#75) Chocolate Swirl Banana Bread

I went out to a "girls' night" last weekend and thought it would be nice to add a sweet treat to the finger food menu... I had loads of bananas in the kitchen, and a couple handfulls of different kinds of chocolate chips kicking around... Well, what goes better together than banana and chocolate?

The banana bread was good, but I like a nice dense banana bread so to improve I would add another banana next time around. Also, the recipe I tweaked said to use all the batter in one loaf pan, but it was a lot of batter so I divided it into two loaf pans and got two nice loaves.

(PS - please forgive the poor photo, but souRIRE photography wasn't visiting last weekend)

I've got a few more bananas to use up this weekend... any suggestions for a banana sweet treat you'd like to see here?

Ingredients:

2 cups flour
1/4 cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
pinch of salt
1 cup chocolate chips + extra for the top(I used a mixture of white and mini semi-sweet)
2 cups ripe banana (about 4 bananas)
1/2 cup melted butter
1/4 cup (soy) milk
2 eggs

Steps:

-Preheat oven to 350ºF. Prepare 2 loaf pans with spray oil.

-In a large bowl, stir together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and chocolate chips. Set aside.

-In another bowl, mix together bananas, butter, milk, and eggs. Pour over flour mixture and stir just until combined.

-Divide between two loaf pans.

-Sprinkle additional chocolate chips on top (up to you how much!)

-Put loaves in the oven for 3 minutes. Remove and run a butter knife through each loaf lengthwise and widthwise to swirl the chocolate. (I used a "sawing" motion so I didn't drag the batter all over the place)

-Return loaves to oven and bake for another 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

-Let cool completely before slicing.

#69) Banana Coffee Cake

Can I just say that living alone is one the most depressing things I have ever done? And this fact is just emphasized every single time I go into the kitchen - breakfast for one, lunch for one, dinner for one, tea for one, and most sadly of all, dessert for one!

I know you are probably all saying "Enough with the self-pity, already." But this is a huge issue for me because not only am I lonely, but now because I have no one to share my goodies with I make them a lot less often, and that makes me sad, too.

Ok, my rant is over, I promise. Now let me tell you just how good this coffee cake is. I done some reading and researching when I decided to turn my latest batch of rotting bananas into a sweet treat and through the jigs and the reels I came up with a very moist, very tasty, and semi-light coffee cake (if you cut the amount of chocolate, drastically LOL). My only issue was that I added a little too much chocolate. I know, I can hear your gasps of shock and disbelief, but it's true - it was a little too chocolate-y, even for me. But other than that it is fantastic and will now be a go-to recipe, when fiance comes to visit and I have someone to share it with that is :)

Ingredients

3/4 cup chocolate chips (I used minis, and will probably use like 1/3 cup next time)
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup chopped nuts (I used pecans, but you can use whatever you have on hand)
1/2 tbsp cinnamon

3/4 cup flour
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
dash of salt
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup butter
1 egg white
3 mashed bananas
3 tbsp sour cream (I used fat free)

Steps

-Preheat oven to 350º and spray a loaf pan with non-stick spray.

-Mix together first 4 ingredients and set aside.

-Sift together dry ingredients.

-Cream together butter and sugar. Add egg white, bananas, and sour cream.

-Stir in dry ingredients with as few strokes as possible.

-Pour half of batter into pan. Spread half the streusel over top. Cover with remaining batter. Spread remaining streusel over top.

-Bake for 25-30 minutes.

#55) No-Fat Banana Muffins

So a recent visit to the doctor ended in me being told I have a difficult-to-manage digestive issue... Well, that sounds fun! And when he said "difficult-to-manage" he wasn't joking: no dairy, no red meat, no egg yolk, less sugar, less fat, no alcohol, no carbonated beverages, minimal raw fruits and veggies... I will stop there as not to bore you. Based on that you can imagine the difficulty I am having in the kitchen, both with cooking and baking. I have a pretty good handle on the cooking side of things, finding new ways to dress up chicken and potatoes, but I am still struggling with the baking - I mean really, no butter and no egg yolks?!?!?!
This recipe is my first attempt at something safe for me, and I gotta say I wasn't super pleased, but wasn't super disappointed either. The muffins have a toughness to them, but it is almost forgiven due to the intense banana flavour.... You be the judge!

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups flour
3/4 cups sugar
1 1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 egg whites
2 mashed bananas
1/4 applesauce, unsweetened

Steps

-Preheat oven to 350°F and line 12 muffin cups.
-Stir together dry ingredients.
-In another bowl, mix together wet ingredients. I left some small chunks of banana in my mixture and it was very nice in the end product.
-Add wet ingredients to dry mixture and stir just until combined.
-Divide between 12 muffins cups.
-Bake for 20-25 minutes.

#50) Cocoa Nana Cookies

Wow! My 50th post :) Seems like I should have tried out a more intricate recipe for this blogging landmark, but cookies it is!

