Bananas Foster Cupcakes with Cinnamon Caramel Cream Cheese Frosting

I’m not posting the meal plan today, because I didn’t cook a single night last week. Okay, I think I made sloppy joes one night, but that’s it. All the various things we’ve had going on lately, added to the fact that I have a sinus infection and feel only slightly better than death, have equaled not a lot of time in the kitchen. So basically, I am back to cooking this week, but we’ll just be eating everything I’d planned to make last week. So if you came looking for a meal plan, just check out last week’s.

If, however, you came for the best cupcakes you’ve ever tasted in your life, then I can help you out right now. I made these cupcakes recently for a work birthday (Bananas Foster is the birthday girl’s favorite dessert), and weeks later, everyone is still raving about them. The recipe actually calls for making Bananas Foster, complete with flambéing, then stirring the mixture directly into the cupcake batter. It’s the first time I’ve ever flambéed in my kitchen, and Andrew is still talking about how cool it was. I think I went up quite a few points on the Cool Mom scale when he witnessed me deliberately set something on fire (in a controlled environment, of course).

Anyway, these cupcakes are amazing. The cupcakes themselves are moist and rich, with the barest hint of rum. The frosting is super-sweet and pairs perfectly with the not-as-sweet cupcakes. They’re seriously some of the best cupcakes I’ve ever made – definitely worth the extra steps it took to make them.

Bananas Foster Cupcakes with Cinnamon Caramel Cream Cheese Frosting

adapted from The Little Things

For the Bananas Foster:

3/4 cup unsalted butter

1/2 cup brown sugar, packed

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

2 firm but ripe bananas, sliced

4 tablespoons rum

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the cupcakes:

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup butter, softened

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

3 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 teaspoons rum

3/4 cup sour cream

For the frosting:

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

8 ounces cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup caramel sauce

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

6-7 cups powdered sugar

1-2 tablespoons milk

For the Bananas Foster:

1. In a saute pan over medium heat, combine the butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Cook until butter melts and sugar is dissolved (4 to 5 minutes).

2. Add the banana slices and cook until tender, turning once for 1 to 2 minutes per side.

3. Stir together rum and vanilla. Turn off the burner and add the rum mixture to the pan. Using a long match, light the alcohol by placing the flame just in the outer edge of the pan. Stand as far back as possible. The flame should extinguish in a few seconds. Gently shake the pan from side to side to coat the bananas with the sauce. Spoon the bananas into a bowl and set aside.

For the cupcakes:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar with electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add eggs, vanilla, rum and banana mixture. Mix well.

3. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, and salt.

4. Add flour mixture alternately with sour cream; blend thoroughly but do not overmix.

5. Pour into prepared cupcake pans.

6. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool for 3 minutes in pan on rack. Remove and cool completely before frosting.

For the frosting:

1. In a large mixing bowl, beat the softened butter and cream cheese together until fluffy; add the caramel sauce and cinnamon and beat until fully incorporated.

2. Slowly add powdered sugar into the bowl, 1/2 cup at a time and beating after each addition. Continue adding the sugar until you have a thick frosting of your preferred consistency. If the frosting becomes too thick, add a tablespoon or more of milk to thin out.

Banana Coffee Cake with Toffee Crumb Topping

I have a lot of cookbooks, arguably way more than one person should own, and definitely more than one person needs. The truth is that I find most of the recipes I make online, so my cookbooks don’t get used nearly as much as I wish they did.

That’s why I love this little habit of Will’s. Nearly every night, he picks one cookbook from the shelf, flips through it for a little while, and then brings it to me when he’s finished. Usually I’m in the middle of something else, so I’ll just return the cookbook to the shelf, but occasionally I’ll stop and flip through it for a while. One night recently he brought me A Passion for Baking, and I promptly lost at least 30 minutes of my life looking through it, drooling over and bookmarking nearly every single recipe.

