Recipes

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Best Ever Banana Nut Bread

They say when life gives you lemons, you should make lemonade. But, what do you do when life gives you brown bananas? Bake banana bread, of course! With a hint of spice and an abundance of nuts, this recipe is hearty enough to pair with a strong cup of coffee, and so scrumptious that these loaves will disappear fast, leaving only a few tasty crumbs behind. Go bananas!

Ingredients

  • 3 Large Bananas
  • 1-1/4 cups White Sugar
  • 1/2 cup Butter or Margarine, softened
  • 2 Large Eggs
  • 1/3 cup Whole Milk
  • 1 tsp. Vanilla Extract
  • 2-1/2 cups All-Purpose Flour
  • 1 tsp. Baking Soda
  • 1 tsp. Salt
  • 1 tsp. Ground Allspice
  • 1 cup Walnuts, coarsely chopped

 

Directions

  1. Move oven rack down one notch lower than the center, so that the top of your loaves will sit in the middle of the oven.
  2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  3. Place four small aluminum loaf pans* on a baking sheet, and coat with cooking spray.
  4. In a large bowl or stand mixer, mash peeled bananas.
  5. Add sugar, butter or margarine, eggs, milk, and vanilla, and mix until well blended.
  6. Add flour, baking soda, salt, and allspice, and thoroughly blend into wet mixture.
  7. Add 3/4 cup of the chopped walnuts, and stir to incorporate into batter.
  8. Pour batter evenly into prepared loaf pans. Each should be about 3/4 full.
  9. Sprinkle remaining walnuts on the top of the loaves, and gently pat into the batter, just enough to make sure they stick.
  10. Bake in preheated oven for 40-50 minutes, until a knife or toothpick inserted through the center of a loaf comes out clean.
  11. Remove from oven and transfer to a baking rack to cool. Ensure that the loaves have cooled to room temperature before wrapping.

*You can use one large loaf pan instead. Just increase the baking time by about 10 minutes. However, making this recipe in smaller loaves means it’s easier to share!

 

Sneaky trick: Why do I reserve some of the walnuts to sprinkle on the top? First, the nuts on the top of the loaf stay nice and crunchy, and even get a little toasted, adding a great complementary texture to the soft loaf. Second, the visible nuts are a big red flag for anyone who is allergic to nuts or wears loose fitting dentures, preventing them from getting an unpleasant surprise when they bite into a piece. I’m thoughtful like that.

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Easiest. Toffee. Ever.

Who says making candy is difficult? As long as you have a candy thermometer, it’s a piece of cake… uh… candy! This recipe is for a small batch and is easy to scale for larger batches when you need more; just prepare more than one baking sheet. Toffee is great by itself, or as a garnish on a cake, cupcake, or ice cream sundae. Sweet dreams!

Ingredients

  • 1 cup Butter*
  • 1 cup White Sugar
  • 1 pinch Salt
  • 1 cup Semisweet Chocolate Chips
  • 1/2 cup Sliced Almonds

* You can substitute margarine, but your toffee will be more golden than amber. Otherwise it’ll work just fine.

Directions

  1. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  2. In a heavy, medium-sized sauce pan, heat butter, sugar, and salt over medium high heat.
  3. Cook while stirring constantly, until mixture turns amber in color and a candy thermometer reads 285 degrees.
  4. Pour toffee mixture onto prepared baking sheet and allow to spread out over parchment paper. (If it’s stubborn, pick up the baking sheet and tip it to get the toffee to spread.)
  5. Immediately sprinkle chocolate chips over toffee and allow to melt for about two minutes.
  6. Gently spread chocolate over the toffee with the back of a large metal spoon or spatula.
  7. Immediately sprinkle almonds onto chocolate.
  8. Gently press almonds into the chocolate using the bottom of a second baking sheet or the back of a large flat dinner plate. (Do this in as few sections as possible to avoid the chocolate and almonds sticking.)
  9. Place baking sheet in refrigerator for at least 20 minutes to cool.
  10. Remove from refrigerator and break toffee into serving-sized pieces.
  11. Serve immediately, or store in an air-tight container.

 

Sneaky Trick: When breaking the toffee, keep a layer of the parchment paper between your hands and the toffee. This will keep the chocolate from melting on your fingers.

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Cinnamon Swirl Bread

This sweet, buttery bread makes the finest French toast, the sweetest snack, and the tastiest toast. This recipe is designed for the bread machine, which I consider one of the ten greatest inventions of all time. You can customize it with raisins (if you like that sort of nonsense) or finely chopped nuts, by adding them when you sprinkle the sugar and cinnamon on your dough. Go on, give it a swirl!