At school we are taking our homeroom skiing on Thursday. They are very excited and asked for me to bring in something sweet. One student in particular asked for my Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies. I said yes, but once I got to making them I decided they needed something new, their own identity.... And now we have a chocolaty banana cookie filled with chocolate chips...

They are much better than the originals in my opinion, but you be the judge :)

Ingredients

2 1/4 cups flour
1/4 cup rolled oats
2 tbsp cocoa powder
1 tsp baking soda (next time I will lessen this to about 1/2 tsp)
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup brown sugar (remove or crush any large chunks)
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
1 1/4 cup mashed bananas
2 cups chocolate chips

Steps

-Spray cookie sheet (or line with rubber mat) and preheat oven to 350°F.
-Beat butter and sugar. Add eggs, bananas, and vanilla. Set aside.
-Stir together dry ingredients. In three additions, stir the dry mixture into the banana mixture.
-Stir in chocolate chips.
-Drop by tablespoonful onto pan.
-Bake for 7-10 minutes.

*Makes about 60 cookies!

#46) Banana Bites & Cinnamoney

I made these mini cupcakes a few days ago in a bit of a rush. I was attending a get-together and had procrastinated on making something to bring along. Then I found a bag of frozen ripe banana in the freezer and these wonderfully coloured mini liners in the cupboard - it was like fate! Okay, maybe not fate, but a very strong suggestion.

They were quite a hit and I would definitely use this recipe again, but next time I might dress it up with some chocolate chips or raisins!

Banana Cupcakes

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups flour
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup melted butter
1 1/2 cups mashed banana
2 eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla

Steps

-Preheat oven to 350°F.
-Sift together dry ingredients. Make a well in middle.
-Add wet ingredients and hand mix just until blended.
-Divide amongst liners and bake until a toothpick comes out clean.

Cinnamoney Frosting

Ingredients

1 1/4 cups icing sugar
1/2 cup butter
1 tbsp honey
2 tsp cinnamon

Steps

-Add all ingredients to one bowl and mix until smooth and of spreading/piping consistency.
-Dress up cooled cupcakes :)

#40) Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies

This will be the last installment of my banana bake-athon for a while. We all started to get tired of banana this and that after so many recipes LOL.

These cookies were made for my Grade 9 homeroom's pizza party this past Friday. The kids loved them and asked for more HaHa. They were relatively easy to make and have a great banana taste that is just right with a cup of hot tea :)

Ingredients

2 1/4 cups flour
1/4 cup rolled oats
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
3 mashed bananas
2 cups chocolate chips

Steps

-Spray cookie sheet and preheat oven to 350°F.
-Beat butter and sugar. Add eggs, bananas, and vanilla. Set aside.
-Stir together dry ingredients. In three additions, stir the dry mixture into the banana mixture.
-Stir in chocolate chips.
-Bake for 7-10 minutes.

#37) Old Faithful Banana Loaf

This time-tested sweet treat is the continuation of my banana bake-off. I searched high and low for a "new" banana loaf recipe, bit not one seemed as reliable or as tasty as this one. Enjoy it with some butter, fruit sauce, or even peanut butter, and it always tastes good :) (It is pictured above with bakeapple syrup - what a combo!)

Ingredients

1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 cup mashed banana
2 cups flour
1/3 cup rolled oats
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tbsp cinnamon

Steps

-Preheat oven to 350°F and spray a 9x13 baking dish.
-Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs, banana, and milk. Mix well.
-Stir together dry ingredients and add to banana mixture in three additions. Beat until combined.
-Pour into prepared baking dish and bake for 30 minutes.

#36) Big Banana Crunch Muffins

One of the downsides to living in Labrador actually became a surprising plus today at the grocery store... The past week has been absurdly cold here, like -50°C - so cold that on Thursday and Friday the schools were closed!!! Now, how on Earth did this turn into a plus for me??? Well, fiance and me went grocery shopping today and as soon as we walked in the door there were these HUGE bags of bananas that were in terrible shape, pretty much black all over - they must have got hit with the cold on the way to the grocery store. Perfect for loads of banana recipes, right? Oh yeah, I was all over it! The best part is that these giant bags of recipe-ready bananas were only 99¢!!! Stay tuned for more banana baking :)

Ingredients

1/2 cup butter, room temperature
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 cup mashed banana
2 cups flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1/4 cup crushed pecans

Steps

-Preheat oven to 350°. Spray a jumbo muffin pan.
-Cream butter and brown sugar. Add eggs and vanilla. Mix well.
-Add banana and beat well.
-Stir together dry ingredients. Add to banana mixture in three additions.
-Stir in chocolate chips and pecans.
-Divide between 6 jumbo muffin cups.
-Bake for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

