Banana Cinnamon Chip Bread with Cinnamon Sugar Topping

Well I've gone a little longer than I wanted to without posting anything. Not good. But I'm back and enjoying a lovely snow day=) I mean I was all for the good weather to start coming, but why not end the snow season with a bang? Is it a bad thing that I constantly check the 15-day forecast on my phone everyday? I don't think so. I just can't wait for the warm weather to start and stay here! But enough about the weather, let's talk about what you really came here for: the food.

This here loaf of bread was a recipe I went searching for. I found a couple good cinnamon chip bread recipes, but they strongly suggested only the use of shortening, and I didn't want to use that. But, lo and behold, I was able to find one and make it and post it here for you! I love using the cinnamon chips that Ingrid sent me any way I can.


Freezing bananas before the go bad is one of my favorite tricks! I can then pull them out of the freezer whenever I need to and let them thaw for me to use. This was exactly what I did for this recipe. I happened to have all the ingredients on hand, which is a definite plus.

The cinnamon sugar topping seems like a lot, but it adds the perfect crunch on top. I love taking a bit with crunchy pieces and soft pieces. Because let me tell you, this was a moist bread! It wasn't dry but it left enough room for a generous slab of butter on top;)


Banana Cinnamon Chip Bread with Cinnamon Sugar Topping
from Two Peas and Their Pod

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 over-ripe bananas, smashed up
1/3 cup melted butter
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup cinnamon chips

For the cinnamon sugar topping:
1/3 cup sugar
1 Tbs cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 8 1/2 by 4 1/2 loaf pan with cooking spray. Dust it lightly with flour and set aside.
2. Whisk the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt together in a small bowl. Set aside.
3. Mix the bananas, butter, sugar, egg, and vanilla together in a medium bowl. Add in the flour mixture and carefully stir. Don’t over mix. Add in the cinnamon chips and gently stir.
4. In a small dish, mix together the 1/3 cup sugar and 1 Tablespoon of cinnamon.
5. Add the batter to the loaf pan and smooth out with a spatula. Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar topping generously over the batter.
6. Bake bread for 50-60 minutes, or until golden brown and toothpick comes out clean. Transfer to cooling rack.
7. Let bread cool for 1o minutes and then remove from pan. Cool, slice, and enjoy.

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

I made these super fast one day to use up the obnoxious amount of bananas we had. I didn't try too many of them as I was making them for a friend, but I liked this recipe. I'm not too sure, but I don't think I'm a huge banana fan. I don't bake with them too often, but when I do, the items aren't always amazing to me compared to other things. I really wish I baked with apple more, but the task of chopping and slicing apples always seems so time consuming or difficult. I really need to get over that and do it anyways.


A side note: I'm reading Pride and Prejudice for the first time. Anyone out there read it? Love it or hate it? I actually surprised myself. I really like it. I started reading with a mindset that I wasn't going to like it, but surprisingly I really do!

Also, For the past week or so I have been having a really hard time with applying to colleges and it has been very frustrating for me. With all the other activities I am involved in I have very little time to do much else and unfortunately college apps are pushed to the back. But I did managed to finish one application to the University of Pittsburgh. And I just got my letter from them today and.................. I GOT IN!!! It is really such a relief after the unbelievably emotionally stressful week I have been having. Pitt is my almost number 1 choice. It's slightly behind the University of Dayton, at the moment. SO, I can't rejoice just yet, as I still need to send some apps to a few more places. But, YAY!!!!


Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins
found at Sugarcrafter

Ingredients

• 1 3/4 cup flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp cardamom
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup mashed bananas
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 Tbsp vegetable oil
• 2 ounces chocolate chips

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease a muffin pan.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, spices, and sugar.
3. In another medium bowl, combine the oil, egg, and milk.
4. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients gradually until combined.
5. Stir in the chocolate chips.
6. Spoon the batter into the muffin tin, filling each one about 3/4 of the way full.
7. Bake 20-25 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean .

Strawberry Banana Smoothie Ice Cream

My sister graciously posed for this though she was ready to devour that mini cone!

If you noticed that in the title I referred to this as smoothie ice cream, you're not mistaken. I have managed to put a smoothie into ice cream form. But if a smoothie is in ice cream form, then is it still a smoothie? Sure. Just smoothie ice cream... You'll just have to try this to figure it out I guess!

And of course this was made in my lovely ice cream maker. It is one of the greatest gifts I have ever received! I can rave about it more, but I'm sure it's not necessary.


I did make a few changes in the recipe due to lack of ingredients and personal preference. First off, I completely changed the name by adding in bananas. It was just a strawberry ice cream recipe I used, but I subbed in some bananas since they were about to go bad. Plus, I love strawberry banana smoothies and I hoped it would taste as good. (Turns out it does!) Second, I didn't nearly have enough sugar. Gasp! Like we barely had 3/4 cup. So I did as much white sugar as possible and then used brown sugar. It's a little off the beaten track, but whatev.


