bananas

Cookie Butter Banana Nut Muffins

March 14, 2013 · by Becca Heflin · 2 Comments

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Did you know that today is National Potato Chip Day? Me neither, hence the reason for today's post having absolutely nothing to do with potato chips. Or potatoes. Or chips, for that matter. IMHO, I don't think potato chips deserve their own national holiday anyway. Why take an every day treat and put it up on pedestal for the nation to rotate around for 24 hours? Savor those holidays for special things...like bacon. Oh, and Dairy Queen Dilly Bars. And COOKIE BUTTER!

Seriously! Have you seen this wonder spread? Forget sight... have you TASTED this stuff?! Aye carumba, Speculoos! What the heck is Speculoos, anyway? Oh, who the heck cares. It tastes like creamy gingerbread and butter all smoothed up fancy and delicious. Since the flavor of gingerbread tends to create moaning noises from my mouth, you can trust me when I say that this stuff is WAY WAY better than peanut butter, and I might even dare say that it's better than Nutella!! *gasp*

I'm relatively certain that there's yet another pair of stretchy pants with my name on them if I continue eating this stuff, but until I get the "all good things in moderation" routine down, I'll risk snapping my elastic for these muffins.

I've always been a fan of banana bread and I love the comforting, warm flavors of gingerbread, so combining the two seemed like the perfect pairing to me. What's that? You love me? Aww, thanks. I love you right back.

I was going to make this recipe in the traditional loaf form, but I'd been itching for a recipe to try out in my new Individual Serving stoneware from The Pampered Chef. Good gravy, I adore their products! The stoneware pieces in particular. They work very much like cast iron. The more you use them, the more seasoned and non-stick they become. I don't even have to tell you how simple they are to clean up. Hot water and dish rag, meet my stoneware. Rub, rinse, done. If you think I'm kidding, I'm totally not. I've got information galore on the products and a link to order them over on my Facebook page.

If I have a regret at all ab0ut using the stoneware for this recipe, it's that there are only 6 wells. 6 LARGE wells, though! These are some jumbo muffins, Lovely. Easily share-able...if you're willing to part with some of this yummiliciousness.

Want to see the recipe? Cool beans. Put on your apron and I'll meet you in the kitchen. Let's hook you up!

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Filed Under: BAKING, muffins, recipes · Tagged: banana bread, bananas, cookie butter, muffins, recipe, Trader Joes

Chunky Monkey Bars

May 27, 2012 · by Becca Heflin · 7 Comments

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Earlier this morning, I posted my weekly Sundays with Joy recipe for Vegan Chocolate Banana Cupcakes. If you haven't taken a peek yet, please do so.

I'm sorry. I caved under peer pressure and published TWO blog posts on the same day.

No....I take that back. I'm NOT sorry. This is a recipe that I created off the top of my head yesterday, and a group of my fans over on the It's Yummilicious Facebook page asked me to get the recipe posted today. So here it is. I'm really rather proud of it, and I think that if you make it, you'll agree that it's worth buying a pair of stretchy pants for.

I was in the mood to make something peanut buttery, but beyond the basic peanut butter cookie. I thought about making some buckeye cookies, but I was too hot and lazy to be bothered with rolling a bunch of cutsie peanut butter dough balls and then dunking them into melted chocolate. Then I realized that I had a couple of bananas that were aching to be eaten, and I'm a big fan of combining those two flavors PB&B sammies were one of favorites as a kid. But the fact remained that I still wanted to incorporate chocolate into my dessert too. After all, if I was going to gorge myself and gain weight, chocolate needed to be involved. It's one of the Yummilicious food commandments.

Thou shalt consume chocolate and bacon as often as humanly possible.

For those of you who aren't yet versed in the Yummilicious commandments, the next one is quite similar:

Thou shalt encourage chocolate consumption among thy brothers and sisters.

So now that you understand why I HAD to share this recipe today, please do me the honor of making a pan full for someone you love this week. Even (and especially!) if that person you love is you. :)

Chunky Monkey Bars

Created By:

Chef Becca Heflin

Recipe Category: Dessert

Cuisine: Bars / Cookies

Serves: 24

WHAT'S NEEDED

8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted
11.5 ounces (1 box) Whole Grain Peanut Butter Cheerios
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 large bananas, sliced into 1/4 inch thick slices
2 cups (12-ounce package) semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate chips (I used Nestle semi-sweet)
1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup cashew pieces, finely chopped (I pulsed mine in a food processor)

