Chocolate Banana Chocolate Cookies

-if you like chocolate...-

alright - full disclosure here: i have not actually tasted these cookies myself. BUT the entire batch was easily eaten up, given a full thumbs-up by the taster and well, smelled absolutely amazing both before and after the oven. a friend of mine house / dog sat for me during my latest weekend trip down south for a quick visit . i promised her cookies and like always i had a leftover, extra extra - ok, totally shriveled and black - banana sitting on the counter. it was somewhere around midnight and i had an early morning flight but, ugh i promised! so um, throw in some chocolate, some more chocolate, a bit of sugar, an egg and some flour. at this point i didn't have time to let butter get to room temp so uhhh - oil? perfect! throw it in the oven, pack (yes i only "pack" for about 10 minutes: short attention spam), take out, let cool while i take a shower, put em away and head to bed happy with myself for delivering my promise (deliciously) in under 30 minutes. nice!

CHOCOLATE BANANA CHOCOLATE COOKIES

1/2c chopped bittersweet chocolate

1 1/4c AP flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/8 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1 very ripe banana

1/4c canola oil

1 tsp vanilla

1/2c sugar

1 egg

1/2c chopped white chocolate

3/4c chopped walnuts (optional)

*preheat oven to 400F, line baking pan w/ parchment

*over a double boiler, melt chopped bittersweet chocolate. take off heat & allow to cool slightly

* in bowl sift together flour, baking powder, soda & salt

*in a separate bowl mash the banana to very smooth. whisk in the oil, vanilla, sugar and egg

*add the flour mixture to the banana mixture, mix just to combine

*stir in the melted chocolate

*fold in the white chocolate and nuts if using

*bake for 12 minutes (makes about 12-14 cookies)

Birthdays and Cakes

-evidently i was very ready for that raggedy ann and andy cake, or a balloon-

1st birthdays are awesome. i can't say i remember mine, but i am sure that it was rockin' because well, my parents rock - thusly i rock - right? hmm. anyways mostly what i can remember are birthday parties held in my garage. yes i said garage, don't knock it until you've tried it. basically you get a bit of an indie-rocker feel to your party.

well anyways i love my birthday - so much so i made my mom give it to me a month early. i love my birthday not so much for the presents and attention - i don't really take either of those very well. i love my birthday because its always at the time of year when the weather finally gives in and gives us a break with some sun and warmth - maybe even a few flowers and some grass. life just seems better, or at least that its working towards that.

it seems that another little lady shares my birthday zone. Meet Harper Willow, April 1st 2009 only 26 years 362 days younger than me.

- miss Willow munching down on cake, a little more chill than me -

close enough. evidently she really like bananas and although they may not be my fruit of choice i am more than happy to comply with this fellow spring chick's wishes and provide one serious 1st birthday cake. there are 8 full bananas, roasted to perfection to really bring the fruits flavor to in your face status. the honey and cinnamon in the frosting is just enough to make you say m

mmm - warmth!

BANANA CAKE w/ HONEY CINNAMON FROSTING

8 ripe bananas, skin on

3c cake flour

1 1/2c sugar

2 tsp baking powder

2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

8oz butter, melted

4 eggs, slightly beaten

2 tsp vanilla

1c finely chopped pecans (for the sides of cake - optional, but pretty)

*preheat oven to 325F, lay bananas in a single layer on baking sheet. roast 15 minutes turning once until the skins are black.

*let the bananas cool then remove from skins and mash.

*turn oven to 350F, lightly grease (3) 9" cake pans

*sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder, soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg

*beat together the butter, eggs, vanilla and mashed bananas to an even consistency

*quickly combine the wet ingredients with the dry

*pour into prepared pans and cook for 30-35 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean

*let cool completely before icing

HONEY CINNAMON FROSTING

8oz butter, room temp

1tbs milk / water

2 1/2c powdered sugar

2tbs honey

1/2 tsp cinnamon

*beat the butter to light and fluffy

*beat in milk for a about 3 minutes

*add in cinnamon and honey, beat well to combine

*gradually add in the powdered sugar until you get the consistency you want

Banana Coconut & Carob Bread_vegan & GF

-taste the tropical goodness-

about every other week or so i am faced with the "dilemma" of what to do with numerous overly ripe bananas. i don't really eat bananas , unless baked into a delicious cake or muffin, what have you. so when the banana order arrives 9 to a bunch. leftovers are going to happen.

so this leaves quite the opportunity for a sugar sensitive, health conscious (to an extent) foodie freak like myself. the problem is; bananas can be used for anything. seriously. do a quick google search for banana recipes - you will be bombarded. at first they all seem to be the same - banana nut muffins, banana cream pie, banana chocolate chip bread.... yadda yadda. so anyways i ran into a recipe for banana's and coconut "bars" which made me think - yeah lets get tropical with this eh?

and here we have it - a healthy, vegan, low fat, gluten free, low GI little treat for your morning enjoyment!

