BANANA NUT BROWNIES

 I hope you aren't tiring of my recipes using bananas. I actually used our bananas this time as I was making these for our next door neighbors. We are really blessed to have some friendly and helpful neighbors. When it snows, someone appears and clears our long driveway and sidewalks. If we need any assistance with anything, it's there. Just a few days ago we lost one of our maple trees to some strong wind and rain. The next morning two neighbors Peter and Ryan were there with saws to cut it up to carry it off. (Pictures below.)

Peter's wife Colti has recently started selling Native American Jewelry. I have always loved Native American Jewelry and have quite a few pieces. She was going to show her pieces at a Spring Arts and Crafts Show and we went to support her and see what she had to sell. I was looking at two charms that I really liked and suggested to her that they would make pretty earrings. She picked them up and said she would make earrings for me. They turned out so cool. When I told her I wanted to pay her, she said, "baked goods". That's why I made these brownies. Colti told me Peter's daughter Ireland loves anything chocolate. So chocolate it was.

As I said, we had bananas that needed to be dealt with and I had found this recipe earlier when looking for something for the Cafe Treats. It has been a while since I made brownies that didn't have much flour so they have a different consistency. Ireland especially enjoyed them.

Right now I have a lot of baking to do...

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BANANA NUT BROWNIES

1/2     cup (1 stick) butter, melted, cooled

1        cup sugar

3        tablespoons baking cocoa

2        large eggs, room temperature, lightly beaten

1        tablespoon whole milk

1        teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2     cup flour

1        teaspoon baking powder

1/4     teaspoon salt

1        cup mashed ripe bananas (2 - 3 bananas)

1/2     cup chopped walnuts

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Spray or grease a 9 inch square baking pan. Set aside.

In a mixing bowl, combine the butter, sugar, and cocoa.

Stir in eggs, milk, and vanilla.

Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt and

then add to the creamed mixture.

Stir in bananas and nuts.

Pour into pan.

Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes our with moist crumbs,  40 to 45 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.

Cut into squares to serve.

Just before serving you can dust with powdered sugar if you like. 

Our beautiful maple tree...

BANANA CREAM COOKIES

 Since I have all of those bananas to use up for Cafe Treats, I continue to be on the lookout for tasty looking treats using bananas and the more the merrier. This recipe only used one banana, but result was so delicious, it's okay. (I'll just be making treats with bananas a little while longer.)

I must admit it took me trips to several different grocery stores to find the banana cream instant pudding mix, but I did. I also bought two boxes so I would have an extra one to make the cookies again if they turned out good.

One person thought the white baking chips were macadamia nuts, but I reminded them the Cafe Treats was a nut-free zone. They were pleased when I told them it was white baking chips. The recipe made almost 5 dozen cookies so I did keep just a few for our cookie jar.

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BANANA CREAM COOKIES

1/2     cup (1 stick) butter, softened

1        cup sugar

1/2     cup smashed banana (about 1 banana)

1        3.4 oz package banana cream instant pudding mix

2        large eggs

2-1/2  cups flour

1/2     teaspoon baking soda

1/2     teaspoon salt

2        cups (12 oz package) white baking chips

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.

Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt in a bowl and set aside.

Combine the butter and sugar and mix with an electric mixer til smooth.

Add the smashed banana, dry pudding mix, and eggs. Mix until ingredients are smooth.

Add the dry ingredients slowly to the mixing bowl and mix  until dry ingredients are moistened. 

Add the white baking chips.

Scoop the dough using a small (tablespoon) cookie scoop and drop dollops about 2 inches apart.

If you like flatter cookies you can then lightly flatten with your fingers. 

Bake for 10 minutes or until slight golden. Cool baked cookies for two or three minutes before removing them to a wire rack to cool completely.

MADISON COUNTY'S BANANA (NUT) BREAD

I'm still trying to use up the bananas that didn't get eaten on Palm Sunday at church. I cooked as much as I could at first and froze it all and then froze the rest of the bananas. Since then I keep searching for as many different recipes as I can using bananas. So far I haven't heard any complaints about all of the banana treats.

The first Sunday, I shared Amish Banana Bread from my most popular post ever. Then the next Sunday I shared a Banana Bread recipe from the Stephenson's Apple Farm Restaurant. This past weekend I had planned to offer some more of Stephenson's bread, but changed my mind and decided to use some more of the frozen bananas. That meant I was on the lookout for a new recipe that I hadn't made so I could then share it with you here on my blog.

I only had to look through about five cookbooks before I picked up my Madison County Cookbook with Stories and Traditions of Winterset, Iowa and saw their Banana Nut Bread recipe. It must be a popular recipe in the county as two different names were credited with it - Shirley Bush and Rosemary Stuchel.

I liked that it used three bananas and was low on sugar with only 1/2 cup required. I considered using stevia for the sugar, but since I already had a sugar-free treat for the Cafe, I went on and used the real thing.

I had several compliments on the bread and the three loaves didn't last long. I cut them into 13 + slices.

 

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MADISON COUNTY'S BANANA (NUT) BREAD

1/2     cup (1 stick) margarine or butter

12      cup sugar

3        eggs

2-3/4  cups sifted flour

1-1/2  teaspoons baking powder

1/2     teaspoon baking soda

1        teaspoon salt

1-1/2  cups ripe mashed bananas (about 3 medium)

1/3     cup chopped walnuts 

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9 x 5 " loaf pan or three mini loaf pans with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, cream together the margarine and sugar til creamy.

Add eggs and beat well.

