Tag Archives: Bananas

Heart’s Desire

Posted on by Laurie

HeartsDesireMuffin

Rich & moist, chocolate banana muffins with dried cherries and bittersweet chocolate.

Heart’s Desire Muffins

Makes 5

3/4 c. all-purpose flour

1/2 c. granulated white sugar

1/4 c. natural cocoa

1 1/4 t. baking powder

1 t. ground cinnamon

1/4 t. baking soda

3/4 c. mashed overripe banana

1/4 c. unsalted butter, melted

1/4 c. buttermilk

1/2 c. dried cherries

1 1/2 oz. fine bittersweet chocolate, broken into small pieces

2 T. confectioner’s sugar, stirred together with a pinch of cinnamon.

Cinnamon gumdrops, optional, or desired garnish

Paper heart-shaped muffin molds*

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
  2. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, granulated sugar, cocoa, baking powder, cinnamon and baking soda. Set aside.
  3. In a medium bowl, beat together banana, butter, and buttermilk.
  4. Stir wet ingredients into dry ingredients until no dry spots show. Fold in cherries and broken chocolate.
  5. Spoon batter into muffin molds. Smooth tops with the back of a spoon.
  6. Bake for about 22 minutes or until muffins are firm to the touch.
  7. Sift confectioner’s sugar blend over muffins. Garnish, if desired. Serve (either in paper molds or removed from them.)
  • Available through Wilton and speciality baking supply companies.

Enjoy!

May your heart be full  of happiness this Valentine’s Day!

HeartsDesireMuffin@

Bananaberry Smoothie

Posted on by Laurie

SmoothieBananaBerry

Bananaberry Smoothie

(serves 2)

1/3 c. light coconut milk

2 T. fresh orange juice

1 medium size frozen banana, peeled and cut into slices (about 3/4 c.)

1 c. mixed fresh berries (sliced strawberries, raspberries, blackberries and/or blueberries)

fruit for garnish

Place coconut  milk, orange juice, banana and berries in blender and process until smooth. Pour into serving glasses and garnish with fruit. Serve immediately. Enjoy!

Notes

• A mix of red berries and dark berries produces the best color.

• This recipe makes a smoothie that is thin enough to drink. For a thicker smoothie, use frozen berries.

Cranberry Walnut Muffins (Vegan)

Posted on by Laurie

MuffinsCranWalVegan2

Cranberry Walnut Muffins (Vegan)

Makes 4 dense, moist muffins

1 c. all-purpose flour

1 1/2 t. baking powder

1 t. ground cinnamon

1 pinch salt

1/2 c. honey

1 mashed banana (between 1/4 – 1/3 c)

1/4 c. canola oil

1 t. vanilla extract

1/2 c. dried cranberries (any flavor – I used blueberry for this batch)

1/3 c. chopped walnuts

Confectioner’s sugar mixed with a pinch of cinnamon

 

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Prepare four 1/2-cup ceramic ramekins with baking spray (or with vegan margarine and flour). Place ramekins on a baking sheet.

2. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt.

3. In a separate bowl, combine honey, banana, canola oil and vanilla extract. Stir wet ingredients into dry ingredients until there are no dry spots remaining.  Stir in cranberries and walnuts.

4. Spoon batter into prepared ramekins. Place baking sheet in center of oven and bake for 20 – 25 minutes, or until the tops of muffins are firm.

5. Remove from oven. Dust with confectioner’s sugar mixed with a pinch of cinnamon. Serve warm.

Enjoy! Have a great day!

 MuffinCranWalVegan

Banana Brownies

Posted on by Laurie

This is a brownie recipe that I love because the brownies are super moist and let me make use of extra bananas, and an added bonus is that they freeze well. I just made a batch to put out for guests!Image

Banana Brownies

Not overly sweet or overly chocolatey, these have the added flavor and moistness of banana.

3/4 c. + 2 T. all-purpose flour

2 T. Dutch-process cocoa

1/4 t. salt

4 oz. semisweet chocolate, chopped or just over 3/4 c. semisweet chocolate chips

1/2 c. unsalted butter

1-2 lg. eggs (use 1 for denser brownies, 2 for cakier brownies)

1/2 c. dark brown sugar, firmly packed

1/2 c. granulated white sugar

1 c. mashed overripe banana (about 2 lg.)

