Banana Bread - the Original

Before my grandmother passed away, she let me go through her recipe cards and pick out my favorites.  Having her recipes in her handwriting is one of my greatest treasures.  One of my goals is to try out all the recipes.  So, when a bunch of bananas got over-ripe... Banana Bread!  Now this is more like banana cake. It has a TON of sugar.  This time I stuck to the recipe, mostly - I added cinnamon and used butter instead of shortening and no nuts because then Tom wouldn't eat it.  But otherwise withheld my usual inclination to change everything.  I wanted to see what the original recipe was like before I went mucking with it.

Well, the result was SUPER YUMMY!  It's all I want to eat!  However, next time I'm going to cut the sugar in half and be more purposeful about how I put it all together; cream butter and sugar, mix dry ingredients together first, etc.  We'll see if there's a difference and I'll post it here!

Click on picture for larger view.

What the card says:

   1 1/2 cups sugar

   1 3/4 cups flour

   1 tsp vanilla

   1 tsp salt

   1 tsp soda (aka. baking soda)

   2 whole eggs

   1 cup chopped nuts

   1/2 cup shortening (or butter)

   1 cup mashed bananas

   4 tablespoons milk

 Bake in a 350 oven for 40 - 45 min.  Use tube pans or loaf pans.

Blueberry Muffins

These are by far the best blueberry muffins I've ever had.  It's the whole package of flavor and texture!

Pictured without topping

Ingredients:

   2 cups flour
   2 teaspoons baking powder
   1/2 teaspoon salt

   1 1/2 tablespoons flour
   1 1/2 cups fresh blueberries

   1/2 cup butter, softened
   3/4 cup sugar
   2 eggs
   1 teaspoon vanilla extract
   1/4 teaspoon lemon zest
   1/2 cup milk

Topping:

   2 tablespoons flour
   5 tablespoons white sugar
   1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
   2 tablespoons butter, cold


Directions:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease 12 muffin cups or line with paper muffin liners.
• Combine 2 cups flour, 2 teaspoons baking powder, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in medium bowl. 
• In a small bowl, sprinkle 1 to 2 tablespoons flour over blueberries, and set aside. (This will keep you from having purple muffins)
• In a large bowl, cream 1/2 cup butter with 3/4 cup sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs (one at a time), vanilla and lemon zest. 
• Fold in dry ingredients alternately with milk, flour last. 
• Fold in blueberries. Remember, fold gently, don't stir. 
• Spoon batter into prepared cups.
• Combine 2 tablespoons flour, 5 tablespoons sugar ,and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon in a small bowl. Cut in 2 tablespoons cold butter with fork or pastry blender until mixture resembles course crumbs. Sprinkle over batter in muffin cups.
• Bake in the preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in center of a muffin comes out clean. Cool in pans.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:
  1/2 cup sugar
  1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
  1/3 cup butter, softened
  1 egg
  1 tsp vanilla
  1 1/2 cup flour
  1/2 tsp baking soda
  1/2 tsp salt
  1 6oz pkg chocolate chips ( I buy ghiradeli)

Directions:
  Preheat oven to 375.
  Combine flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
  Cream butter, shortening, sugars, egg and vanilla in a mixer.  Add in flour mixture.
  Fold in chocolate chips.
  Spoon walnut size amount 2 inches apart on a cookie sheet.  Bake 8 to 10 minutes.

Pumpkin Fiddlesticks

Another version of baby biscotti for  Luke.  See the banana fiddlestick recipe here.

Ingredients: 

   3 cups of flour
   1 cup of sugar
   2 eggs

   1 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
   2 Tbsp butter, softened
   1 tsp vanilla extract
   1 tsp baking powder
   1 Tbsp ginger
   1 tsp salt
   1/2 tsp cinnamon
   1/8 tsp nutmeg
   1/8 tsp of cloves
   1/8 tsp allspice

Directions:

• Sift together flour, baking powder and spices, set aside.
• Cream together butter and sugar until well incorporated (it won’t cream perfectly). 
• Combine eggs, pumpkin and vanilla, and beat until smooth, about 2 minutes.
• Add flour mixture and stir well. If dough is still really wet to the touch, you can chill it for 15-20 minutes to make it easier to handle or dust with flour.
• Divide the extremely wet dough into four equal parts, shape into logs as best you can using flour to prevent dough from sticking to your hands. Place on the prepared baking sheet. Spread into1/4 inch half-inch deep loaves. 
• Bake for 20 mins, remove from oven and let cool til you can handle loaves without burning yourself. Using a serrated bread knife, slice into 1/4 inch pieces. 

Adapted from Cuppylicious

Vanilla Biscotti

My husband is only supporting my biscotti addiction.  He requested some plain Vanilla Biscotti.  So I took up the challenge and apparently the results were so good that he won't even share them with me!

(One note: When I made these I did a double batch and used 3 vanilla beans instead of 2. I was planning on sharing them with family at a bday party yesterday but Tom said they were all his!)