I decided to make this coffee cake first, both because it sounded delicious and because I already had everything on hand. This was a delicious coffee cake. It looks like it would be dense and heavy, but it actually has an airy texture and a mild, pleasing banana flavor. The sweet toffee topping provides a nice crunch, and the toffee flavor works perfectly with the banana. And it makes for such a pretty presentation, too!

Banana Coffee Cake with Toffee Crumb Topping

from A Passion for Baking by Marcy Goldman

For the toffee crumb topping:

1/4 cup confectioners' sugar

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

1/2 cup toffee bar bits

For the coffee cake:

2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened

1 1/2 cups sugar

3 large eggs

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/2 cup mashed banana

1 cup sour cream

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Generously spray a 10-inch springform pan or a 13 x 9-inch pan with nonstick cooking spray. Place pan on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet.

2. For the toffee topping, in a small bowl, blend confectioners' sugar and flour. Using our fingertips, rub butter into flour mixture to make a mealy crumb mixture. Stir in toffee bits and set topping aside.

3. In a medium bowl, hand-whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

4. In a mixer bowl, cream butter and sugar until fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add eggs and vanilla and blend well, scraping bottom of bowl occasionally to ensure there's no unmixed butter or sugar. Add banana, sour cream, and dry ingredients. Mix on low speed until thoroughly blended, about 2 to 4 minutes, scraping mixture on sides and bottom to ensure all batter is blended.

5. Spoon batter into prepared pan. Distribute topping over batter.

6. Bake until cake is done, springs back when gently pressed with fingertips, and see set, about 45 to 50 minutes for a 13 x 9-inch pan or 55 to 70 minutes for a springform pan.

7. Let cool about 15 minutes before gently unmolding onto a serving plate.

Frozen Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Bananas

I’m adopting a new strategy when it comes to the heat: I’m going to stop complaining about it. It seems like that’s all I’ve been doing lately, but it’s not helping anything, so I’m going to just stop. Maybe if the heat thinks it’s not getting to me anymore, the heat will lay off a little bit. Because it’s not necessary for it to be this oppressive. It’s just not.

Instead of complaining, I’m going to sit back with one of these frozen bananas and try to stay cool. And if there ever was a snack to help you stay cool on these hot summer days, this is it. And it couldn’t be simpler. Chop a banana in half, drizzle it with melted peanut butter and sprinkle it with chocolate chips, and then freeze it until it’s really cold. It’s a semi-healthy, quick, and delicious snack. When you freeze a banana, it takes on the texture of ice cream, and it’s such a fun treat. My boys go nuts for these.

I didn’t have any popsicle sticks on hand, but that would be a great way to enjoy these. We just went at them with our hands. Messy, but so delicious we didn’t care.

Frozen Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Bananas
adapted from Keep’n the Faith

Peeled bananas
Melted peanut butter
Miniature chocolate chips

Cut each banana in half and drizzle with melted peanut butter. Sprinkle with chocolate chips. Freeze for a few hours before serving. Let soften about 5 minutes before eating.

Peanut Butter Cup Banana Bread Muffins

My oldest son really loves baking with me, and he’s at an age where he’s able to help me a lot more. I usually bake something every weekend and he’s always right there with me, pulling a chair in from the dining room, saying, “What we makin’ today, Mommy? I help you!” When I told him one weekend that we were making peanut butter cup banana bread muffins, I rendered him speechless. So many of his favorite things, all in one treat – it was probably the pinnacle of his young life.

These muffins really are pretty incredible. The banana bread base is moist and flavorful on its own, but the addition of peanut butter cups just takes these muffins over the top. They were a huge hit with both of my boys and my husband. And to his credit, Andrew didn’t steal too many of the peanut butter cup pieces for snacking. He is three, though, so some product loss was to be expected. :)

Peanut Butter Cup Banana Bread Muffins
adapted from Culinary Concoctions by Peabody

2 cups granulated sugar
2 sticks unsalted butter at room temperature
4 very ripe large bananas
4 eggs, well beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups flour, sifted
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
10 regular sized peanut butter cups, chopped into small pieces and coated in 1 tablespoon of flour

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 2 12-cup muffin tins or line them with paper liners.