1 t. vanilla extract

3.75 oz. chopped milk chocolate or 3/4 c. milk chocolate chips

  1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.  Butter and flour a 9” square baking pan or spray pan with baking spray.
  2. In  small bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa and salt. Set aside.
  3. Melt chocolate and butter together, stirring frequently. Set aside.
  4. In a large bowl, beat egg(s) and sugars together until light and fluffy. Beat in banana and then chocolate mixture. On lowest speed, beat in dry ingredients just until they are incorporated. Pour batter into prepared baking pan. Spread evenly.
  5. Bake for approximately 40 to 45 minutes or until firm on top and starting to pull away from edges of pan. (Do not rely on a cake tester.) Place baking pan on a wire rack to cool.

Tip: Freeze overripe bananas so that you have them available whenever needed for baking. Thaw and then peel before using.

Serving suggestion: Sift with confectioner’s sugar before serving or tuck into banana splits.

BananaBrownies4Blog

Holiday Cranberry Bread – 2 ways

Posted on by Laurie

I love using fresh cranberries in recipes around the holidays. Cranberry Bread is one of my favorites and is so easy to make. Enjoy!Image
Holiday Cranberry Bread 

3/4 c. orange juice

1/2 c. mayonnaise

2 lg. eggs

1 1/2 t. orange extract

1 T. orange zest, divided

2 1/2 c. all-purpose flour

1 c. + 2 T. granulated white sugar, divided

2 t. baking powder

1/2 t. baking soda

1/4 t. salt

2 t. ceylon cinnamon 

1 1/2 c. fresh cranberries (picked over, washed and dried)

1/2 c. chopped pecans and/or raisins

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare four miniature loaf pans ( 3 x 6″ ) with baking spray or with butter and flour.*

2. In a medium bowl, combine juice, mayonnaise, eggs, extract and 2 t. of the orange zest. Set aside.

3. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, 1 c. of the sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Stir in wet ingredients until uniformly moistened. Fold in cranberries, nuts and/or raisins.

4. Divide batter between prepared loaf pans. Level tops with the back of a spoon.

5. Combine reserved 2 T. of sugar and 1 t. of zest. Sprinkle each loaf with 3/4 t. of orange sugar.** Bake for 35-40 minutes or until a cake tester inserted in the middle of each loaf tests clean. Cool on a wire rack.

* Bread can also be baked in 9 x 5″ pan for 60 – 70 minutes.

** Cinnamon sugar can be used in place of the orange sugar if you are running low on orange zest.

 

Low-fat Banana Cranberry Bread

Replace mayonnaise with 3/4 c. mashed bananas in the recipe above, and increase the cinnamon to 2 1/2 t. The mayonnaise acts as a tenderizer in the original recipe and so the low-fat version is not quite as cake-like, but it is still very moist and tasty, especially served warm with a dallop of low-fat cream cheese. Yum!

 

Old-Fashioned Banana Snack Cake

Posted on by Laurie

Image

Old-Fashioned Banana Snack Cake

2 c. flour

2 T. Ceylon cinnamon

1 t. baking soda

1/2 t. baking powder

1/2 t. salt

1 c. + 2 T. mashed banana (about 3 medium bananas)

1/2 c. canola oil

2 lg. eggs

1/3 c. buttermilk

2 t. vanilla extract

1/2 c. granulated white sugar

1/2 c. light brown sugar

1/2 c. miniature semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 T. cinnamon sugar (2 3/4 t. sugar + 1/4 t. cinnamon)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray an 8 x 8″ baking pan with baking spray (or butter and flour pan).

2. Sift together flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

3. Whisk together bananas, oil, eggs, buttermilk and vanilla. Add sugars and stir until well combined. Stir in dry ingredients until well moistened, then stir in chocolate chips.

4. Scrape batter into prepared pan. Level batter using the back of a spoon. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. Bake for about 40 – 50 minutes or until a cake tester inserted near the center comes out clean or with large crumbs that look cooked through. (It might take a few tries to miss the chocolate chips.)

5. Cool on a wire rack before serving.

Note: If you have overripe bananas, freeze them for use in recipes for baked goods. To use, thaw bananas, tear open, and squeeze bananas out of their peels.

Variations: Substitute any of the following for chocolate chips: finely chopped chocolate-covered toffee, peanut butter chips, finely chopped walnuts, raisins or dried cranberries.