Tag: christmas baking

Best-Ever Banana Bread

We’re hanging out at Grandma’s this week, so I’m revisiting some of my favorite holiday recipes and sharing them with you.

Every one needs a good banana bread recipe.

Seriously.

Everyone should have one.

It’s not rocket science to bake and it tastes so good.

And, it’s a great, easy to make, gift at holiday time.

My mom and I used to bake thousands (or so it seemed) during the holidays when I was growing up. She’d use these cute little mini-loaf pans and mini-muffin pans and we’d bake banana bread for what seemed like days. And then we’d give it all away.

Because that’s what we Italian women do. We feed people to show them we love them.

It’s how we do things.

Anyway, I had my great-grandma’s recipe that Mom and I had used for years – my whole life, I think – and I never strayed from that.

Then, I found a recipe somewhere browsing on the web that claimed it was the “best banana bread ever” and I thought I should at least give it a shot and see how it compared to Grandma’s recipe.

Well, all I can say is I hope Grandma forgives me.

It really is the best banana bread I’ve eaten. And when I bake it I can’t seem to keep it around long enough to give it away. My family gobbles it up.

So, if you want a really good banana bread recipe to add to your recipe book, here you go.  I’ve altered it just a teeny bit from the original with the addition of some flaxseed meal to make it a little healthier. I like the nuttiness it gives the bread, even if you leave out the nuts the recipe calls for (Big Girl doesn’t like the nuts so this is my compromise)

You can leave that out (the flaxseed) if you want. It doesn’t affect the texture of the bread if you do.

BEST-EVER BANANA BREAD

Ingredients:

4 whole, overripe bananas
1/3 cup melted butter
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup turbinado sugar
1 whole egg, lightly beaten
1 tsp Vanilla extract
1 tsp baking soda
1 pinch salt
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 tbsp flaxseed meal
1/2 cup chopped pecans (optional)

Instructions:

  1. Preheat oven 350 degrees.
  2. Put the peeled bananas in a bowl and mash with a wooden spoon or potato masher.
  3. Add melted butter and mix together.
  4. Add sugar, egg, vanilla.
  5. Sprinkle baking soda, salt & cinnamon and mix together with banana mixture.
  6. Add flour and combine.
  7. Finally, add flaxseed and pecans.
  8. Pour into well greased loaf pan. (you can use one 4×8 loaf pan or 3 small loaf pans)
  9. Bake for one hour (the large loaf pan)
  10. Cool on a rack before serving.

(if it lives that long – mine always “mysteriously” has a slice cut out of it (or two or three) before it cools)

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Oatmeal Lace Cookie

I thought I would share another family cookie recipe with you all… as I mentioned yesterday the girls and I are hanging out this week with family – enjoying some cousin time.

This recipe is one that was made by one of the ladies at my 2005 cookie swap.  They are yummy delicious and so light and crispy.  I hope you enjoy them.

I experimented and made them with some instant Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal instead of plain quick cooking oats.  I also added 1/2 tsp of almond extract. Everything tastes better with almond extract.

Oh.my.goodness. SO, so yummy.

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Can you see how thin and crispy they are? And yet, the little apple bits are chewy and sweet in there.

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Just so you know, if you happen to break one as you are pulling it off of the foil, you must consume the evidence.

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Here’s the recipe. I have to go get the rest out of the oven now. They are calling to me…

Oatmeal Lace Cookies

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 tbsp four
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup quick-cooking oatmeal

Instructions:

Cream butter and sugar.  Add egg and vanilla. Add flour, salt, and oatmeal, mixing well.  Drop by teaspoons onto foil-lined pans.  Bake at 350F for 5-8 minutes or until lightly browned. Let cool before removing from foil.

*foil is important – parchment paper won’t give them the brown crispiness. They just get chewy and beige. Oh, and they spread; a lot. So be sure you give them plenty of room to grow.

Makes about 2 1/2 dozen. (unless you break a few)

Holiday Baking

I’m still undecided about how much holiday baking I’m going to do this year.

I want to keep the traditions alive, but, honestly, I’m not feeling the motivation or desire to spend a lot of time in the kitchen baking right now. Maybe this will change as the holidays grow nearer, maybe not. I’m going to take it one day at a time. We certainly don’t  need a plethora of sweets in the house, although I want to have my usual holiday goodie bags for our friends (and the kids’ teachers) – it’s just so busy at work these days I’m not sure I’m going to have the energy or time to do the baking in the evenings like I’ve done in years’ past!

I have a back up plan, though, that I’m going to try out this weekend, just in case baking falls by the wayside for holiday gifts. After I try it out, I’ll let you know how it went.

I thought that today I’d share with you some of my favorite cookie recipes. Since this is the time of year when a lot of us are invited to holiday cookie swap parties, I thought it might be fun to share some of our favorites.

If you have a favorite cookie recipe, please share in the comments! I am sure the rest of us would love to try something new!

Here are some of our holiday standbys:

What about you? What cookies mean Christmas to you?

Oh, and I just discovered this new online magazine: FoodieCrush.  They have some beautiful food shots and some even yummier cookie recipes!

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