HOW TO MAKE IT

Heat oven to 350 degrees F. (325 if using a convection oven)
Place the cereal into the bowl of a food processor and pulse until it turns to crumbs. Pour melted butter over the crumbs and pulse to combine.
Reserve approximately 1/2 cup of crumbs and press the remaining crumbs into the bottom of a 13 x 9 inch baking pan. Bake the crust for 8 minutes and remove from oven. Let cool slightly (about 5 minutes).
Meanwhile, melt all but 1/2 cup of the chocolate chips and the sweetened condensed milk together in a heavy saucepan over low heat. Stir occasionally until the mixture is smooth and glossy. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla extract.
Arrange the sliced bananas across the bottom of the crust. Pour the chocolate mixture over the top of the bananas and spread to cover as much surface area as possible. Combine the remaining 1/2 cup of crumbs, 1/2 cup of chips, and the chopped nuts together and sprinkle over the chocolate filling.
Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the center is set. Cool in pan before slicing and serving.

IMPORTANT STUFF

Yield: 24 bars

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Filed Under: BAKING, chocolate, recipes · Tagged: bananas, cheerios, chocolate, chunky monkey, peanut butter, recipes

Bad Baking Adventures – The Case of the Flours

May 24, 2012 · by Becca Heflin · 1 Comment

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In this episode of Becca's bad baking adventures, we learn that even good bakers can go bad!

SCENE OF THE CRIME: The Yummilicious kitchen; Appleton, Wisconsin
DATE and TIME OF THE INCIDENT: May 24, 2012; 10:15am

CRIME COMMITTED: AGGRAVATED ASSAULT OF A BEAUTIFUL, HARMLESS MUFFIN

EXHIBIT A: Wonderfully moist, beautifully risen, yummilicious banana muffins

Photo Credit: TheKitchenMagpie.com

EXHIBIT B: Becca's bad banana chocolate chip muffins

Where are the chocolate chips, you ask? HIDING AT THE BOTTOM!

Details of the crime are sketchy and pending investigation, but preliminary details show that the assailant used neglect in her choice of baking ingredients. Her decision to substitute whole wheat pastry flour for all-purpose flour yielded far too little gluten structure to keep the victim stable, especially under direct heat of an oven. While the alleged assailant meant well, hoping to create a healthier version of said muffin, the result left the muffin fluffy yet flat, aching to be arisen from it's deep slumber in the cavities of the muffin pan.

We'll bring you more details as they become evident and are substantiated. Thank you for tuning in. We now return you to your regularly scheduled programming.

Filed Under: BAKING, Cooking Tips, Humor · Tagged: bananas, chocolate chips, cooking tips, cupcakes, muffins

Starting Things Right – Banana Walnut Oatmeal with Nutella

January 2, 2012 · by Becca Heflin · 2 Comments

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I've always been a believer in the policy "all good things in moderation". Now if you're thinking that I'm a girl who consistently walks the walk AND talks the talk, I'm afraid I need to give you a serious reality check…I'm a horrible walker. I do have great intentions, though. Occasionally, I even succeed. Like this morning. I set a goal to be lazy and stay in bed until 9:00am. SCORE ONE FOR BOO!

One of my 2012 intentions is to get healthier, but I'm truly tired of making promises that I can't keep, so I plan to be more realistic with my goals this year. I'm what some might call "damaged goods". I'll be 48 years old in just a couple of weeks, yet on most days, I feel 65. I have a physical illness and an emotional illness, both of which have taken their toll on my body. At the moment, I barely have the physical strength to climb the flight of stairs in my apartment, but I definitely have the motivation to add some version exercise into my daily routine. I just graduated with a culinary degree, so I definitely know the ins and outs of good nutrition. Putting that knowledge into action in my eating plan will be my next challenge.

I faced the platform of death bathroom scale this morning for the first time in a year. I walked in there with great intentions of being happy despite the results that flashed in front of my eyes. In the words of someone very intelligent who likely weighs in at 110 pounds and looks like a Barbie doll, "Intentions are like loads of dirty laundry…We all have 'em and some of them really stink!" The red LED on my scale flashed a number so high that I instantly bawled like a baby and threw cotton balls at myself in the mirror. It was one of those times that I bet my mirror was grateful there were no sharp or heavy objects within my reach.

So here I go…Day one of living healthier. This year, I want to enrich my mind, feel a little better, and eat healthier. However, I've decided that I will have a much higher rate of success if I don't completely deprive myself of some of the things I love to eat. I'll just eat them in moderation. If you'd like to join me, please feel free. I'll be posting a lot of recipes this year… both healthy and indulgent. Regardless of the recipe, I'm going to start incorporating nutritional information with most of my recipes. It's a very time consuming process, but I think it's worth having the information so that decisions can be made about whether or not to splurge and if so, in what quantity.