#35) Chocolate Banana Burritos

Tonight we had a couple of friends over for supper and in the planning that went into the meal over the past couple of days, the evening took on a somewhat Mexican theme. The menu was to include chicken quesadillas, Mexican rice, and tortilla chips. I intentionally made yesterday's brownies as this particular meal's dessert, but my finace decided dessert should also be slightly Mexican.... That is what led to this wonderfully simple and tasty sweet treat. These were great and I would definitely make them again, and again, and again! LOL

Burritos

Ingredients

1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup butter
1 cup mashed banana
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1 tbsp oil
1 cup chocolate chips
5 large flour tortillas

Steps

-Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a pyrex dish.
-Cream sugar and butter. Add banana, egg, and vanilla. Beat until combined.
-Add flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, and oil. Beat until combined.
-Spread 1/5 of banana mixture on each tortilla. Sprinkle with chocolate chips and roll up. Place in dish seam side down.
-Bake for 30 miunutes, or until golden.

Chocolate Glaze

Ingredients

1/2 cup chocolate chips
2 tbsp butter
1/4 cup cocoa
1/2 tbsp shortening

Steps

-Melt all 4 ingredients together in a saucepan and drizzle over baked burritos.

#21) Banana Peanut Butter Muffins

I know, my muffins look a little sad. But believe me, they are super tasty. For a while now I have had a couple of bananas screaming to be turned into something, so I thought a muffin would be great. Then, when I was making some toast and peanut butter for my breakfast I thoguht, "This would be great thrown into my muffins!" So that's what I done HaHa. However, in my over-zealousness (is that a word?) I chucked in two bananas instead of one.... Now I have some very dense, very moist cupcakse, hence the sunken look they have going on. But this is one sweet treat I would definately make again, minus the extra banana :).

Ingredients:

3 eggs

1 cup butter

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup milk

1 1/2 cups flour

1 tbsp peanut butter

1 mashed banana

1/4 cup chocolate chips (just because I like 'em!)

Steps:

- Preheat oven to 320°F. Line 12 muffin cups with papers.

- Beat eggs. Add butter and sugar and mix until light and fluffy.

- Add milk, flour, baking powder, and peanut butter. Beat with mixer for about 2 minutes.

- Add banana and chocolate chips and stir through evenly.

- Fill paper liners and bake for 20 minutes.

#13) Banana Blueberry Bread

OMG! One week into my Education degree and I am already exhausted.... But I guess we wouldn't be good teachers in the end if our profs didn't make us work hard for it, right? That being said, my studies don't leave me much time for baking (*tear*), so when I whipped this delicious sweet treat together I done it as quickly as possible. But don't worry, the taste of this sweet bread will not tattle to anyone that you didn't slave away to make such a wonderful treat :)

Ingredients:

2 cups flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup + 1 1/2 tbsp brown sugar, separated

2 eggs, beaten

3 ripe bananas, mashed

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup blueberries (fresh work best; frozen will change your baking time)

Steps:

-Preheat oven to 350°F.

-Combine flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.

-Beat butter and 1/2 cup brown sugar. Add eggs, mashed banana, and vanilla. Stir together.

-Add the banana mixture to the flour mixture. Stir junt until moitened. (Over-mixing will produce a dry bread)

-Spray loaf pan with non-stick spray oil.

-Add 1/4 batter to bottom of pan. Sprnkle 1/3 cup blueberries over top. Cover with another 1/4 of the batter. Repeat until berries and batter are gone. (It will be necessary to spread the batter, as it is quite thick. I used a butter knife and gently pulled on the batter layers to cover the berries. Easy enough!)

-Sprinkle the remaining brown sugar over top and place in pre-heated oven.

-Bake for approximately 1 hour, until a toothpick comes out clean.

#7) Double Chocolate Banana Cookies

My birthday was a little better than a week ago, and being as smart as she is, my bestest girlfriend gave me a cookbook all about cookies. I couldn't wait to try one of the yummy looking recipes, so here is my first attempt. This sweet treat goes heavy on the chocolate, so if you aren't into cocoa as much as me, I would steer clear :)

Ingredients:

3-4 extra-ripe bananas
2 cups oats (I used quick oats)
2 cups sugar
1 3/4 cup flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 1 /4 cup butter, melted
2 eggs, slightly beaten
2 cups chocolate chips
1 cup chopped roasted almonds

Steps:

-Beat bananas with hand mixer.
-In another bowl, combine oats, sugar, flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt. Mix well.
-Stir in bananas, butter, and eggs until blended. Add chocolate chips and almonds.
-Refrigerate for 1 hour, until partially firm. (Batter will run if not chilled, as seen below)
-Preheat oven to 350°F.
-Drop batter unto greased cookie sheets by the 1/4-cup measure. Flatten slightly with a spatula.
-Bake for 15-17 minutes on the middle rack. Cool on wire rack.

Info:

-I halved the recipe above and got 20 large cookies.
-the 1/4-cup measure makes for a big cookie. If you would like smaller try tablespoon drops.
-Refrigerate batter right up until you place it into the oven. If not you will get monsters like those in the second picture HaHa.