granola for 10-15 minutes more or until done, being careful not to over-bake. Cool on a wire rack.

Once the granola has cooled, crumble it into a large bowl or plastic bag. Add in the dried banana chips, honey roasted peanuts and bittersweet chocolate, if using. Mix well to combine. Store in an airtight container.

Double-Chocolate Banana Pound Cake

I think that this bread was God's way of telling me that I need to stop baking and cease making my ass so fat.

I was looking for some kind of cakey bread to bring to work, and this one from Culinary Concoctions by Peabody seemed perfect. It looked easy enough, and Ryan was more than happy to be my little helper.


My first clue to stop should have been when I decided to get creative. I thought that I would add some cinnamon-sugar to the top, and then maybe another handful of chocolate chunks.

I was happily (and LIBERALLY) sprinkling the cinnamon-sugar when I had to stop to think about the smell. I suddenly smelled a very strong, very smoky, very distinctive odor. But why would my preheating oven smell like cumin?

Well, as I'm sure you can guess, yes, I grabbed the wrong container from my spice shelf and sprinkled a ton of CUMIN all over my precious bread. I grabbed a spoon and started slicing away at the top layer, determined to get it all off. (Thank GOD I didn't sprinkle on the chocolate chunks - I would have been PISSED if I'd have wasted all that chocolate!)

I'm not really sure what caused problem #2, but my cake completely and totally fell apart as I tried to gracefully slip it out of the pan. I'll just let the photos speak for themselves...



I gotta say, though, crumbly or not, this was some damn tasty bread... once I got the cumin out, of course. :)

Ingredients

• 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 TBSP baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• ¼ tsp salt
• ½ cup sour cream
• ½ cup mascarpone cheese
• 6 ounce unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 2 tsp cinnamon (the recipe didn't say how much to use - I guessed!)
  
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 fully ripe bananas, pureed
• ½ cup white chocolate, chopped into chunks
• ½ cup chocolate covered toffee pieces (if you can’t find, chop up a Heath or Skor bar) (I just used plain old chocolate chips)
  

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease and flour a 9-x-5-3-inch loaf pan. I used 4 mini loaves.

Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt into a medium bowl and set aside. Combine the sour cream and mascarpone cheese in a small bowl and set aside.

Using a standing mixer fitted with a paddle attachment beat the butter with the cinnamon on high speed until soft and creamy, about 1 minute. Slowly add the sugar, 1 TBSP at a time, beating continuously on high speed. It should take 5 to 10 minutes to add the sugar. The mixture should be light, fluffy and creamy white in color. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula.

Add the eggs, one at a time. Be sure each egg is completely incorporated and scrape down the sides of the bowl before adding the next.

Add one third of the flour mixture to the batter and beat until it is just incorporated. Add one third of the mascarpone cheese mixture and mix until just incorporated. Add the flour and mascarpone mixture in two more additions, mixing until addition is incorporated before adding the next. Fold in the bananas, white chocolate chunks, and toffee pieces.

Pour the batter into prepared pan. Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes. If using mini loaves, fill 2/3 of the way full and bake for 45-50 minutes. Cool in the pan on a rack for 5-10 minutes, then remove from pan and set on rack to cool. Serve warm or at room temperature. Will keep for one week in fridge or 3 weeks in freezer.

Source: Adapted from The Secrets of Baking by Sherry Yard

WC Recipe Exchange: Banana Bread

See? Now THIS is why I love the What's Cooking? board.

I entered, for the second time, the recipe exchange. You submit a recipe of your own, and you get "assigned" someone else's to make and blog about. This time, the theme was "Family Recipes."

I would never, ever have thought to put pineapple in banana bread. And making it with Bisquick?? That is PERFECT for a not-very-great-baker like me. The woman running the exchange must know me very well. :)


I had this loaf in the oven in no time. Seriously. I preheated the oven, started the bread, and I was done before the oven was ready. And my oven is quick.

The only addition I made to this recipe was to sprinkle some chocolate chips on top. Really, what CAN'T be improved with the addition of some chocolate chips??

This was DELICIOUS. I will for sure make this again. My husband and son LOVED it; Ryan even cried when "his" piece was gone. THANK YOU for a wonderful addition to my files!!


Ingredients:

• 1 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup Canola oil
• 2 eggs
• 2-3 over-ripe mashed bananas
• 2 cups Bisquick
• Small can crushed pineapple, mostly drained

Beat first 3 ingredients until fluffy. Add bananas and blend. Add last 2 ingredients and beat until mixed well. Put in a greased loaf pan. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes to 1 hour. This is best served warm with a pat of butter.