Sift together some flour and then measure 2-3/4 cups into a sifter. Add the baking powder, baking soda, and salt and sift twice to blend together.

Mash the bananas to measure 1-1/2 cups and add alternately with the dry ingredients mixing well after each addition

(3 parts dry ingredients and

2 parts banana beginning and ending with the dry ingredients)

Don't forget to scrape the sides of the bowl as needed.

Stir in nuts if using. I didn't.

Pour into one large loaf pan or divide evenly between three mini loaves. (I weighed each loaf as I filled them so they would be about even.)

Bake for 50 to 60 minutes for the large loaf or about 40 minutes for the mini loaves or until done.

Remove from pan(s) and cool on wire rack. I ran a knife around the inside of the pan to remove.

Can wrap with foil to store before serving or to freeze.

At the Cafe at PWUMC

DORENE'S RAISIN COOKIES

 

When Friend and Cafe Treats Baker Dorene told me that she would like to join the Cafe Treats Bakers, she added that she loved to bake. If the frequency of her participation is any indication, she definitely does love to bake. Everything she has baked and shared has been very delicious and very well received.

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DORENE'S RAISIN COOKIES 

coffee

2     cups mixed golden and regular raisins

1     cup butter

2     cups brown sugar, not packed

2     eggs at room temperature

1/2  cup rolled oats

3-1/2  cups flour

2        teaspoons baking powder

1/2     teaspoon salt

1        teaspoon cinnamon

1/2     teaspoon nutmeg

1/2     cup milk

Cover the raisins with enough coffee to cover and let stand overnight.

Cream together in a large mixing bowl the butter and brown sugar til smooth. Add the eggs.

In another bowl, combine the dry ingredients - the oats, flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg.

Add the dry ingredients to the creamed mixture alternately with the milk mixing thoroughly.

Add and mix by hand, the coffee soaked raisins.

Refrigerate the mixture for 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Line the cookie sheets with parchment paper.

Drop by heaping teaspoonfuls onto the cookie sheets. (This is a flatware teaspoon not a measuring teaspoon.)

Bake for 8 to 10 minutes. 

Allow to finish cooking on the cookie sheet before removing to a wire rack to cool. (Dorene said she left them on the cookie sheet until the cookie sheet cooled.)

STRAWBERRY CREAM SWEETNESS

 

The year is going by so quickly. This month was our month to host our dining out group we call the Tasty Bunch. One couple is still in Florida for the winter so it was just six of us. We had a delicious meal at a locally own restaurant, BC Bistro, and then came to our house for dessert and more conversation.

I had seen a recipe on Facebook that looked interesting and thought I would make it for dessert. As is common, Wayne asked me if I was going to try it out first and as is common, I told him that I hadn't planned to. 

Well, I surprised him by giving it a try first. I had planned to make it several days in advance, but something kept me from  accomplishing that. Well, I'm so glad I did decide to try it out, because even though it tasted great, I wasn't happy with my results in appearance.

By the time I made it for our friends, I had come up with several changes. All of them I was very happy with them.

One of my changes was with the cream cheese mixture. The problem with the recipe is it made too much cream cheese mixture and I was determined to use all of it for the cake and that was a BIG mistake. I rewrote the recipe with less amounts and that was so much better. The thing is I still had too much cream cheese mixture that I'm not sure what I am going to do with. Right now it is in a plastic container in the refrigerator.

The thing is I think I could reduce the amounts even more and it will be enough and I won't have leftovers. If you want to try this make these substitutions...*4 ounces cream cheese, 2 cups powdered sugar, 4 tablespoons (half a stick) butter, and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract for the amounts in the recipe.

This Strawberry Cream Sweetness is a recipe I am sure I will be making again. I had to freeze quite a bit of the two attempts I ended up with since there was no way we could eat it all in a few days. I cut generous pieces for us for the Tasty Bunch so only had half of the 9 x 13 - inch cake left. 

With the first attempt since I was making it just for us, I used a Zero Sugar yellow cake mix so that helped to reduce the sugar amount. When I decided to use a strawberry cake mix for the second one, that made the finished cake really pretty and pinkish red. If you wanted to use a Zero Sugar cake mix, just add some red food coloring to make the cake more like a strawberry looking cake. 

I did use the white baking chips for the first cake, but since I didn't have a full half - a - cup left, I used some cream cheese chips I had just bought last week. I had never seen them before in the stores. That helps since I reduced the amount of the cream cheese mixture.

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STRAWBERRY CREAM SWEETNESS

1     box strawberry cake mix + water, oil and eggs as directed n the box

1     cup fresh strawberries, chopped

6    ounces cream cheese, softened (I used 1/3 less fat Neufchatel) 

6    tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

3    cups powdered sugar

3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup coconut flakes

1/2 cup cream cheese chips or white baking chips

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease or spray a 9 x 13 - inch pan. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, beat together the cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla until smooth.

Set aside.

Prepare the cake mix according to the directions on the box.

Gently fold in the strawberries.

Pour the batter in the pan.

Drop teaspoonfuls of the creamed cheese mixture over the cake batter. (I didn't use all of the mixture so I just stored the rest in the fridge. See notes above.*)

Sprinkle the coconut flakes first and

then the cream cheese chips or white baking chips over the top.

Bake for 40 to 45 minutes or until the cake is set and the edges are turning brown.

Allow the cake to cool completely before serving.

I added some fresh sliced strawberries that I had sweetened with some sugar and allowed to chill in the refrigerator

along with a scoop of ice cream when I served my friends.