2. Using a stand mixer, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add eggs, vanilla extract, and bananas and beat until uniformly blended.

3. Sift together the dry ingredients. With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture and mix just until you cannot longer see any of the dry ingredients. Remove bowl from mixer and fold in candy pieces.

4. Bake 20 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack.

Banana Whoopie Pies with Peanut Butter Cream Cheese Filling

Before I made these, I’d never made whoopie pies before. For some silly reason, I was always too intimidated to try to make them. Getting all those cookies the exact same size and shape -- what pressure! It seemed way too stressful.

But then I saw this recipe on one of my favorite food blogs, Fake Ginger, and I decided it was time to suck it up. And it turns out that making whoopie pies is no more difficult than making a regular batch of cookies -- certainly something all of you have known for a long time. I’m just glad I know that now too. :)

In this version, the “whoopie” part is peanut butter cream cheese filling, and the “pie” part is banana. So, yeah. It’s a pretty awesome combination. I may or may not have eaten the leftover filling with a spoon. And then I quite possibly put it on pretzels and ate even more of it. So, even though you’ll have filling left over -- make the full batch. Trust me.

Banana Whoopie Pies with Peanut Butter Cream Cheese Filling
seen on Fake Ginger, who got it from Taste of Home

1/2 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup mashed ripe banana
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened
1 cup creamy peanut butter
3 tablespoons butter, softened
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla. In a small bowl, combine banana and buttermilk. Combine the flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda; gradually add to creamed mixture alternately with banana mixture.

3. Drop by tablespoonfuls 2 inches apart onto parchment paper-lined baking sheets. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until set. Cool for 2 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely.

4. For filling, in a large bowl, beat the cream cheese, peanut butter, and butter until fluffy. Beat in confectioners’ sugar and vanilla until smooth. Spread filling on the bottoms of half of the cookies, about 1 tablespoon on each; top with remaining cookies. Store in the refrigerator.

Zucchini Week: Zucchini Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

Since it’s the last full week of August, and the temperatures are finally becoming much more bearable (thank goodness!), I thought I’d do some summer blog-cleaning and share a week of zucchini recipes to help you use up the last of your crop.

I mentioned before that I was blessed (cursed?) with four monstrous zucchini earlier this summer, so needless to say, I’ve been cooking with it a lot. Thankfully, zucchini freezes really well, so I still have two freezer bags full of the shredded stuff to get me through the winter whenever I need a fix.

I can definitely see myself pining for these muffins this winter. They are super delicious. I used my favorite banana muffin as the base for the recipe, and tweaked it from there to factor in the zucchini and chocolate chips. Andrew took these to daycare on his snack day, and from what I hear they were a huge hit with the kids. I’ll take any opportunity I can to sneak green veggies into the little ones!

Along that vein, come back tomorrow for day two of Zucchini Week, when I’ll be sharing the recipe for baked zucchini macaroni and cheese. The kids will never know it’s in there. I’m such a sneak.

Zucchini Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

2 cups flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

3 overripe bananas

1/4 cup sour cream

1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups shredded zucchini
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

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

3. Cream butter with sugar until fluffy. Beat in eggs.

4. Puree bananas, sour cream and vanilla.

5. Alternately add dry ingredients in 3 additions and banana mixture in 2 additions to the egg mixture. Beat enough to incorporate. Fold in zucchini and chocolate chips.

6. Spoon into greased or lined muffin tins and bake for about 25 minutes, or until puffed, browned and springy. Makes about 15 muffins.

Elvis Milkshakes

I love getting lost in a really good food blog, spending hours and hours in the archives bookmarking recipes to try. One of my favorite food blogs to do that with is Noble Pig; Cathy’s food always looks so amazing, and every time I visit her site I go away salivating. Our incredibly hot weather has made me pretty much obsessed with ice cream in all its various forms, so when I saw these milkshakes on Cathy's site I knew I had to give ‘em a try.