Ingredients

Bread

  • 1 cup Milk
  • 1/4 cup Hot Water*
  • 1 Large Egg
  • 2 tbsp Butter or Margarine, softened
  • 1/3 cup White Sugar
  • 1/2 tsp Salt
  • 1/4 tsp Ground Cinnamon
  • 3 cups Bread Flour
  • 2 tsp Active Dry Yeast

*Hot tap water is just fine; no additional heating is needed. You just want to warm up the milk and egg a bit as the dough is mixing to give the yeast a fighting chance. 

Swirl

  • 4 tbsp Margarine or Butter
  • 1/3 cup White Sugar
  • 2 tbsp Ground Cinnamon

Directions

  1. Place all Bread ingredients in the pan of your bread machine in the order listed.
  2. Select the Dough cycle and press Start.
  3. Relax while you send an email to Panasonic, expressing your gratitude to them for inventing the home bread machine in 1986.
  4. When the dough cycle is complete, turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface.
  5. Knead briefly, and roll into a long rectangle approximately 1/2-inch thick, with the shorter side of the dough slightly more narrow than the longer side of your bread pan.
  6. To make the swirl, melt butter or margarine.
  7. Brush the rectangle of dough with butter or margarine until well coated. Reserve remaining melted butter or margarine.
  8. Mix together sugar and cinnamon.
  9. Sprinkle cinnamon mixture evenly over buttered dough.
  10. Roll the dough tightly, from the shorter side.
  11. Spray a bread pan with cooking spray.
  12. Place the rolled dough in the pan, with the seam on the bottom.
  13. Allow to rise in a warm, quiet place for 30-45 minutes, until doubled in size, and taller than the rim of the bread pan.
  14. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  15. Re-melt remaining butter or margarine if needed, and brush loaf with it.
  16. Bake in preheated oven for 30-40 minutes until golden brown and cooked through.
  17. Remove from the oven, and transfer to a cooling rack. Allow to cool to room temperature before wrapping.
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Peach Cobbler

There are a ton of different cobbler recipes out there, which might be why there are so many mediocre cobblers. This is a pet peeve of mine: Don’t try to make a dessert with some fruit and a sloppy pie crust and call it cobbler. If you want pie crust, bake a dang pie! Yeesh. This recipe, however, is authentic cobbler perfection! It’s delicious with vanilla ice cream, whipped cream, or even crème fraîche, and so delectable you might want to go ahead and double this recipe right now.

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup White Sugar
  • 1 tbsp. Corn Starch
  • 1/8 tsp. Ground Cinnamon
  • 2 cups fresh peaches (peeled, pitted, and sliced)*
  • 1 tbsp. Lemon Juice
  • 1 cup All-Purpose Flour
  • 1 tbsp. White Sugar
  • 1-1/2 tsp. Baking Powder
  • 1/2 tsp. Salt
  • 3 tbsp. Shortening
  • 1/2 cup Whole Milk

* You can also substitute 16 oz. of frozen peaches if peaches aren’t in season, or if the fruit flies got to the ones you left on the windowsill to ripen. Just start cooking at medium low and gradually raise the heat to medium high as the peaches defrost.

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
  2. Spray four, 8 oz. ramekins or a medium-sized baking dish with cooking spray.
  3. Combine peaches, 1/2 cup sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, and lemon juice in a medium-sized sauce pan.
  4. Cook over medium high heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture just begins to boil.
  5. Remove from heat and spoon into prepared baking dish(es).
  6. In a large bowl or stand mixer, combine flour, 1 tbsp. sugar, baking powder, and salt.
  7. Add shortening and cut into flour mixture until it resembles very coarse meal.
  8. Add milk and mix until just combined. Do not over-mix. It should be lumpy.
  9. Spoon large dollops of batter over fruit, being sure to leave room between the batter and the edge of the dish(es).
  10. Place ramekins or baking dish on a baking sheet lined with foil, as bubbling over is a definite possibility.
  11. Bake in preheated oven for 20-24 minutes, until batter is golden and peaches are bubbling.
  12. Serve while still warm, or reheat before serving if prepared beforehand.
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Crème Brûlée

This classic recipe is one that most folks only enjoy when they go to a fine restaurant, but it’s so easy to make that I’m surprised it’s not found at the local food cart as well! Thick, creamy, and not too sweet, this dessert has universal appeal, plus you can show off by caramelizing the sugar with a torch while your dinner guests watch in amazement!

