Tag Archives: sugar

Banana Bread, Revisited!

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This one is hands down, M’s most requested bread. I have been making it for some time now, but there is just way too much sugar and butter for my liking. He hasn’t noticed that I have cut the sugar in half the last two times I have made it! Score for me 🙂 This time  I used less butter and sugar, more bananas and went with the addition of toasted walnuts. These were all really great modifications and I’m glad I wrote them down, because from now on, this is how he’ll get his banana bread! Thanks for reading, enjoy!

Banana Bread – heavily adapted from Crust and Crumb

  • 8 ounces flour (1 3/4 cup)
  • 1/2 TBSP baking powder
  • 1  tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 6 TBSP butter, room temp
  • 8 ounces sugar (6 ounces brown, 2 ounces white)
  • 2 large eggs, room temp
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup buttermilk
  • 11-12 ounces very ripe banana (about three medium), mashed
  • 3/4 cup lightly toasted, coarsely chopped walnuts
Directions –

1. Sift flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.

2. Using a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or using a hand mixer, cream butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy – about 2 minutes.

3. Mix in eggs one at a time, incorporating each egg before adding the next. Mix in vanilla and continue beating for 2 to 3 minutes until light and fluffy.

4. Mix in 1/3 of the dry ingredients, then 1/3 of the buttermilk, then 1/3 of the mashed bananas. Continue in this manner until all the ingredients are incorporated and the batter is smooth. Stir in walnuts.

5. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease one 9×5 loaf pan. Bake for 45 minutes then reduce the oven temperature to 325 degrees. Bake for an additional 15 minutes or until baked through. The safest way of knowing if it is finished is to test them with a probe thermometer. The internal temperature should be 180 – 185 degrees.

6. Let the loaf cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn it out on a rack to cool for at least one hour before slicing.

Banana Crumb Muffins

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There were several spotted bananas waiting to be used and I remembered this recipe. I haven’t baked these in years so I don’t remember what modifications I used to make. I thought it best to make them without doctoring them up at all – success! There is a reason why this is the most popular at Allrecipes.com. It only makes 10 muffins which could be a problem for M – we tried one for quality control sake. He said “these wont last long here”. Too bad for him, but I was already planning on sharing some with our new neighbors:) Thanks for reading, enjoy!

Banana Crumb Muffins – adapted from Allrecipes

  • 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 3 bananas, mashed
  • 3/4 cup white sugar
  • 1 egg, lightly beaten
  • 1/3 cup butter, melted
  • 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
  • 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 tablespoon butter

Directions –

  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Lightly grease 10 muffin cups, or line with muffin papers.
  2. In a large bowl, mix together 1 1/2 cups flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. In another bowl, beat together bananas, sugar, egg and melted butter. Stir the banana mixture into the flour mixture just until moistened. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups.
  3. In a small bowl, mix together brown sugar, 2 tablespoons flour and cinnamon. Cut in 1 tablespoon butter until mixture resembles coarse cornmeal. Sprinkle topping over muffins.
  4. Bake in preheated oven for 18 to 20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of a muffin comes out clean.


Strawberry Pineapple Crumble

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Joy the Baker is a huge inspiration to the baker in me! She has so many recipes to choose from, but this is one of her more recent posts. I love pineapple and strawberries together, so this is right up my alley. I have never seen anything like this – usually crumbles are made with apples, pears, peaches or mixed berries. I was intrigued by this combo and knew that I needed to try it out.