Whether or not you’re a fan of Elvis, I guarantee that you’ll be a fan of these milkshakes. They’re so delicious -- incredibly rich and creamy and perfectly satisfying on a hot day. I’ve made them quite a few times now, and they’re always a huge hit with my husband and oldest son. You should hear Andrew say "Elvis shakes" -- it’s priceless, and that alone is worth the calories. Next up? Teaching him to sing "You Ain't Nothin' But a Hound Dog."

Elvis Milkshakes
source: Noble Pig

1/2 cup smooth peanut butter

3/4 cup milk, divided

2 cups vanilla ice cream

1 banana

1. In a bowl, beat peanut butter and 1/4 cup of milk with a hand mixer until smooth. In a blender, blend ice cream, remaining milk and banana until smooth.

2. Add peanut butter mixture to ice cream mixture and blend until just combined.

3. Pour into glasses and garnish with banana slices.

Banana Berry Muffins

Let it be known: I love these muffins. I love them so much that I sort of think I should make a batch of them every single weekend, so that I can have one for breakfast on my way to work every day, and then another one for an evening snack each night. All I was really looking for was a way to use up the bag of frozen blackberries I’d had in my freezer for about a year. I had no idea how much I’d like the muffins that resulted.

You can use any berries you like for these. I made a second batch a few days later (yes; the first batch only lasted a couple of days, I KNOW) using strawberries, which were just as delicious. Raspberries and blueberries, or a combination of a few types of berries, would also be great. This recipe makes an incredibly moist muffin, and when eaten warm with a bit of butter melted over the top? Well, that’s pretty much my definition of paradise.


Banana Berry Muffins
source: adapted from iChef

2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
3 overripe bananas
1/4 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 pint fresh berries (or 1 12-ounce bag frozen berries)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

3. Cream butter with sugar until fluffy. Beat in eggs.

4. Puree bananas, sour cream and vanilla.

5. Alternately add dry ingredients in 3 additions and banana mixture in 2 additions to the egg mixture. Beat enough to incorporate. Fold in berries.

6. Spoon into greased or lined muffin tins and bake for about 25 minutes, or until puffed, browned and springy. Makes about 15 muffins.

Healthy Morning Muffins

For the past week or so, I have felt anything but productive. Time for a newsflash -- are you ready for this? It turns out, newborns require a lot of attention. I'd totally forgotten! Thank goodness I have a fully stocked freezer to utilize during these first crazy weeks!

Today my husband had the day off from work, so I actually got some things accomplished. I cleaned our bedroom, organized Andrew's closet, and baked some brownies (from a mix, but still, it took a little bit of effort). I also made these delicious muffins, which I'm sending to daycare with Andrew tomorrow. It's his day to take a snack, and I thought these muffins would be a yummy, healthy choice for him and his classmates.

Of course I had to sneak one just to make sure they tasted okay, and they absolutely did. They're low in fat, which is awesome, but they're also incredibly moist and flavorful. There's no butter here, but I promise you won't miss it one bit. I loved the combination of banana and carrot, and I actually think this recipe would make a great quick bread.

I adapted the recipe to make mini-muffins. I also added some cinnamon -- which I think these really needed; the flavor may have been slightly lacking without it -- and used vegetable oil instead of extra-virgin olive oil (since olive oil has a distinctive taste, I was concerned that I wouldn't like the flavor of it in a muffin). This recipe isn't available online that I can see, so I've listed the original as it appears in the magazine, with my changes in purple. I think I may actually make these every weekend so we have a healthy breakfast choice throughout the week.

Healthy Morning Muffins
source: Everyday Food, January/February 2010

Non-stick cooking spray
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
1/2 cup raisins
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (I used vegetable oil)
1 large egg
1/3 cup skim milk (I used whole milk since it's what we always have on hand for Andrew)
4 medium carrots, shredded (I used 3, which was plenty)
1 medium ripe banana, mashed

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Coat a 12-cup muffin pan (or a 24-cup mini-muffin pan) with cooking spray. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, brown sugar, baking soda, baking powder, nutmeg, cinnamon and salt until there are no lumps. Stir in oats and raisins. Add oil, eggs, milk, carrots and banana and stir until blended.

