Banana Bread

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I looooove Banana Bread and I've been trying variations on this recipe for years to recreate my Nana's recipe and I think this is the closest I've ever come, soo good! I also have a totally different Gluten Free Banana Bread recipe here.

INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups bread flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
3-4 mashed bananas (extra ripe)
1/2 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup of walnuts
pinch of nutmeg

DIRECTIONS
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a loaf pan with butter. In your mixer, cream butter and sugar until fluffy, add eggs.

In a separate bowl, whisk flour, baking soda, and salt. Add this to the butter mixture and mix until combined. Add banana, sour cream, vanilla, nutmeg, and finally the nuts. Once incorporated, pour into pan.

Bake for about 60 - 75 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

STORAGE
I wrap my banana bread tightly in tinfoil and then place it in a large ziploc and store in the fridge (Frankly, there's no rhyme or reason to this method of storage, it is just what I've always done). I actually like to eat it best when it's cold with a little bit of butter on top.

Chocolate Salted Caramel Cookie Bars

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I made these last weekend for a girl's night/party I had at my house. They were pretty simple and turned out SO good, I ate all the leftovers myself...

Make sure not to skimp and use Fleur de Sel, with this recipe it makes a difference!

INGREDIENTS
For the Crust: 
9 tablespoons (in other words 1 stick + 1 tbsp)unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for parchment 
1/4 cup packed light-brown sugar 
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 
1/4 teaspoon table salt

For the Filling: 
2 cups of milk chocolate, chopped 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar 
1/4 cup water 
6 tablespoons unsalted butter 
1 cup heavy cream 
1/2 teaspoon table salt 
1 tablespoon fleur de sel

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9-inch square baking pan with parchment, leaving an overhang on all sides; butter parchment, excluding overhang. Beat butter and brown sugar on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add flour and table salt, and beat until just combined. Press dough evenly into pan, and bake until lightly browned, about 30 minutes.

Place chocolate in a medium bowl. Heat granulated sugar and water in a small saucepan over medium-high heat, washing sides of pan with a wet pastry brush to prevent sugar crystals from forming, until amber, 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from heat. Add butter, cream, and table salt. Bring to a boil, stirring until smooth. Pour over chocolate. Let stand for 2 minutes. Stir to combine, and let stand until cool, about 10 minutes.

Pour mixture over crust. Refrigerate at least 4 hours, or overnight. Run a knife around edges; lift parchment to remove whole bar from pan. Sprinkle with sea salt. Trim edges, and cut into 16 bars. If you're going to save some, refrigerate and sprinkle with salt only when ready to serve.
 

Oat Bran Muffins

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I love to wake up a bake something for breakfast but preferably something easy, with few ingredients, and that is somewhat healthy. Today, I decided to try out some oat bran muffins. They turned out nice, perhaps a little bit of a different flavor than a traditional brand muffin.They would be quite delicious with a homemade preserve. I just opted for good old fashioned Smucker's jam. This is a slight variation on this recipe from Joy of Baking.

INGREDIENTS

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 cup oat bran

1/3 cup  light brown sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 large egg, lightly beaten

1/4 cup molasses

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

2 tablespoons canola oil

1 1/4 cup milk

1/2 cup raisins or currants

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F and place rack in the center of the oven. Line a 12 cup muffin pan with paper liners or else spray with a nonstick vegetable spray. The spray would work better than liners for this recipe I think, be generous with it.

 

In a large bowl, stir together the flour, oat bran, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and ground cinnamon.

In another bowl whisk together the lightly beaten egg, molasses, vanilla extract, oil, and milk.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, and stir just until moistened. Gently stir in the raisins. (The batter will be quite thin.) 

Ladle the batter to fill the muffin cups, and bake about 16 to 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool slightly before serving.

Makes about 12 standard-sized muffins

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