Basic Banana Muffins

 

These banana muffins are  buttery, moist 

and packed with that 

great banana flavor.  

 

The muffins won’t taste banana-y enough if over-ripe bananas aren’t used, the ones with brown spots on the peel. 

 

Easy Baked Sugar-free Chocolate Cake Donuts

 

Mom loved Krispy Kreme donuts, 

so did my boss at work.  

I didn’t get it ~ seemed to me ~ might as well 

eat a cup of sugar.

Even mini chocolate chip calories can add up quickly.  Recently, I was happy to discover Lily’s chocolate chips, a mere 50 calories per tablespoon.

Homemade Baked Cinnamon "Sugar" Donuts

Lately, (like the last 5 years) I’ve seen a plethora of bloggers praising how good their baked donuts ~ I secretly wondered ~ how good are they, really?  

The food blogger side of me is just a touch embarrassed to admit I’m more than a little late in hopping on the baked-donut-band-wagon.

Party with CHEX PARTY MIX with SRIRACHA

OK, I can see you rolling your eyes now...

This is not your run of the mill Chex mix recipe off the back of the box, this is my recipe, a spicier version!  

Way back in the early 1950’s, Ralston Purina wanted a way to get people to eat a lot more of its cereal.  That’s when the classic recipe for the famous snack mix was printed on the back of Wheat Chex and Rice Chex boxes.  The recipe included Worcestershire sauce, butter, garlic salt, salt and nuts baked in an oven.  

Bubba’s Homemade Summer Sausage, Updated

Bubba tried something new with his summer sausage.  I didn’t think it could be improved; however, he added pork to the mix this time, plus more spices, so now it has been taken up a notch.  

 

 

Nothing is better than fresh homemade, and I especially like this recipe because we know exactly what is in the summer sausage! 

 

Heart-of-My-Heart Cookies for Valentine’s Day

No doubt about it, I love Valentine’s Day!

Maybe because it’s a fun diversion in mid-winter, or maybe because of goodies like these cookies!

I’ve tried countless sugar cookie recipes and this one, from Betty Crocker, is about the best I’ve made. It’s a simple recipe, I will be using again, for a great crunchy cookie.

The dough is easy to work with after being refrigerated a couple of hours.  If you refrigerate it over-nite like I do, let it set at room temperature an hour to warm up before shaping into hearts.

Oven-ready!

The best part of the cookie is the great flavor  ~~~  

I just wish I had the patience and the knack of decorating them that my MIL had!

You know the saying:  “Betcha can’t eat just one!”

Here’s wishing you all

the

Happiest Valentine’s Day!

Heart-of-My-Heart Cookies

Adapted

Ingredients:

1 cup butter, softened

1½ cups powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 egg

2½ cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon cream of tartar

¼ teaspoon salt

Method:

In large bowl, beat butter, powdered sugar, vanilla and egg with electric mixer on medium speed, or mix with spoon.

Stir in flour, baking soda, and cream of tartar.

Cover, refrigerate for 2 hours or overnite.

Heat oven to 375 degrees.

Divide dough in half.

On lightly floured surface, roll each half ¼” thick.

Cut with 3½” heart-shaped cookie cutter.

On ungreased cookie sheet, place cutouts 2” apart.

If desired, sprinkle with colored sugars.

Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until slightly golden.

Remove from cookie sheet to cooling rack and cool completely, about 30 minutes.

Decorate with vanilla frosting, if desired and sprinkles.

Simple Vanilla Frosting

Ingredients:

¼ cup butter, softened

Dash salt

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 tablespoons milk

2 cups powdered sugar

Method:

In a medium size bowl, combine all of the ingredients.

Mix by hand or electric mixer until smooth and spreadable.
Makes 2 to 2½ dozen cookies

ENJOY!

Honeycrisp Apple Bread, a Truly Delicious Quick Bread

This is truly about the best quick bread I have ever made, and I’ve made a lot of them over the years.  It was a huge hit for all of us!

I’m not sure what exactly makes it is such a delicious bread:  I always swore by Granny Smith apples for baking, and usually included brown sugar and oil in the baked goods.  This recipe contains Honeycrisp apples, white granulated sugar and butter; which is creamed with the sugar.  So ~ I’m not sure whether just one of these items makes the difference, or if it’s the process of creaming, or if it is all things combined.

Honeycrisp apples were developed in Minnesota and started appearing in the markets in the early 1990’s. They are just as the name implies ~ crisp and sweet, but with a little tartness too, plus a pretty color.  It has been my favorite eating apple from the first bite, many years ago, and from now on, I will be using Honeycrisp apples for baking too!