BANANA COCONUT CARON BREAD (vegan, gluten free)

3 (very) ripe bananas

2 tbs molasses

1/3c unsweetened applesauce

1/4c agave

1/4c maple syrup

2c spelt flour

3/4 tsp baking powder

3/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

3/4c unsweetened shredded coconut flakes

1/2c carob chips

*preheat oven to 350F, grease an 8"x8" pan

*mash the bananas in a small bowl, add in molasses, applesauce, agave and maple syrup. Stir to combine

*in seperate bowl sift together the spelt, baking powder, baking soda and salt

*stir in the banana mixture, just to combine

*fold in coconut and carob chips

*pour into prepared pan

*cook for 45-50 minutes - until toothpick is clean

*let cool and slice.

Banana Date Monkey Ice Cream -Sugar Free_GF_Vegan

- kinda tastes like banana chocolate chip bread, but better-

since getting the ice cream maker i've been hard at work trying to recreate our favorite "usuals" - amongst these favorites is the infamous chunky monkey. that's right folks; everyone in the world loves ben & jerry's because of chunky monkey and half baked. you know i'm right - ok phish food is up there too.

aaaand you know i can't allow 3 cups of cream, half dozen yolks and cups of sugar to hang around in my freezer waiting to be turned into a clogged artery. what does she do then? well, first i do research. and i found a few recipes for banana coconut ice-cream which is what i based the final product off of. but most all called for an entire can of coconut milk, which really is fine, but take a quick look at the fat count on that. while good fats - still, lets keep it under control eh? so i kept some of the coconut milk but lightened it up with unsweetened almond milk.

i am in love with this ice-cream. there is no added sugar, no dairy and gluten free. if you want it creamery (after freezing it does get a little "icey") use all coconut milk, that should keep everything smooth and decadent.

BANANA DATE MONKEY ICE CREAM

5 very ripe bananas, cut into 1" slices

2 medjool dates, diced

2 tbs coconut oil (melted if needed)

1 tbs vanilla

1/2c coconut milk

1/4 tsp coconut extract

1 1/4c unsweetened almond milk

1/2c toasted chopped walnuts

1/2c chopped dark chocolate

*preheat oven to 375 F

*place bananas and dates in a 11 x 7 glass baking pan

*drizzle the oil and vanilla over the bananas

*bake for 45 minutes, until the bananas begin to caramelize - don't let them burn!

*removed from oven, let cool a bit

*blend the bananas and milks together in blender until very smooth

*add in the extracts

*chill the mixture for 3-4 hours

*make as directed by your icecream maker

*about 2 minutes before it is done churning add in the walnuts and chocolate

*enjoy!

Banana Cupcakes with Honey Cinnamon Frosting

once again we failed to finish off the bunch of 7 weekly bananas received in our standard grocery load. why is this so difficult? i'm not sure if josh isn't secretly abandoning the last 2-3 bananas on purpose as part of a cruel plan to see what baked goods i will transform the sweet mush into. well, if this is so i keep falling for it. i have a serious problem about throwing any kind of food item away. i will eat anything before tossing it in the trash, which now that i think of it - is not such a reasonable philosophy. usually if something is calling to be thrown in a trash can, you should not be consuming it. hm, ok well with that said...

the cupcakes are pretty close to perfect! the bananas give the added flavor, moisture and sweetness which means less fat and sugar. the addition of the warm spices make this a great fall-into-winter treat. i mean how many versions of pumpkin bread and chocolate mint can one person take during the holidays? give me some fruit please! we ate three of these cupcakes yesterday - yeah they are just that good. if you want you can double this recipe to get a full 12 (this makes 6)

BANANA CUPCAKES w/ HONEY CINNAMON FROSTING

3/4c AP flour

1/4c + 2tbs sugar

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/8 tsp salt

1/8 tsp cinnamon

1/8 tsp nutmeg

2oz butter, melted

3/4c mashed bananas (2 very ripe)

1 egg

1/2 tsp vanilla

*preheat oven to 350F, line muffin pan

*sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder, soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg

*in separate bowl lightly beat egg

*add egg, butter, vanilla and banana to flour mixture

*stir to just combine

*pour into prepared pan, cook 20 minutes until toothpick is clean

HONEY CINNAMON FROSTING

1/2c + 2tbs powdered sugar

2oz butter, room temp

1 1/2 tsp honey

1/8 tsp cinnamon

*cream all ingredients together until light and fluffy - about 5 minutes.