2. Fill each muffin cup with batter. Bake until toothpick inserted in center of a muffin comes out clean (23 to 25 minutes for regular muffins, 15 minutes for mini-muffins). Serve muffins warm or at room temperature. To store, keep in an airtight container up to three days.

Banana Nut Pancakes

Ohhh, you guys. You have got to try these pancakes. Soon. Like tonight. Scrap whatever dinner plans you have and make these instead. In fact, I just might do that myself. I think I could eat these pancakes every day.

We had these banana nut pancakes for breakfast yesterday morning, and they were heartily enjoyed by all three of us. Andrew ate an entire pancake by himself, and I think he would have tackled a second one if there'd been any more. But, sadly, there weren't. We ate all of them.

The creamy, sweet topping on these pancakes is so delicious that it makes butter absolutely unnecessary. I did, however, drown my pancakes in maple syrup (as you can see), which was delicious with the rest of the flavors. (I can't get enough maple syrup lately. This is particularly amusing to me since I didn't even really like maple syrup before I got pregnant. Cravings are weird.) Next time, I'm doubling this recipe for sure.

Banana Nut Pancakessource: Taste of Home 2000 Annual Recipes, also found here

3 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup whipped topping
1 cup pancake mix
1 tablespoon sugar
1 egg
3/4 cup milk
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
1 medium ripe banana, mashed
1/2 cup chopped pecans

1. In a small bowl, beat the cream cheese until smooth. Mix in whipped topping (mixture will be stiff); set aside.

2. In a bowl, combine pancake mix and sugar. Beat egg, milk and oil; add to pancake mix and mix well. Fold in banana and pecans.

3. Pour batter by 1/4 cupfuls onto a lightly greased hot griddle; turn when bubbles form on top of pancakes. Cook until second side is golden brown. Serve with cream topping. Makes approximately 8 pancakes.

Grilled Banana Sundaes

One of the things I'm definitely going to do next spring and summer is experiment with more grilled fruits. Earlier this summer I made pork chops with grilled peaches, and I absolutely loved the extra flavor and sweetness the grill gave the peaches. When I saw a recipe on the Better Homes and Gardens website for grilled banana sundaes, I was instantly intrigued. Since bananas are so soft, I had my doubts about how well they'd hold up to grilling -- but much to my surprise, they actually held up very well. The warm bananas had a velvety texture, and grilling them gave them such an interesting depth of flavor. They were the perfect pairing for spicy caramel sauce and cool, creamy vanilla ice cream.

We liked these sundaes a lot, and I think I'll make them frequently when we start grilling again next spring. We don't typically do dessert during the week, so this was a nice mid-week treat for us. The original recipe suggests topping the sundaes with toasted coconut and sliced almonds, but I used semi-sweet chocolate chips and peanuts instead -- both because I had them on hand, and because I thought they'd be the perfect toppings. They were. What a yummy treat!

Grilled Banana Sundaes
source: slightly adapted from Better Homes and Gardens

2 large firm bananas
1 tablespoon butter, melted
2 teaspoons orange juice, divided
1/2 cup caramel ice-cream topping
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Vanilla ice cream
Optional toppings: semi-sweet chocolate chips, honey-roasted peanuts, toasted coconut, sliced toasted almonds

1. Cut bananas in half lengthwise, then cut each piece in half crosswise. Stir together margarine or butter and 1 teaspoon of the orange juice. Brush mixture on all sides of banana pieces.

2. Place bananas directly on the grill rack over medium-hot coals. Grill, uncovered, for 2 minutes; turn over and grill for 2 minutes more or until heated through.

3. Meanwhile, in a heavy, medium skillet or saucepan combine the caramel topping and the remaining 1 teaspoon orange juice. Heat on the grill rack alongside bananas directly over the coals, or on a stovetop, until bubbly, stirring frequently. Stir in cinnamon. Add bananas and stir gently to coat.

4. To serve, scoop ice cream into dessert dishes. Spoon sauce and bananas atop ice cream. Sprinkle with chocolate chips and peanuts, if desired.