My notes are made in red. But if you want to follow the original, just ignore them!


Fresh Strawberry Banana Ice Cream
From HERE. Based on a recipe from Gourmet, August 2009

1 pound of strawberries, hulled and halved (In my case, 1/3 pound strawberries and 1 1/2 bananas)
1 ½ cup sugar (in my case, 3/4 c white sugar & 1/2 c packed brown sugar)
¾ tsp fresh lemon juice
1/8 tsp salt
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup whole milk

In a large bowl, coarsely mash strawberries and bananas with lemon juice, sugar and salt using a potato masher.

Let stand, stirring and mashing occasionally, 10 minutes. Using a ladle, transfer half of the strawberry banana mixture to blender along with cream and milk and puree till smooth. Return strawberry banana cream to bowl with rest of strawberries and chill till cold, 3-6 hours. (I didn't do this =P)

Freeze mixture in ice cream maker according to maker’s directions.

Transfer to an airtight container and place in the back of the freezer to firm up, at least 1 hour. Makes 1.5 quarts. Keeps in freezer up to 1 week.

Banana and Peanut Butter Whoopie Pies

I guess I really enjoyed my last whoopie pies that I just had to try them again! This time: banana and peanut butter! I saw this over at Daydreamer Desserts when I was still a "whoopie virgin" (see that play on words I did there? It works on many levels of funny) and was intrigued even then.

I made these for our Honors Chorus bake sale alongside the chocolate chip cookies and the other mystery item you will soon learn about;) When I decided to make these I was so excited. For some reason I had it in my mind that these were going to be the greatest things ever! Can I honest? Not so much. And that's a lot coming from me. I am so much a peanut butter fan, that we can no longer keep peanut butter in the house. I'm not kidding. We do not buy peanut butter AT ALL because of the major self-control issues I have with it.


So like I said, I wasn't too impressed=/ The banana cookie was nice on its own, but when paired with the peanut butter filling, it kinda flopped. I don't think it was either components fault; they just weren't a good match. Again, this seems odd because I am an advocate for peanut butter and banana sandwiches and why should this be any different? But it was. My one chorus director was even kind enough to tell me about how he assumed it was some sort of "regular cookie", but after taking a bite, he spit it out. Yupp, thanks...


So I mean I guess I recommend trying this? Maybe. If you're looking for an interesting new whoopie pie flavor to try, then go for it. I will say I actually did not use the peanut butter filling from below. I created my own and really enjoyed it. But I think I might keep it my little secret hehe. I will say that the banana cookies were VERY sticky and hard to hold in order to frost because they would stick to my fingers.


Banana Whoopie
found at Daydreamer Desserts
adapted from whoopie pies by Sarah Billingsley and Amy Treadwell

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup bread flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
4 tablespoons vegetable shortening
3/4 cups light brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
3 very ripe bananas, mashed

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Line three baking sheets with parchment paper or a Silpat.In a small bowl whisk together the all-purpose flour, bread flour, baking soda, and salt.

In the bowl of a stand mixer combine the butter, vegetable shortening, light brown sugar, and vanilla. Beat on medium speed for about 3 minutes with the paddle attachment, until light and fluffy.

Add the eggs one at a time, and stir just until combined.

Alternate adding the flour mixture and the mashed bananas. Stir to combine between each addition and scrape down the sides of the bowl if necessary.

Spoon one tablespoon of batter at a time onto a lined cookie sheet making sure they are at least 2 inches apart. Bake for 8 minutes.


Salty Peanut Butter Whoopie Filling
adapted from whoopie pies by Sarah Billingsley and Amy Treadwell

3/4 cup creamy or crunchy peanut butter
3/4 cup (6 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup confectioners' sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt

In a small bowl beat together the peanut butter and unsalted butter on low speed until smooth and creamy.

Add the confectioners' sugar and salt, beat on low just until combined then increase speed to medium and beat until fluffy, about 4 minutes.

Banana Cake w/ Cream Cheese Frosting

I hit a wall. I honestly could not decide on what to bake. I had a day full of nothing to do, yet I felt so uninspired. But thanks to an excess of quickly ripening bananas and soon to go bad buttermilk, my choice was made for me.

A cake turned out to be perfect because my mom's birthday is tomorrow. No joke, no "April Fool's", it really is her birthday. I decided to make it in a rectangle instead of my usual layered cake look. I haven't made a one layer cake in a long time so this seemed appropriate. It's a good thing I did this actually, because the cake ended up being so moist, soft, and delicate, that it would never have stood up to being layered and cut into.

I ended up making a few substitutions in this cake. I barely had enough flour, but then I ran out of sugar. Sigh, so I subbed in dark brown sugar but for half the amount I needed. I'm not sure why I thought this was a good idea... I also ran out of vanilla. Well, I thought I did. I then found an unopened bottle later while the cake was cooling. But for a substitute, I used maple syrup. Yeah, I guess i got a little wacky while making this.