Verdict: This was ah-mazing! Even my husband who wont eat dessert unless is chocolate covered agreed that it was tasty. That’s a winner in my book! Enjoy:)

Strawberry Pineapple Crumble – adapted from Joy the Baker

    • 1 pound strawberries, hulled and cut in half
    • 1 pound peeled and diced fresh pineapple
    • 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
    • 3 teaspoons cornstarch
    • 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
    • pinch of salt
    • 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
    • 1 teaspoon baking powder
    • 1/4 teaspoon salt
    • 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold and cut into cubes
    • 1 1/3 cup old-fashioned oats
    • 1/4 cup brown sugar
Directions –
1. Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Toss diced fruit together in an 8-inch square baking dish. In a small dish, whisk together 3 tablespoons sugar, cornstarch, 1/4 cup of flour and pinch of salt. Toss the mixture with the diced fruit. Set aside.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together remaining flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Add the cold butter cubes. Use your fingers to break up the cold butter cubes into the flour mixture. Add the oats and toss together until the butter bits are about the size of the oat flakes.
4. Pour the oat mixture over the prepared fruit. Place in the oven and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until juices from the fruit bubble up around the sides of the pan.
5. Remove the crumble from the oven and allow to cool for at least 15 minutes before serving. Crumble is delicious served warm with vanilla ice cream.
6. Crumble can we wrapped and refrigerated for up to 4 days. Reheat in the microwave or wrapped in foil in a low oven.

M&M Cookies

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These taste better than they look. If you love thin, crispy cookies like I do then you’ll enjoy these. I was looking for a sugar cookie recipe that I could add M&Ms too for my daughter’s birthday snack for her preschool class. I was disappointed by how these turned out because I envisioned a puffier cookie. These cookies spread a lot and I just used my small 1 tablespoon cookie scoop to dish these out. Don’t skip the chill in the fridge for these or they’ll spread even more, but the longer the dough sat in the fridge the less they spread. Next time I will find a basic chocolate chip cookie recipe and add the M&Ms in place of the chips. In the end, the kids didn’t mind, and neither did my chewy-cookie-loving-husband;) Thanks for reading, enjoy!

M&M Cookies – adapted from What’s Gaby Cooking?

  • 1 cup unsalted butter (at room temp)
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 1 1/2 cup white sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 1/2 cup AP flour
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • M&Ms

Directions –

1. Cream together the butter and sugars in a mixer. Add the eggs and vanilla, making sure to scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl. Add the flour, salt, baking soda and baking powder and mix on low until everything is incorporated. Chill the dough for two hours.

2. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Scoop the cookie dough onto a Silpat or parchment-lined baking sheet. Be sure to leave plenty of room around each ball, about 8 cookies per pan. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until desired doneness. Remove from oven and let rest on the baking sheet. Once they’re firm enough, move them to a cooling rack. Makes about 48 cookies.


Triple Layer Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Buttercream Icing

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This week my parents came to visit, so I pulled out all the stops! But this wasn’t just to create a more memorable visit, it was mostly to celebrate our little girl’s fifth birthday. We forgot to pick up candles and I meant to put rainbow sprinkles on this, but she assured me that it was “okay”. Thankfully the lack of these items didn’t take away from the flavor and richness of this cake.

This was my first ever homemade icing and it was so easy, thanks to my trusty KitchenAid standing mixer. It is a messy process sifting all those six cups of powdered sugar, but it was worth it. Next time I will be more generous with the frosting between the layers, but I was worried I wouldn’t have enough to frost the “outside”. Once the cake was frosted, I put it in the fridge to set up. Oh, and don’t mind the wax paper – that was meant to keep the cake plate cleaner but I forgot to remove them before the rest in the fridge. Overall, this cake was really worth the effort and not at all difficult. Thanks for reading, enjoy!

Double Layer Chocolate Cake – adapted from Smitten Kitchen

** This became a “triple layer” cake because I only have 9″ cake pans**

The recipe below is for 2 10-inch layers filled and coated in chocolate ganache. My adaptations were to split the layers to create a four-layer cake and use raspberry filling instead of chocolate. To do the same, use half the frosting and all of the raspberry filling, recipe at the end.

For cake layers

  • 3 ounces fine-quality semisweet chocolate such as Callebaut
  • 1 1/2 cups hot brewed coffee
  • 3 cups sugar
  • 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 1/2 cups unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch process)
  • 2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 1/4 teaspoons salt
  • 3 large eggs
  • 3/4 cup vegetable oil
  • 1 1/2 cups well-shaken buttermilk
  • 3/4 teaspoon vanilla

Make cake layers: Preheat oven to 300°F. and grease pans. Line bottoms with rounds of parchment paper and grease paper.