So without further ado, it's time for some breakfast! I created this recipe this morning, while trying to figure out how to simultaneously fulfill my hunger and craving for something sweet.

You've likely heard me profess my love for Nutella many times on this blog. It's a creamy nut butter that's made from hazelnuts and cocoa powder. Pure love….pure genius on the part of the Ferrero Company. I can't think of a better treat to add to a bowl of healthy oatmeal. It added a creamy richness and a bit of sweetness that made me feel that I was truly indulging. What's better than that is the fact that it really didn't result in being overly caloric as I thought it might be. I was pleasantly surprised! Please try this and let me know what you think of it! Here's to yummilicious eating!

Banana Walnut Oatmeal with Nutella

Rating: 51

5 minutes

Total Time: 10 minutes

2 servings

Serving Size: 1 cup cooked (8 oz.)

463

14g

Banana Walnut Oatmeal with Nutella

Healthy oatmeal is turned into an indulgent breakfast treat with the addition of banana, crunchy walnuts, and a touch of hazelnut spread.

WHAT YOU\'LL NEED

1-1/2 cups milk
1/4 tsp. kosher salt
1 cup rolled oats (old-fashioned or instant)
1 Tablespoon chocolate hazelnut spread (such as Nutella)
1 medium banana (6-7 inches)
1 ounce (2 Tablespoons) toasted walnuts**
1 ounce (2 Tablespoons) firmly-packed light brown sugar

HOW TO MAKE IT

In a medium saucepan, heat milk and salt over medium heat just until it comes to a boil. Reduce heat to low and stir in the oatmeal.

Cook, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes, until most of the milk is absorbed. (If you use quick-coating oatmeal instead, it will take about 1 minute to cook.)

Remove from the heat and stir in the Nutella.

Spoon the oatmeal into bowls and top with sliced bananas, walnuts and brown sugar.

Notes

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION (per serving) Serving size: 8 oz. (1 cup)

Calories: 463 Total Fat: 14g Saturated Fat: 2g Total Carbohydrates: 72g Sodium: 196mg Sugars: 36g Fiber: 6g Protein: 15g

** To reduce the calories and fat, you can omit the walnuts. If so, subtract: 92 calories 9g fat (1g saturated) 2g carbohydrates 1g fiber 2g protein

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Filed Under: 5 ingredient dishes, Healthy Foods, Nutella, recipes · Tagged: bananas, breakfast, diet, healthy eating, Nutella, oatmeal, walnuts

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

August 20, 2011 · by · 6 Comments

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This post is dedicated to a wonderful friend from my high school days... Jackie. I'd like to make it public record that I did not use the phrase that first popped into my head... "a dear old high school friend".... because I refuse to use the words "old" and "friend" in the same sentence! We are eternally 29, girls!

There are many things I love about this recipe. It's a great way to use up over ripened bananas, it's a great "grab and go" treat, it's packed with good-for-you things like potassium and protein, and it's a recipe that can be made in ONE BOWL! The fewer dishes there are to wash, the happier I am. Oh, and hello... there's CHOCOLATE in it! I can't imagine anything that would taste bad with a little chocolate added to it. Except maybe lima beans. They're just nasty in any form.

I've baked and tasted countless banana bread recipes over the years, but I think this one tops my list. The bread has a wonderful and beautiful crumb / consistency, and the addition of the peanut butter gives it a depth of flavor and rich taste that you don't find with traditional banana bread. The addition of the chocolate chips puts a kick into the presentation of this bread....and gives you one more reason to love chocolate (if you needed one.)

I hope you try this recipe and find it as yummilicious as I did.

PEANUT BUTTER CHOCOLATE CHIP BANANA BREAD

Adapted from a recipe by Simply Recipes

INGREDIENTS

3 or 4 ripe bananas, smashed
1/3 cup melted UNSALTED butter (if using salted butter, omit salt from ingredient list)
3/4 cup cane (white) sugar
1/3 cup creamy peanut butter
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon baking soda
Pinch of salt
1 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour
3/4 cup semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate chips

METHOD

No need for a mixer for this recipe! Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
In a large mixing bowl, using a wooden spoon or whisk, mix butter into the mashed bananas.
Add peanut butter and stir until combined.
Mix in the sugar, egg, and vanilla.
Sprinkle the baking soda and salt over the mixture and mix in.
Add the flour last, mixing just until combined (all lumps of flour should be incorporated), but avoid over mixing, which produces a tough, rubbery bread.
Pour mixture into a buttered 4x8 inch loaf pan and sprinkle the chocolate chips over the top of the loaf.
Bake for 50-60 minutes, or until a toothpick or wooden skewer inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean.
Cool on a rack. Remove from pan and slice to serve.

Makes one loaf.