Frozen Banana Bites

Every Sunday evening, my stepmom and stepsister come over to my house to watch our very favorite TV show, True Blood. It doesn't start until 9:00, which is too late for us to eat dinner together, so at the beginning of the season we decided to make sweets to eat during the show instead. We're supposed to be taking turns, but I've selfishly made the snack two weeks in a row. Last week we enjoyed strawberry pretzel squares, and this week I made these absolutely delicious frozen banana bites.

This is an idea I originally saw in Bon Appetit magazine a couple of months ago, and I've had it in my mind to make my own version ever since. You can roll the chocolate-dipped bananas in any coating you want; I chose miniature semi-sweet chocolate chips, peanuts, hazelnuts, and vanilla wafer crumbs.

This is the perfect summer treat, hands-down. The frozen bananas are somehow still really creamy, almost the texture of ice cream. Add in the chocolate and the salty-sweet coatings, and this is truly a heavenly -- and simple! -- dessert. I can see myself making these for my kids in a few years!

Frozen Banana Bites
Source: inspired by Bon Appetit

1 cup milk chocolate chips
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 ripe bananas, peeled and cut into slices (about 12 slices per banana)
Assorted coatings for bananas (peanuts, hazelnuts, miniature chocolate chips, vanilla wafers crumbs, toasted shredded sweetened coconut, chopped candy, etc.)

1. Melt chocolate chips in a double boiler over low heat. Meanwhile, place each coating in a separate dish and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

2. Using a fork, dip a slice of banana in the melted chocolate, shaking off the excess. Immediately drop banana in coating, using your fingers to sprinkle more coating over the top of the banana. Place on prepared cookie sheet. Repeat with remaining bananas, chocolate and coatings.

3. Freeze for about 3 hours, or until firm.

Banana Bread

I have a confession to make: One of my worst culinary habits is buying a bunch of bananas at the grocery store with the intention of having them for quick breakfasts or using them in smoothies. I can always use them for banana bread, too, I tell myself as I scoop them into my cart. The problem is...I always say this, but I never do it. The bananas always just sit in the kitchen, over-ripening and smelling cloyingly sweet until they rot and I throw them away.

So last night, I broke the trend of wasted bananas and actually made some banana bread with them. I used the recipe in my trustworthy Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook, and it was absolutely delicious. I was a big fan of the streusel topping, and I think I'll be using it in the future for some of the other quick breads I make. The bread was moist and not too overwhelmingly sweet. I'll definitely be making this bread again in the future, and I may even use this recipe to make some muffins! I think I've finally broken my bad banana habit!


Banana Bread
Source: Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook (Celebrating the Promise Edition) (page 130)

For the bread:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 eggs, beaten
1 1/2 cups mashed ripe bananas (5 medium)
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup cooking oil or melted butter or margarine (I used melted butter)
1/4 cup chopped walnuts

For the streusel-nut topping:
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons butter
1/3 cup chopped walnuts

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Grease bottom and 1/2 inch up the sides of one 9 x 5 x 3-inch or two 7 1/2 x 3 1/2 x 2-inch loaf pans; set aside. In a large bowl combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Make a well in center of flour mixture; set aside.

2. In a medium bowl combine eggs, banana, sugar and oil. Add egg mixture all at once to flour mixture. Stir just until moistened (batter should be lumpy). Fold in walnuts. Spoon batter into prepared pan(s). If desired, sprinkle streusel-nut topping over batter in pans.

3. For streusel-nut topping, combine brown sugar and flour in a small bowl. Using a pastry blender, cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in walnuts.

4. Bake for 55 to 60 minutes for 9 x 5 x 3-inch pan or 40 to 45 minutes for 7 1/2 x 3 1/2 x 20-inch pans or until a wooden toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. If necessary, cover loosely with foil the last 15 minutes of baking to prevent overbrowning. Cool in pan on a wire rack fo 10 minutes. Remove from pan. Cool completely on rack. Wrap; store overnight before slicing.