Honeycrisp Apple Bread

Ingredients:

1 cup butter, at room temperature

2 cups sugar

4 eggs

4 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

4 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

3 teaspoons ground cinnamon

4 Honeycrisp apples, peeled, cored and chopped

1 cup chopped walnuts, optional

Method:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Lightly grease two 8x4-inch loaf pans.

In a bowl, cream the butter and sugar until smooth and creamy.

Beat in the eggs.

In another bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon.

Mix into the butter mixture until moistened.

Fold in the apples.

Stir in the walnuts, if desired.

Transfer to the prepared pans.

Bake for about 1 hour in 350 degree oven, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Cool in the pans for 15 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Makes 2 loaves

Mouthwatering delicious!

Be sure to visit my friend, Linda’s blog, @My Kind of Cooking for great tips and delicious easy recipes! 

Crispy Spicy Jicama Chips

It’s a “Mexican potato” that is in season year-round, looks like a turnip; has either tan, brown or gray skin, with a  crisp juicy, refreshing, slightly white, flesh on the inside, resembling an apple.   

It’s as easy as a potato to peel and I’ve discovered, it’s just as good roasted as it is raw.  It’s jicama ~ Spanish: hee-kah-mah.

Jicama is traditionally served raw, dunked in chili powder, lime and salt to boost its mild flavor; or in a salsa or salad.  I’ve only had jicama raw, in a salsa, so I had a big surprise when I bit into a slice of roasted jicama!

Photo credit:  Cooking Light

A friend, Yvonne, gave me this recipe and I’m glad she did.   Jicama is quick and easy to roast, and retains its crispy crunch and sweetness when it comes out of the oven.  Thinly slice it, dredge with a spicy mixture and roast it to a crunchy chip-like texture.  Roasted jicama is a great substitute for potato chips!  

Here are some jicama tips:

Choose jicama with smooth, thin unblemished skins, a slight shine is an indication of freshness.

Select small or medium tubers’ very large ones are often woody and bland and may have a fibrous layer under the skin that will have to be removed when peeling.

Refrigerate jicama in a paper bag (never in plastic) for up to 2 weeks.

Grate jicama to add to slaws, salsas, sandwiches and tacos.

Jicama is not loaded with nutrients, but is high in fiber, low in calories and sodium, and packed with Vitamin C and rich in potassium.

Diced jicama is excellent steamed or sautéed with other vegetables or added to soups, stews, and such.

Serve chunks of raw jicama with tropical fruits like mango, papaya and pineapple.

Jicama is considered as one of the four elements that are used for the “festival of dead”, which is celebrated by Mexicans on November 1^st every year. During this festival, “jicama dolls” are constructed from paper.

Here’s the recipe:

Spicy Jicama Chips

Printable recipe

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Peel 2 small jicamas and cut into paper-thin slices with a sharp knife.

Blot well with paper towel.

In a small bowl, mix together:

2 teaspoons olive oil

1 teaspoon chili powder

½ teaspoon garlic powder

½ teaspoon seasoned pepper

¼ teaspoon salt
 
Method:

Dredge jicama with chili powder mixture.

Spread evenly in baking pan sprayed with cooking spray.

Roast until edges are browned and crisp, about 20-25 minutes.

Serve with your favorite salsa.

ENJOY!!!

Be sure to visit my friend, Linda’s blog @My Kind ofCooking for great tips on Tuesday’s and good and easy recipes every Friday!

Black Bottoms

Vinegar in cupcakes?  You say, "why?"

Baking soda makes cupcakes rise; however, it only starts to work when it comes in contact with an acidic ingredient, such as buttermilk, lemon juice or vinegar.  Baking soda reacts with acidic ingredients to make bubbles that help the cake to rise.  It gives these cupcakes a deep flavor and you will not notice a hint of vinegar after they are baked.  

The sinful top of these cupcakes is so mouthwatering delicious that I’d actually just like to forget about the bottoms.  These little gems are made of a creamy cheesecake top layer filled with chocolate chips and a bottom chocolate cake-like layer ~ nice and rich and gooey when baked together!  

Half covered with that great top

They lack frosting which makes them great to carry since they won’t stick to anything and become messy.  Black bottoms are rich, moist and cheesy, what could taste better in a cupcake?

Black Bottoms

Ingredients for the cream cheese topping:

1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, room temperature

1 large egg

1/3 cup sugar

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 cup mini-chocolate chips

Ingredients for the cupcake bottom:

1½ cups flour

1 cup sugar

¼ cup unsweetened cocoa

1 teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

1 cup water

½ cup canola oil

1 teaspoon vinegar          

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Method:

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Line mini-muffin tins with paper liners.

In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese, egg, 1/3 cup of the sugar and ¼ teaspoon of salt in a large bowl until creamy.

Stir in chocolate chips.