Why is there an odd cut out to this cake? Because I was impatient. Because I was hungry. Because it smelled and looked so good. I think you can figure out what happened...

I should make myself a mental post-it note. All things banana baked are best eaten when completely cool or the next day. If I can't remind myself, will you? I devoured a ton of it warm, but really I liked it sooo much better cooled or the next day when the flavor really settled and got gooey.

This cake was really good! I must warn you that it is soooo addicting, though. But I mean there are bananas in it so it has to be good for you, right? I do wish I would have put walnuts in it. However, I knew if I did my dad wouldn't touch it. There's no guaranteeing he'll eat it as is anyway, but this just seemed safer.

Banana Cake w/ Cream Cheese Frosting
from Recipezaar

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups bananas, mashed, ripe (I used 2 1/2 bananas)
2 teaspoons lemon juice
3 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup butter, softened
2 1/8 cups sugar (I used 1 sugar granulated, 1/2 dark brown. Don't do this haha)
3 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla (I used 1/2 teaspoon vanilla, the rest maple syrup)
1 1/2 cups buttermilk

Frosting
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 1/2 cups icing sugar (I used a whole bag, 4 cups)

Garnish
chopped walnuts (I wish I used them=()

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 275°.
2. Grease and flour a 9 x 13 pan.
3. In a small bowl, mix mashed banana with the lemon juice; set aside.
4. In a medium bowl, mix flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.
5. In a large bowl, cream 3/4 cup butter and 2 1/8 cups sugar until light and fluffy.
6. Beat in eggs, one at a time, then stir in 2 tsp vanilla.
7. Beat in the flour mixture alternately with the buttermilk.
8. Stir in banana mixture.
9. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake in preheated oven for one hour or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. (Liesssss! My cake definitely took 1 1/2 hours or more haha)
10. Remove from oven and place directly into the freezer for 45 minutes. This will make the cake very moist. (Huh, I guess I didn't read this part of the recipe because I didn't do this... haha. You'll be fine if you don't.)
11. For the frosting, cream the butter and cream cheese until smooth.
12. Beat in 1 teaspoon vanilla.
13. Add icing sugar and beat on low speed until combined, then on high speed until frosting is smooth.
14. Spread on cooled cake.
15. Sprinkle chopped walnuts over top of the frosting, if desired.

MSC: Banana Pecan Cupcakes

Yay! The first bonus bake for those cupcake enthusiasts who can't wait a whole month to bake was... Banana Pecan Cupcakes with Caramel Buttercream!

Well I made these quite a bit ago so it's hard to remember the whole baking process. But the outcome? Pure and utter amazing-ness! I thought the zucchini spice cupcakes were the best I've ever had, but these just took the number one spot! I brought these to a family party and got wonderful feedback. Honestly, these were one of the best treats I've ever made both in taste and skill. The flavor combination of banana and caramel is superb.

I filled the cups up pretty full and as they were baking I got worried as the kept rising. But in the end, they held incredible height! Ahh, they were gorgeous!

To make the cupcakes themselves were easy enough. I have to give Martha credit, she really knows what she's doing. I have become a huge fan of hers even after just two recipes! Putting the ingredients together were a breeze. The interesting part, though, was the frosting.



To make the caramel frosting, you had to make homemade caramel, something that really intimidated me. But really, if you don't worry so much and just have patience while you wait for it to turn brown, it's simple. It tastes fantastic too! I have never been a fan of caramel, in fact I try to avoid it. But after making my own caramel, I'm a convert=) You stream in your caramel into your butter cream until combined. Although the recipe tells you how much caramel to use, I just added to taste. I didn't think the recommended amount was enough, so I made a second batch and added a little over half of that.

Note: I was able to get 30 or so cupcakes out of this batter, and I filled them pretty well.

Goodness I can't even tell you how good these were!!!! Although I made them weeks ago, I can still recall that glorious taste. MAKE THESE!!!

I am so grateful to The Martha Stewart Cupcake Club for having this bonus bake! I would have missed out on something special if I'd have skipped it. If you're a member of the club and skipped this one, it's not to late to do it anyway!

So to recap: I was so proud of these cupcakes. I <3 them=)

Banapple Bundt Cake

This bundt cake turned out great! I was skeptical at that concept of both apples and bananas in the cake, but it really just made it great. You got a lot of moisture and tiny juicy apple chunks throughout. It was incredibly easy to make.

The only preparation is when you saute your apples in the brown sugar and cinnamon mixture. Once that's quickly done, you pretty much mix everything together. It takes some time to bake, but it's that way with any banana bread type item.

Overall, it was good but not great for me. My dad took some to work and he said that everyone thought it was incredible. My mom also found it marvelous. But for me it was just good.

The texture was great and it came out of the pan wonderfully. It went fast and I'm glad I made it=) Head over to Hot Oven, Warm Heart to see the recipe!