Finely chop chocolate and in a bowl combine with hot coffee. Let mixture stand, stirring occasionally, until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth.

Into a large bowl sift together sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. In another large bowl with an electric mixer beat eggs until thickened slightly and lemon colored (about 3 minutes with a standing mixer or 5 minutes with a hand-held mixer). Slowly add oil, buttermilk, vanilla, and melted chocolate mixture to eggs, beating until combined well. Add sugar mixture and beat on medium speed until just combined well.

Divide batter between pans and bake in middle of oven until a tester inserted in center comes out clean, 1 hour to 1 hour and 10 minutes.

Cool layers completely in pans on racks. Run a thin knife around edges of pans and invert layers onto racks. Carefully remove wax paper and cool layers completely. Cake layers may be made 1 day ahead and kept, wrapped well in plastic wrap, at room temperature

Quick Chocolate Buttercream – adapted from Williams-Sonoma

  • 8 oz. unsweetened chocolate, chopped
  • 6 cups confectioners’ sugar
  • 16 Tbs. (2 sticks) unsalted butter
  • 6 Tbs. milk, plus more, if needed
  • 2 tsp. vanilla extract
  • 1/4 tsp. salt

Directions –

Have all the ingredients at room temperature.

Put the chocolate in the top pan of a double boiler set over but not touching simmering water in the bottom pan. Stir until the chocolate is melted and smooth. Let cool to room temperature.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the flat beater, combine the confectioners’ sugar, butter, the 6 Tbs. milk, the vanilla and salt and beat on low speed until combined, about 1 minute. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl. Increase the speed to medium and beat for 2 minutes, then reduce the speed to low. Add the chocolate and beat until combined, then increase the speed to medium and beat for 1 minute more.

If the frosting is dry, add more milk, 1 tsp. at a time, until it is creamy but still holds peaks. Makes about 4 1/2 cups.

Hot Fudge Sauce

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Quick Post: The husband requested hot fudge…I obliged:) We used it to top off the already decadent fudge brownie/vanilla ice cream goodness. Make this at your own risk! Thanks for reading, enjoy!

Hot Fudge Sauce – adapted from Christina Marsigliese

  • 1/3 cup whipping cream
  • 2 TBSP light corn syrup
  • 2 TBSP sugar
  • 1/8 tsp salt
  • 4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped

Directions –

1. In a 2 quart, heavy bottomed sauce pan combine all ingredients – minus the chocolate, over medium low heat. Bring it to a simmer and stir in chocolate until completely melted and smooth. Increase heat to medium and bring mixture to a boil. Cook, stirring constantly until a thick syrup like consistency, about 3-5 minutes. Remove pot from heat and pour into a glass jar or bowl and let cool for about 1 minute. Serve immediately or cool completely, stirring every so often. Seal the lid on the jar or store in an air tight container and keep refrigerated for up to 2 to 3 weeks. Rewarm over a double boiler or place jar in a pot with hot water coming a few inches up the sides of the jar until warmed through, adding a few teaspoons of water to thin it out as needed.

Beautiful Burger Buns

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I love that I save money making buns like this at home. They’re fresh, free of preservatives and artificial ingredients and so much more flavorful than anything you can find at Publix. The only down-side to making so many different things at home is that I’ve ruined my son’s chances at finding a wife who does the same. He’s mindful of the things I make asking if it’s “from scratch” and couldn’t stop telling me last night how my cooking is the “best in the world”:) Anyway, I used these for this sandwich and they were a good fit for because they held up well to all the sandwich ingredients without falling apart. Thanks for reading, enjoy!