*** i ended up finely chopping walnuts and adding to the top - just to be fancy***

Gluten Free Banana Pecan Bread

i know - how many breads can one person make in a week?! well let me explain. I order most all of my groceries from an online grocer here in the city. you shop, they deliver the next day whenever you choose. sometimes they fubb up your order. nothing huge, but sometimes i'll get a conspicuous can of dog food or a yukon gold potato in place of a sweet potato - you get the picture. so this time around we received an extra bundle of bananas - which brought our total supply for the week to 12. this may seem plausible to a family of four - or someone who ate bananas everyday. but alas i don't eat them unless in baked goods and really only get them because it is one of the only fruits josh will eat without a coating of butter and sugar.

alright so lets make some baked goods! first off is this great gluten-free banana bread. i love it. high in protein and fiber, low in sugar. its the perfect way to start your day - woohoo!

I used ghee in this which is an kind of cultured butter. a friend of mine from india loaned me a bit of it awhile back after i quizzed him on its uses, etc ect. But, understandably if you do not have ghee on hand just go ahead a use coconut oil in its place. ghee gives an incredibly rich "depth of flavor" to this bread that you just can't beat.

GLUTEN-FREE BANANA PECAN BREAD

3 small - medium bananas, mashed

4 large eggs

1/2c honey

3 tbs melted ghee / coconut oil

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4c arrowroot

1/2c coconut flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

1c chopped pecans

*preheat oven to 350F, grease your loaf pan

*whisk together the eggs, honey, ghee/oil & mashed bananas

*in separate bowl sift together the salt, cinnamon, arrowroot, coconut, soda & baking powder

*pour the egg mixture into the dry, mix to combine

*fold in the pecans

*pour into prepared pan and cook for 50 minutes

Chocolate Banana Nut Cookies

like usual we can never finish off the last banana in the bunch so it just sits on the counter, taking up space, growing more and more spotted and unappetizing in appearance. perfect - make cookies. these are fun - next time i will switch out the butter with coconut oil and put in additional chocolate chips just to amp them up a bit. but they are a simple little snack as they are.

CHOCOLATE BANANA NUT COOKIES

1/2c semi-sweet chocolate, chopped, melted and cooled for 10 minutes

1/2 sugar

1/4c butter

1 medium banana, mashed

1 egg

1/2 tsp vanilla

1c + 2 tbs flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/4c chopped walnuts or pecans

*preheat oven to 375F

*cream together the butter and sugar to light and fluffy

*beat in egg, then vanilla and melted chocolate

*in separate bowl sift together the dry ingredients

*stir in the dry ingredients into the egg mixture

*fold in the nuts

*drop heaping tsp of batter onto cookie sheet

*cook 8-10 minutes

PEAR WALNUT CRUMBLE MUFFIN

josh, if left to himself would eat coco-puffs for breakfast. i kid you not, ok maybe he would settle with some cinnamon toast crunch. both of which have basically no nutritional value. how can someone start their day with that? so every now and again i venture and make him some muffins for saturday morning breakfast. and when i do i try my hardest to cram as much fresh fruit and nuts in these little guys as possible. its one of my only chances to get fruit into his diet.

like banana bread you should opt for very ripe bananas for the maximum sweetness and taste - same with the pears. who wants to bite into a unripe pear? yick! pears should not have the same consistency as apples people! go for the ones that are more like a peach - a ripe one of-course. enough of my preaching... eat ya breakfast!

PEAR WALNUT CRUMBLE MUFFINS

1 pear, finely diced

3 tbs brown sugar

3 tbs sugar

3 tbs vegetable oil

1 banana, mashed

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

1 tbs milk

1c flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/8 tsp ginger

1/8 tsp salt

1/3 c chopped walnuts

* preheat oven to 350 F and line muffin pan

*toss the pear, brown sugar and regular sugar together to coat

* beat together the mashed banana, oil, vanilla, milk and egg

* sift together in a separate bowl the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and salt

* slowly add the flour mixture to the banana mixture. stir just to combine.

* fold in the pears and walnuts

* spoon into your prepared muffin pan.

* make crumble:

CRUMBLE

2 1/2 tbs brown sugar

3 tbs chopped walnuts

2 tbs flour

1 tbs cold butter, cubed

1/2 tsp cinnamon

*combine sugar, walnuts, flour and cinnamon

*with your hands cut in the butter into the walnut mixture. mix until it has a nice evenly crumbly texture.

* spoon even amount on top of your muffin batter filled pan

* cook muffins for 25 minutes.