Cinnamon-Sugar Chocolate Banana Bread

It must be winter cause all I want to do is carb-filled sweets, get fat and hibernate until Spring comes again.

I must admit that this recipe is not my own... a friend directed me to it here.

But Dave and I made it tonight. And we are about to dive in. I don't think we will have any problem consuming A LOT of it.


Cinnamon-Sugar Banana Bread

3 very ripe bananas (the size doesn’t much matter; medium to large works)
2 large eggs
1 ½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

For topping:
2 Tbsp. granulated sugar
1/8 tsp. ground cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Butter or spray an 8-inch square pan.

In a medium mixing bowl, mash the bananas well with a fork or potato masher. Add the eggs, and stir well to combine. Add the flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, and vanilla, and stir to mix. Add ¾ cup of the chocolate chips, and stir briefly. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, and set aside.

In a small bowl, stir together the topping ingredients. Sprinkle the mixture evenly over the batter in the pan, and top with the remaining ¼ cup chocolate chips.

Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cool in the pan on a wire rack for at least 15 minutes before serving.


P.S. Yep.... it was delicious...


... that giant missing chunk from the middle? Eaten by the 2 of us in one sitting. Hooray for winter poundage!

Chocolate Chip Scones

This is a lovely scone that is made all of the time for our company. It is fabulous with coffee and people always feel special that you have made this just for them! When I am having a particularly hard day I make it for myself:) Enjoy it. You can also make it with any number of things other than chocolate chips! R


Mix dry ingredients
2 Cups Flour
3 tbls Sugar
1 tbls Baking Powder
1/2 tsp salt
Take 1/2 cup butter and squish it in to the dry ingredients until most of the butter is mixed in to dry.
Mix wet ingredients
1/2 cup milk
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
Mix in to dry
Add 3/4 cups of mini chocolate chips
Mix till dough hardens a bit
Flatten out in to a circle
Cut in to 8-12 triangles
Place on non-stick pan 17-22 min at 350 degrees
Check them at 15 minutes...when bottom of scone begins to lightly brown. Take out. Best served warm...

only delicious

I love baking. I looooooooooooooooove baking for other people. This is good when the bakee is delicious and well-tested, not so good when it's a first try sort of situation. (i.e. don't bake a new, untasted cake for a dear friend's going away party that looks fabulously canadian, but is too icky-sweet to even enjoy. bah.) Anyway, I'm about to share with you the easiest and most delicious peanut butter cookie recipe you've ever had. People will fall at your feet in adoration when you feed them these cookies. They will clap their hands and cry, "More, MORE, MORE!" They will clamor for the recipe, and you will smile down upon them and, well, give it to them if you wanted to. Anyway, it's really good. And really simple. So I'm sharing it with you. Because I love you. And it was Valentine's Day a couple of hours ago. And I can't sleep. Which accounts for the rambling.

Here you go:

1/2 cup Peanut Butter (NOT Skippy, Bouncey, or any of that weird stuff. The natural kind. That you have to stir. I like Trader Joe's Crunchy Salted, but the unsalted and creamy versions work just as well. Be sure to add a pinch of salt if you use the unsalted kind.
1/2 cup Butter, softened (When baking, use unsalted butter unless otherwise stated. It gives you so much more flavor control.)
1/2 cup White Sugar, plus 1/4 cup for rolling
1/2 cup Packed Brown Sugar
1 Egg
1 teaspoon Vanilla
1/2 teaspoon Baking Powder
1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda
1 1/4 cup Flour
1 cup or so of Chocolate Chunks or Chips (Semi-Sweet or Dark are best.)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Put 1/4 cup of white sugar in a bowl. Set aside.
In a large bowl, blend Peanut Butter and Butter on high for 30 seconds. Mix in Sugars, Egg, and Vanilla. Blend well. Mix in Baking Powder and Baking Soda. Add flour slowly, making sure that it blends completely, scraping sides of the bowl when necessary. Fold in Chocolate chunks.
Shape a small spoonful of dough into a ball by rolling between your palms. It should be about the size of a shooter marble or walnut shell. Gently roll the ball in the sugar that has been set aside, lightly coating on all sides. Set cookie on baking sheet. Repeat until sheet is full.
Taking a fork, gently press tines into the top of the dough in an "X" pattern. Be sure not to smash your cookies, or they will turn out too flat.
Bake for 8-10 minutes, depending on your oven. Mine usually takes about 12-14 minutes. Just look for the golden edge on the bottom of the cookie, and pull it out when it looks done. Try not to overbake them or they will get all crunchy.
Allow to cool for a few minutes before devouring the test one that "broke."

Share. Enjoy. And seriously, you will love these guys. At least I do.