Beautiful Burger Buns – adapted from King Arthur Flour

  • 3/4 to 1 cup lukewarm water
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 1 large egg
  • 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 1 1/4 teaspoons salt
  • 1 tablespoon instant yeast

Directions –

1. Mix and knead all of the dough ingredients – by hand, mixer, or bread machine – to make a soft, smooth dough.

2. Cover the dough, and let it rise for 1 hour, or until it’s doubled in bulk.

3. Gently deflate the dough, and divide it into 8 pieces. Shape each piece into a round 1″ thick (more or less); flatten to about 3″ across. Place the buns on a lightly greased baking sheet, cover, and let rise for about an hour, until very puffy.

4. If desired, brush buns with melted butter. Or brush lightly with egg wash (1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water), and sprinkle with sesame seeds.

5. Bake the buns in a preheated 375 degree oven for 12 to 15 minutes, till golden. Cool on a rack.




Fudge Brownies

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Oooh…are these ever good…and super rich! If you’re watching your calories, stay away from these. There are two sticks of butter and nearly a pound of sugar in them. And, because they’re so rich I recommend eating these with a scoop of vanilla ice cream – it’s a must! You can always go for a really long run the morning after;o) Thanks for reading, enjoy!

Fudge Brownie ingredients – adapted from King Arthur Flour

  • 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
  • 2 1/4 cups sugar
  • 4 large eggs
  • 1 1/4 cups Dutch-process cocoa
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon espresso powder
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 1 1/2 cups AP flour
  • 2 cups chocolate chips

Directions –

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9 x 13 inch pan.

2. In a medium saucepan set over low heat, melt the butter, then add the sugar and stir to combine. Return the mixture to the heat briefly, just until it’s hot, but not bubbling; it’ll become shiny looking as you stir it. Heating this mixture a second time will dissolve more of the sugar, which will yield a shiny top crust on your brownies.

3. While the sugar heats a second time, crack the 4 eggs into a bowl, and beat them with cocoa, salt, baking powder, espresso powder, and vanilla till smooth.

4. Add the hot butter/sugar mixture, stirring until smooth.

5. Add the flour and chips, again stirring until smooth. Note: If you want the chips to remain intact in the baked brownies, rather than melting in, let the batter cool in the bowl for about 20 minutes before stirring in the chips.

6. Spoon the batter into a lightly greased 9 x 13 inch pan.

7. Bake the brownies for about 30 minutes, until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean, or with just a few moist crumbs clinging to it. The brownies should feel set on the edges, and the center should look very moist, but not uncooked. Remove them from the oven and cool on a rack before cutting and serving.

Molten Chocolate Cakes

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M has a sweet tooth…even when he’s sick apparently!;o) It’s okay though because this dessert is so quick to mix together, then it only takes a measly 12 minutes to bake! I also appreciated that the recipe only makes four – 6 ounce ramekins worth – I only have four of them, perfect! I know what I’ll be making him for Valentine’s Day dessert at least – now I just have to figure out what the main course is. Thanks for reading, enjoy!

Molten Chocolate Cakes Ingredients – adapted from Food Network

  • 1 1/2 teaspoons unsalted butter, plus 1/4 pound (1 stick)
  • 4 teaspoons all-purpose flour, plus 2 tablespoons
  • 6 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
  • 2 tablespoons cold heavy cream
  • 2 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 large egg yolks
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • Pinch of salt

Directions –

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Grease and flour 4 (6-ounce) ramekins or baking dishes with the 1 1/2 teaspoons of butter and 1 teaspoon of flour in each, tapping out the excess flour. Set on a baking sheet.

In a double boiler, or a metal bowl set over a pan of simmering water, melt the remaining 1/4 pound of butter with the chocolate, cream, and powdered sugar, stirring until smooth. Remove from the heat.

In a bowl, whisk together the eggs, egg yolks, sugar, vanilla, and salt until thick ribbons form, about 3 minutes. Sift 2 tablespoons flour into the egg mixture and fold together. Fold the chocolate into the egg mixture. Divide among the prepared dishes and bake until the sides of the cake are set and the tops are puffed but still soft, about 12 minutes.

Remove from the oven and let cool in the ramekins for 2 minutes, then unmold onto dessert plates.