Ingredients

  • 6 Egg Yolks
  • 5 Tbsp. White Sugar (divided – 4 Tbsp. in the custard, and 1 Tbsp. for the caramelized topping)
  • 1/2 Tsp. Vanilla Extract
  • 2-1/2 Cups Whipping Cream
  • 1 Tbsp. Brown Sugar
  • Fresh Fruit to Garnish

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
  2. Coat ramekins with a light coating of cooking spray. (Note: This recipe fills four 4-inch, 8-ounce ramekins perfectly, but it can also be made in one large baking dish; just be sure to choose a dish with straight vertical sides of an appropriate size.)
  3. In a large bowl or stand mixer, beat egg yolks, 4 Tbsp. sugar, and vanilla until well blended and creamy. Set aside.
  4. In a medium to large saucepan, heat whipping cream over medium heat until just before it begins to boil, stirring frequently to prevent any of the cream from cooking to the bottom of the pan.
  5. Remove cream from heat, and slowly pour into egg mixture while beating.
  6. Continue beating until well combined.
  7. Return egg and cream mixture to saucepan over low heat. Cook and stir constantly for 3 to 5 minutes until it begins to thicken and coat the spoon.
  8. Place prepared ramekins on a baking sheet, and pour egg and cream mixture into ramekins.
  9. Bake in preheated oven for 30-35 minutes, until the custard is firm to the touch on the top, but is still jiggly.
  10. Allow to cool to room temperature, or refrigerate for later serving.
  11. When it’s time to serve, combine 1 Tbsp. white sugar and brown sugar.
  12. Sprinkle the sugar mixture over the top of the custard and gently spread into a thin coating.
  13. Use a cooking torch to caramelize the sugars until golden to dark brown. (Note: If you have a sensitive smoke detector, do this step under a kitchen vent on a high setting. This does have the potential to smoke a bit while caramelizing.)
  14. Garnish with fresh fruit and serve!

Sneaky Trick:  If your oven tends to heat food inconsistently, place the ramekins in a baking dish partially full of hot water instead of on a baking sheet. This will help the custard cook more evenly.

Bonus Sneaky Trick:  When separating your eggs, you can save the whites for later use in an egg-white omelette or for meringue. Egg whites can be frozen and thawed with no deleterious effects. Just don’t defrost them in the microwave…  trust me.

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Easiest. Hollandaise. Ever.

No double-boiler, no blender, and va-va-VOOM flavor! This extra-lemony Hollandaise is fantastic over asparagus or Eggs Benedict, and a great compliment to salmon or other fish. Gutsy enough to stand up to red meats for a variation on Steak Oscar, too!

Ingredients

  • 3/4 Stick of Butter (melted and clarified)
  • 2 Egg Yolks
  • 1 tsp. Water
  • 1-1/2 to 2 tbsp. Lemon Juice
  • 1/4 tsp. Finely Ground White Pepper (optional)

Directions

  1. Whisk egg yolks and water in a small saute pan over low heat for 3 to 4 minutes.
  2. Slowly add clarified butter, stirring constantly.
  3. Continue cooking over low heat until it just begins to thicken. Don’t stop stirring!
  4. Slowly add lemon juice (you can vary the amount based on just how lemony you want the sauce) and keep stirring. (This is the kind of sauce that will turn into a curdled mess on you in a split second, so keep it moving!)
  5. Optional: Add white pepper and stir.
  6. Remove from heat as soon as sauce achieves desired thickness and serve immediately.

Sneaky Trick: If you start to see little bits of cooked egg in your sauce, take it off the heat and lay the bottom of the pan in cool water for a few seconds. Then whisk like crazy before returning it to the burner. With luck, it will recover, and another kitchen crisis will be averted. 

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Mocha Faux Mousse Filling

This isn’t really a mousse, per se, but it has a fantastic, fluffy texture and chocolate and coffee sweetness that is very reminiscent of a traditional chocolate mousse. This makes a tasty cake filling, soft frosting, or is even great inside cream-filled donuts or the Cream Puffs that I posted earlier today… hence the picture! 

Ingredients

  • 2-1/2 cups Whipping Cream
  • 3 tbsp. Cocoa Powder
  • 1/2 cup Powdered Sugar
  • 1-1/2 tsp. Instant Coffee Granules

Directions

  1. Beat whipping cream with a hand mixer or in a stand mixer.
  2. Gradually add cocoa, powdered sugar, and coffee granules while beating.
  3. Feel free to taste frequently as you add the sugar to make sure this has just the right sweetness for whatever you’re using it for. Just turn off the mixer before you stick your finger in, silly.
  4. Continue beating until very stiff, but stop before it turns into sweet, chocolaty butter.

 

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Vanilla Cream Puffs

If folks knew how easy it is to make cream puffs, they would eat them every day. Step one: Choux pastry. Step two: Vanilla pudding. Step three: Fill ’em up! I make the filling even easier by using instant pudding, but you can make your filling from scratch if you want to show off. Bonus: You can call these “Bouffée de Creme de Vanille” and people will think you’re very cosmopolitan!

