Banana bread made even better with chocolate.

INGREDIENTS

3 medium-to-large very ripe bananas

1/2 cup butter, melted

3/4 cup brown sugar

1 large egg

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon table salt

1 cup flour

1/2 cup cocoa powder

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips or chunks

DIRECTIONS

Heat your oven to 350°F. Butter a 9×5-inch loaf pan, or spray it with a nonstick baking spray.

Mash bananas in the bottom of a large bowl. Whisk in melted butter, then brown sugar, egg, and vanilla. Place baking soda, salt, flour and cocoa powder in a sifter or fine-mesh strainer and sift over wet ingredients. Stir dry and wet ingredients with a spoon until just combined. Stir in chocolate chunks or chips.

Pour into prepared pan and bake 55 to 65 minutes, until a tester or toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out batter-free. Cool in pan for 10 to 15 minutes, then run a knife around the edge and invert it out onto a cooling rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.

I worked with this recipe.

 

 

Can you believe this is the first dessert I’ve made with bacon?

INGREDIENTS

12 bacon slices, minced

1/4 cup maple syrup

1 cup unsalted butter, softened

1 ¼ cups sugar

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/2 cups quality milk chocolate chips

Flaky sea salt

 DIRECTIONS

Preheat to 350 degrees F. Line a cookie sheet with silpat or parchment.

For the bacon: In a medium frying pan, saute the bacon until the fat has rendered and the bacon is crisp. Drain the fat from the pan, add the maple syrup and stir to blend. Saute until the maple syrup becomes thick, 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer immediately to a small bowl and let cool.

For the batter: With a standing or handheld mixer, blend the butter and sugars until light and fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the egg and beat until well blended, 1 minute. Add the vanilla and beat for 30 seconds more. Stir in the flour and baking soda with a wooden spoon. Add the bacon and chocolate and stir to combine. Scoop heaping teaspoons of dough onto the prepared baking sheet and sprinkle with sea salt. Bake until golden around the edges, 9 to 10 minutes.

I worked with this recipe.

I think the name kinda says it all.

INGREDIENTS

¼ cup butter, softened

½ cup plain sour cream

2/3 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 ½ tsp vanilla

1 cup canned pumpkin

¾ cup white whole wheat flour

1/3 cup all purpose flour

¼ cup protein powder

2/3 cup dark cocoa powder (regular cocoa power is fine as well)

1 tsp baking soda

3 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

¾ cup milk

1 cup chocolate chips and/or walnuts

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Combine butter, sour cream, sugar, eggs, vanilla and pumpkin in a bowl and mix well to combine. In a separate bowl, mix together flours, protein powder, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt. Combine wet and dry ingredients, add in milk and stir until well combined. Scoop into a muffin pan that has been lightly sprayed with cooking spray.

Place muffins in the oven and immediately reduce the temperature to 350 degrees F. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until tops spring back when touched. Remove from oven and allow to cool.

I worked with this recipe.

I remember going to Sweden with my friend Carina in High School. I don’t think I ever saw one of these.

INGREDIENTS

Dough

2/3 cup milk, lukewarm in temperature

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 large egg

4 tablespoons butter, melted

2 teaspoons active dry yeast

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cardamom

1/2 teaspoon salt

Filling

4 tablespoons butter, room temperature

1/2 cup demerara sugar, plus extra for sprinkling

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

4 ounces walnuts, finely chopped

Egg wash (1 large egg + 1 tablespoon water, whisked)

DIRECTIONS

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the lukewarm milk, sugar, egg, melted butter, and yeast. Using a bowl scraper, fold in the flours, cardamom, and salt until the dough comes together and appears uniform. Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead the dough until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes. If using a stand mixer, knead the dough on low for 3-5 minutes with the dough hook attachment, stopping occasionally to scrape down sides of bowl.

Form the dough into a ball and transfer to a lightly oiled bowl. Cover and allow the dough to rise at room temperature until doubled in volume, about 1 to 2 hours.

To make the filling, mix together the butter, sugar, and cinnamon until it forms uniform paste.

When the dough has doubled in volume, punch down the dough and, on a lightly floured surface, flatten the dough into a rectangular shape. Roll out the dough to a 12-by-18 inch rectangle. Using an offset spatula, spread the filling over the dough, leaving a 1/2-inch border around all edges. Sprinkle on the finely chopped walnuts evenly and press the walnuts down lightly into the filling.

From the long end, roll the dough tightly into a log and place seam side down. Cut off the ends so the log appears uniform. Form the log into a ring shape and pinch the open ends together. Using a kitchen shears, cut the dough 2/3 of the way into the log into 2-inch segments. Carefully turn the segments upwards so the interior of the dough is exposed. Cover and let rise for an additional 30-45 minutes.

While dough is rising, preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Brush with egg wash and sprinkle lightly with additional demerara sugar. Bake the tea ring for 25 minutes, or until golden. If it browns too quickly, cover with aluminum foil to prevent browning during the last 5-10 minutes. Remove from the oven and transfer to a cooling rack.

I worked with this recipe.