Ingredients:

   2 1/2 cups flour
   1 cup sugar
   1 vanilla bean
   2 eggs
   1/2 cup butter, softened
   3 tsps vanilla extract

   1 tsp baking powder
   1/2 tsp salt (or less)

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350.
• Mix flour, baking powder, and salt in a small mixing bowl, set aside.
• Beat sugar and softened butter until smooth. 
• Crack eggs into a small bowl, scrape vanilla bean with the bake side of a knife into eggs.  Add vanilla and wisk.  Add to sugar/butter mixture and beat until smooth. 
• Add flour mixture to egg mixture and mix just until just blended.
• Divide dough into two pieces. Form into long flat loaves about 1/2 inch tall and 12-15 inches long. Place the loaves 3-4 inches apart on a prepared or non-stick baking sheet.
• Bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool for 5 minutes (or until you can handle the loaves without burning yourself) on a cutting board. With a serrated or extremely sharp kitchen knife, cut diagonally into 1/2 inch thick slices. Lay the slices flat on the baking sheet.
• Bake for 10-15 minutes, turning over once.

Cinnamon Almond Biscotti

I admit it.  I have a biscotti addiction now!  I blame my friend Cuppy, from whom I got this recipe which I then altered slightly, because I alter everything :)

Ingredients:

   2 1/2 cups flour

   1 cup sugar
   1 cup toasted, unsalted almonds
   2 eggs
   1/2 cup butter, softened
   2 tsps vanilla extract
   2 tsps ground cinnamon

   1 tsp almond extract
   1 tsp baking powder
   1/2 tsp salt (or less)

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350.
• Toast almonds on a baking sheet for 10 mins at 350, flipping them halfway through.
• Mix flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon in a small mixing bowl, set aside.
• Beat sugar and softened butter until smooth. Add eggs, almond extract and vanilla, beat until smooth. Add flour mixture to egg mixture and mix just until just blended. Fold in almonds.
• Divide dough into two pieces. Form into long flat loaves about 1/2 inch tall and 12-15 inches long. Place the loaves 3-4 inches apart on a prepared or non-stick baking sheet.
• Bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool for 5 minutes (or until you can handle the loaves without burning yourself) on a cutting board. With a serrated or extremely sharp kitchen knife, cut diagonally into 1/2 inch thick slices. Lay the slices flat on the baking sheet.
• Bake for 15-18 minutes, turning over once.

My baking must haves - Utensils/Gadgets

I'm not one for having to have a cool new gadget to do something in the kitchen when what I've got works just fine.  I once owned a garlic press, I got rid of it because it was a pain to clean and therefore wasn't really saving me anymore time than just using my knife.  But there are a few things that I have to have!

• Stand Mixer - whether you have a Kitchen Aid or a Sunbeam, doesn't matter.  When it comes to creaming butter and sugar or getting air into your batter.  Just flipping that switch and letting it run, so much easier!!

• Beater Blade - This is a time save!  It's works with your Kitchen Aid (they make them for the tilt-head and lift mixers so if you get one, make sure you are getting the right one).  It mixes AND scrapes the bowl all that same time!  Yeah!

• Measure-All Cup - For all the pain in the butt ingredients like mayonnaise, peanut butter, molasses, brown sugar, shortening; this is the best!  Pampered chef makes one, but oxo now has one too.

• Real Cake Pans - you know, not the little flared out ones you can buy at the store.  I'm talking the straight edge 2 or 3 inch deep pans. I mean, how else can you get a cake to stand up straight! And how else can you torte a cake unless it's thick enough to do so! (This is the cake decorator in me coming out)

Again with only having four :)  So, what are your must haves?

My baking must haves - Quality Ingredients

I have long been someone that not only likes to bake yummy stuff but I also want it to taste the best it can.  So there are certain ingredients that I refuse to get the cheap stuff on.

• King Arthur Flour.  The difference between it and the cheap stuff is amazing in my opinion.  I also love their whole wheat varieties for that added wholesome earth-y-ness.
• UPDATE:  I still love King Arthur flour, but I found this Ultra flour at Costco is great too! (oh, how I love Costco!)

• Watkins Double Power Vanilla.  I have yet to find any vanilla that beats the strong vanilla flavor that this product does.  Especially in cakes, cookies, and ice cream.  It's one step below the vanilla bean!
• I now make my own ;)

• Real Butter.  I never use margarine or some other butter substitute.  It's not better for you and well real butter just tastes SO much better.  I generally get unsalted because my taste-buds are salt sensitive.  In fact, most recipes that call for salt, I usually use about half what they call for.

• Store-brand Shortening.  Why, you ask? Because the whole 0 trans fat craze ruined Crisco!  If you try making buttercream icing with Crisco, unless you get it really warm, your icing will not spread evenly, will crack and break, and you will end up with a mess.  And how often do we really eat cake??  Go for the real deal!

So, these are my top four.  I tried to come  up with a fifth one because everything is always the top five or the fav five...but my brain couldn't think of one.  What are yours?