Ingredients

  • 5 oz. Package of Instant Vanilla Pudding Mix*
  • 2 cups Whipping Cream
  • 3/4 cup Whole Milk
  • 1/2 cup Butter or Margarine
  • 1 cup Water
  • 1/4 tsp. Salt
  • 1 cup All Purpose Flour
  • 4 Large Eggs
  • 2 tbsp. Powdered Sugar

Directions

  1. Mix together vanilla pudding mix, whipping cream, and milk, and beat for two minutes.
  2. Refrigerate pudding for at least one hour.
  3. Preheat oven to 420 degrees.
  4. Line baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
  5. In a large pot, bring water and butter or margarine to a rolling boil over medium high heat.
  6. Add flour and salt and stir until well combined into a single lump.
  7. Transfer dough to a large bowl or stand mixer.
  8. Beat dough, and add eggs one at a time, blending well after each egg.
  9. Continue beating until smooth.
  10. Use a tablespoon to spoon lumps of batter onto prepared baking sheets.
  11. Bake in preheated oven for 22-24 minutes until golden brown.
  12. Remove from oven and transfer to a cooling rack.
  13. When pastry is completely cool, fill a pastry bag with vanilla pudding.
  14. Pipe pudding inside of cream puffs until full.
  15. Dust with powdered sugar, and serve.

*Not every brand of instant pudding comes with exactly the same weight per box. Select one that calls for three cups of milk, and you’re good to go!

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Chuge Challah

I may not be a hollaback girl, but I am a challah bread girl! This recipe makes two humongous braided loaves – one to eat and one to share! And, since it’s designed for the bread machine, it’s as easy as it is tasty. Left-over challah also makes fantastic French Toast. Es gezunterheyt!

Ingredients

  • 1-1/2 cups Warm Water
  • 2 Large Egg Yolks
  • 1 tsp. Salt
  • 1/3 cup Cooking Oil
  • 1/2 cup White Sugar
  • 4-1/4 cups Bread Flour
  • 1-1/4 tbsp. Active Dry Yeast
  • 1 Large Egg, beaten
  • Sesame Seeds, Poppy Seeds, or both!

Directions

  1. Place water, egg yolks, salt, oil, sugar, flour, and yeast into pan of bread machine in order listed.
  2. Select Dough cycle and press Start.
  3. Thank the gods of flour and yeast that you have a bread machine.
  4. When Dough cycle is finished, line baking sheets with foil or parchment paper, and lightly coat with cooking spray.
  5. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface, and divide into two equal pieces.
  6. Split each of the two pieces into three sections of equal size.
  7. Roll each section into three long, snaky strands.
  8. Braid the strands together, connecting the ends (use wet hands to stick the ends together if your dough is stubborn) and turn the ends under the loaf.
  9. Repeat with the second piece of dough to create two large loaves.
  10. Allow the loaves to rise for about 30 minutes in a warm place, until doubled in size.
  11. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  12. Brush both loaves with beaten egg, and sprinkle with sesame and/or poppy seeds.
  13. Bake in preheated oven for about 30 minutes until dark golden brown.
  14. Remove from oven and transfer to a cooling rack.
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Soft & Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

I am usually not a fan of raisins. Maybe I got too many of those little red boxes in my Trick-or-Treat bag from well-meaning (read: old and cranky) neighbors as a child. However, I make an exception for these cookies. These are the only way to eat raisins in my book!

Ingredients

  • 1 cup butter or margarine, softened
  • 1 cup White Sugar
  • 1 cup Packed Brown Sugar
  • 2 Large Eggs
  • 1 tsp. Vanilla Extract
  • 2 cups All Purpose Flour
  • 1 tsp. Baking Soda
  • 1 tsp. Salt
  • 1-1/2 tsp Ground Cinnamon
  • 1 tsp. Allspice
  • 3 cups Quick Cooking Oats
  • 1 cup Golden Raisins
  • 3/4 cup Chopped Walnuts

Directions

  1. In a large bowl or stand mixer, blend together butter or margarine, white sugar, and brown sugar.
  2. Add eggs and vanilla and mix until smooth and creamy.
  3. Add flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and allspice, and mix until well combined.
  4. Add oats, raisins, and walnuts, and mix until well distributed through the dough.
  5. Cover dough and chill for at least one hour.
  6. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
  7. Cover baking sheets with aluminum foil.
  8. Remove dough from refrigerator and shape into balls, a little over 1-inch thick.
  9. Arrange balls on baking sheet, and gently smoosh* them down with the palm of your hand until about 1/2-inch thick.
  10. Bake in preheated oven for 9-10 minutes, until they just begin to brown.
  11. Remove from oven and immediately transfer to a rack to cool.
  12. Pour the milk!

*Not in the Urban Dictionary sense. Pervert.

 

Feel free to load these up with more or different nuts or dried fruit, or even chocolate chips if you’re not an oatmeal cookie purist. One of my favorite twists on this recipe is to substitute macadamia nuts and chopped pineapple for the walnuts and raisins, with a dash of orange extract. This is a robust cookie dough that can hold a lot of chunky goodness, so be adventurous!

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