Foelske shared this recipe with me so I walked to the 99 Cent store and bought everything I needed.

INGREDIENTS

Crust

1/2 sleeves of Saltines

1/3 cup butter, melted

3 tablespoons sugar

Filling

4 egg yolks

14 0z can of condensed milk

1/2 cup of lemon and lime juice mixed

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Crush saltines in bowl but don’t turn to powder. Add sugar and then melted butter. Press into 8″ pie plate. Chill for 15 minutes then bake for 18 minutes.

Take pie crust out of oven. In a medium bowl, add egg yolks and milk. Whisk well. Add lemon/lime juice mixture and whisk well. Pour into warm pie crust and bake for another 15 minutes. Let cool and then refrigerate for a few hours until chilled and set. Serve with whipped cream on top.

Foelske got the recipe here.

When was the last time you had such a decadent old fashioned treat? I got this recipe from The Brown Eyed Baker. 

INGREDIENTS

¾ cup unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch pieces

½ cup granulated sugar

½ cup dark brown sugar

¼ cup water

2 tablespoons  corn syrup

1 teaspoon lemon juice

¾ teaspoon salt

1 cup heavy cream

2¼ cups whole milk, divided

4 egg yolks

¼ cup cornstarch

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS:

1. Bring butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, water, corn syrup, lemon juice, and salt to a boil in a large saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally to dissolve the sugar and melt the butter. Once the mixture is at a full rolling boil, cook, stirring occasionally, for until the mixture reaches 240 degrees F on a candy thermometer (about 5 minutes).

2. Immediately reduce the heat to medium-low and gently simmer (the mixture should maintain a slow, steady stream of bubbles), stirring frequently, until the mixture reaches 300 degrees F on a candy thermometer, about 12 to 16 minutes longer (it should be the color of dark peanut butter and have a slight burnt smell).

3. Remove the pan from heat; carefully pour ¼ cup of the heavy cream into the caramel mixture and swirl to incorporate (the mixture will bubble and steam). Allow the bubbling to subside, then whisk vigorously and scrape the corners of pan until the mixture is completely smooth, at least 30 seconds.

4. Return the pan to medium heat and gradually whisk in the remaining ¾ cup heavy cream until smooth. Whisk in 2 cups of the milk until the mixture is smooth, making sure to scrape corners and edges of the pan to remove any remaining bits of caramel.

5. Meanwhile, microwave the remaining ¼ cup milk for 45 seconds (it should be simmering). Whisk the egg yolks and cornstarch together in large bowl until smooth. Gradually whisk in the hot milk until smooth; set aside.

6. Return the saucepan to medium-high heat and bring the mixture to a full rolling boil, whisking frequently. Once mixture is boiling rapidly and beginning to climb toward the top of the pan, immediately pour it into the bowl with the yolk mixture in a single motion (do not add gradually). Whisk thoroughly for 10 to 15 seconds (mixture will thicken after a few seconds). Press the pudding through a fine-mesh sieve into a clean bowl and whisk in the vanilla extract.

7. Spray a piece of plastic wrap with non-stick cooking spray and press on the surface of pudding. Refrigerate until cold and set, at least 3 hours. Whisk the pudding until smooth before serving. Sprinkle a little bit of flaked salt on top and then follow up with some whipped cream.

For months, Judit has been asking for Chicken Pot Pie. Since I made some puff pastry I thought this would be a good time to try.

 

INGREDIENTS

3 whole chicken breasts, bone-in, skin-on

3 tablespoons olive oil

Kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

5 cups chicken stock

2 chicken bouillon cubes

12 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 medium onions chopped

3/4 cup flour

1/4 cup heavy cream

2 cups diced carrots

1 (10-ounce) package frozen peas

1 1/2 cups mushrooms, sliced

1/2 cup minced fresh parsley leaves

Puff Pastry

Use frozen if you don’t have homemade.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Place the chicken breasts on a baking sheet and rub them with olive oil. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Roast for 35 to 40 minutes, or until cooked through. Set aside until cool enough to handle, then remove the meat from the bones and discard the skin. Cut the chicken into large dice. You will have 4 to 6 cups of cubed chicken.

In a small saucepan, heat the chicken stock and dissolve the bouillon cubes in the stock. In a large pot or Dutch oven, melt the butter and saute the onions over medium-low heat for 10 to 15 minutes. Add the flour and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes. Add the hot chicken stock to the sauce. Simmer over low heat for 1 more minute, stirring, until thick. Add 2 teaspoons salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, and heavy cream. Add the cubed chicken, carrots, peas, mushroom, and parsley. Mix well and let simmer on low heat stirring occasionally for about 15 minutes while you prepare the puff pastry lids.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Roll out puff pastry to desired thickness (about 1/4″). Cut out lids slightly bigger than top of plate/bowl/pie tin.  I had enough for 6 individual pies. Sprinkle with sea salt and cracked pepper. Place on a baking sheet for about 15-20 minutes or until the top is golden brown and the filling is bubbling hot.

I worked with Ina Garten’s recipe.