In a second large bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa, baking soda, remaining cup of sugar and ½ teaspoon salt.  Add the oil, vinegar, vanilla and 1 cup water, and mix until fully incorporated.

Spoon enough of the chocolate batter into each cup so that they are filled halfway (about 2 level teaspoons each).  Top each with a rounded teaspoon of the cream cheese mixture, gently spreading it over the chocolate.

Bake until the cupcakes are puffed and barely golden, 15 to 20 minutes.

Makes 5 dozen

 They are over-the-top and bottom delicious!

Be sure to visit my friend, Linda’s blog @My Kind of Cooking for great tips on Tuesday’s and good and easy recipes every Friday!

Chocolate and Cappuccino Coffee Cake

So… you say you’re a chocolate addict and a coffee lover?  Then, there is no reason why you won’t like this coffee cake… 

But, even better, you adore a little coconut thrown in the mix?  Splendid!  A bite of this will surely put you on cloud nine!

Chocolate and Cappuccino Coffee Cake is made with a kitchen staple, “Bisquick.”  You know ~ that bright yellow box with the delicious looking pancakes on the front, that’s filled with baking mix.  I can’t say that I use it often but, it’s good to know it’s around and handy for quickly stirring up a fresh home- baked goodie. 

This coffee cake from Betty Crocker is easy to make and is a great sweet treat for breakfast or as a snack later in the day!

Chocolate and Cappuccino Coffee Cake

Ingredients:

1/3 cup flaked coconut
1/4 cup chopped pecans
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon butter or margarine, melted
2 cups Original Bisquick
2/3 cup milk or water
1/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted
1 egg
1/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips, melted
2 teaspoons powdered instant coffee (dry) 

Method:

Heat oven to 400ºF.

Grease square pan, 8x8x2 inches.

Mix coconut, nuts, 1/4 cup sugar and 1 tablespoon butter; set aside.
Beat remaining ingredients except chocolate chips and coffee in large bowl on low speed 30 seconds, scraping bowl constantly.

Beat on medium speed 4 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally.

Pour into pan.

Stir together chocolate and coffee; spoon over batter.

Lightly swirl chocolate mixture through batter several times with knife for marbled design.

Sprinkle coconut mixture evenly over top.
Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until light golden brown.

Serve warm.

ENJOY!!!

Be sure to visit my friend, Linda’s blog @My Kind of Cooking for great tips on Tuesday’s and good and easy recipes every Friday!

“Yummy ~ Not Pretty” Cookies for Valentine’s Day

You know those pretty little heart-shaped sugar cookies that are drizzled with chocolate that you bake for Valentine’s Day?  I was all ready to bake them until Bill went to the mailbox and came in the house with the March issue of “Food Network” magazine ~ the Chocolate issue!  

I’m not the resident chocolate addict, but I drooled my way through the magazine, and came to “The Way the Cookie Crumbles.”   It told me, “Choose your chocolate chip cookie style:  crispy, chewy or somewhere in between.”  “Chewy” got my attention!

I don’t bake cookies a lot any more like I used to, but when I do; it’s usually some variety of a chewy type cookie.  In my cookie baking experience, I know it can be hit or miss in making a cookie that claims to be “chewy;” only to have it turn out crunchy!  

So many variables:  baking time, whether the dough is chilled or not, etc.  These cookies live up to their description:   chewy, delicious and chock full of semi-sweet chocolate chips!

My chocolate chip cookies may not be as pretty as those dainty, beautifully decorated red, pink and white Valentine cookies, but I can tell you for a fact ~ they taste great!  Are you a crispy or chewy sort of person?

Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:

2¾ cups flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

2½ sticks unsalted butter, softened

1¾ cups packed dark brown sugar

¼ cup granulated sugar

2 large eggs, at room temperature

2 teaspoons vanilla

2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Method:

Sift the flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda together into a large bowl.

Beat butter and both sugars in a bowl with a mixer on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 4 minutes, or use a stand mixer.

Beat in eggs, one at a time, then beat in vanilla.

Reduce mixer speed to low.

Add flour mixture and beat until combined.

Stir in the chocolate chips by hand. 

Press plastic wrap directly onto the surface of the dough and refrigerate at least 1 hour or preferably overnight.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

Drop heaping tablespoonful’s of dough onto prepared baking sheets, about 2” apart on cookie sheet.

Use my cookie scoop and cookie sheets with ridges.

Bake until the cookies are golden around the edges but still soft in the middle, about 12 minutes.

Remove the cookies from oven and let cool 10 minutes on the baking sheets, then transfer to racks to cool completely.

Makes about 30 cookies

YUM!!!

Here’s wishing you all a Happy Valentine’s Day!!!