Bananarama

I have some banana facts for you. A bunch of bananas is called a hand, and each banana is called a finger! D'aw. And apparently bananas are slightly radioactive, because of all the potassium. Don't worry, you won't die from it, unless you shoot the potassium directly into your brain. And why would anyone do that? 

I don't think I'll ever get sick of banana bread. But I wanted to try a different way to use up all my speckly fruit fingers. Banana...scones? Mm, seems like a lot of work. Banana...pudding? No milk. Banana...cookies!

Banana oatmeal cookies, to be exact. Man are these ever good. And moderately healthy! What's great about this recipe is that it's super adaptable. Mix ins like nuts or chocolate are encouraged, and using  applesauce or...more bananas instead of butter makes them vegan. And just using a different kind of flour could potentially make them gluten free. Hooray! Also, the riper your bananas are, the sweeter they get. So you can play around with the amount of sugar as well.

On a side note...I have a new found love for steamed milk. These taste good dipped in it. Nom.

Bow down to the king of cookie mountain. 

Very Versatile Banana Oatmeal Cookies

adapted from All Recipes

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 3/4 cup butter
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 cup mashed bananas
• 1 3/4 cups quick cooking oats

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
2. Sift together the flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon.
3. Cream together the butter and sugar; beat until light and fluffy. Add egg, banana, oatmeal and nuts. Mix well.
4. Add dry ingredients, mix well and drop by the teaspoon on ungreased cookie sheet.
5. Bake for 10ish minutes or until edges turn lightly brown. Cool on wire rack. Store in a closed container. You'll get about 36 cookies if you don't burn one tray beyond recognition like I did. 

Yucky

Oh hi there. I've not been feeling very inspired lately. I don't have as much space or time or supplies to accomplish all the kitchen experimentation I've been craving. Especially since I just got 杉野英実(Hidemi Sugino)'s The Dessert Book in the mail from Japan. Swoon. 

I guess I got desperate? I wanted to make something weird and out there...and came out with salted truffle cookies. Which really isn't that weird and out there at all. But bleh! Yucky! Too much salt! What was I thinking? I'm upset with myself for wasting a bag of chocolate chips.

Look at those big salt crystals. What a fool I am. Moral of the story? It's okay to stick to the basics? Don't bake if you're in a weird mood (nah, weird moods are the best to bake in). Anyway, these cookies would be totally edible without the sea salt on top. They'd probably  be good, actually. So learn from my mistakes.

Oh, and I might try something new on this here blog in the near future. So be on the lookout for that ^__^

Salty Chocolate Cookies

adapted from Ghiradelli

• 1/4 cup all purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips, for melting
• 2 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips, for mixing into the prepared cookie dough
• 2 -3 tablespoons coarse sea salt (DON'T DO IT!!!)

In a heatproof bowl over a double boiler, melt chocolate and butter until smooth. Turn off the stove and let chocolate sit over warm water. Combine flour, baking powder and salt and mix to combine. In another bowl, mix together sugar and eggs, combine thoroughly with a whisk and slowly add the warm chocolate mixture. Stir to combine. Add vanilla extract and mix. Stir in flour mixture. Cool for a few minutes (if batter is warm, chocolate chips will melt). Stir in chocolate chips. Chill for 10-15 minutes.

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Scoop rounded tablespoons of batter and place on baking tray. Sprinkle each cookie lightly with a pinch of sea salt (NOOO!). Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 7-8 minutes until the outside looks slightly cracked. Be very careful not to over bake cookies because they will continue to bake as they cool once removed from the oven. Cookies should be soft and gooey in the center.

Halfway Bars + Riding in Elevators

I spend a lot of time riding in elevators. Not because I'm some sort of elevator enthusiast, more so because I live on the 7th floor of my dorm and I'm not dedicated enough to go up all those stairs. What's so fascinating about these somewhat claustrophobic spaces? Why are there lists and lists of weird things to do in elevators?

You meet a lot of characters in the elevator. As I rode up to my room last weekend after hanging out with friends, I was accompanied by a very happy looking girl and her male companion.

      "Can you just hit seve-oh. Okay," I stammered as the girl leaned against the wall and pushed all the buttons.

     "Really sorry," the guy apologized as he reprimanded the girl, the way a parent would to a small child. After a moment of painful silence, he spoke again.

     "Hey, do you know there are ghosts on this campus?" he said mischievously. The tipsy girl stared at him in shock and began to wail.

     "Why would you SAY that? Oh my gosh, I'm SO afraid of ghosts!" We spent the rest of the mercifully short ride in silence, the girl crouched in the corner behind the guy.

I'm so glad I was carrying a plate of cookie remains. It gave me something to busy my hands with so I wouldn't have to wring them in anguish, hoping the girl wouldn't puke or pass out. In my humble opinion, baking is a far superior alternative to partying. And these halfway bars were excellent. A shortbread crust is topped with chocolate chips and brown sugar meringue. Yay for textures and toasty marshmallow! Have a safe Halloween all you crazy college kids.

Halfway Bars

adapted slightly from Cast Sugar 

Ingredients:

2 c. flour

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 c. butter, at room temperature

1/2 c. granulated sugar

1 1/2 c. brown sugar, separated

2 eggs, separated

1 Tbsp. water

7oz. milk or bittersweet chocolate, chopped into chunks/bits

Preheat oven to 350 F. Sift together flour, salt, soda, and baking powder in a medium-sized bowl. Set aside.

In a large bowl, beat together the butter, granulated sugar, 1/2 cup brown sugar, beaten egg yolks, water, and vanilla. Add flour mixture. Spread in greased oblong pan, and sprinkle chocolate bits on top of this mixture.

Beat egg whites and mix with 1 cup brown sugar, to soft peak stage. Spread thinly on top of chocolate bits and cover completely with waxed paper, having it touch the egg-white mixture. Bake at 350 F for 20 to 25 minutes. Cut into squares when cooled

Secret Recipe Club: Lentil Soup

Yay, it's Secret Recipe Club time again! This month I was assigned to GeorgieCakes. She's Greek, but currently resides in the US, so her blog is full of Greek recipes. Check her out ^_^

Guess what I wear as a hat?

Since I haven't done something savory for a while, I decided to check out the lentil soup recipe. I considered baklava, but I was afraid. Maybe some other time. Soup is quick, tasty, and something I can make my family for dinner. I'm not sure why I like lentil soup, it's mushy and brown with somewhat unidentifiable ingredients. Usually turned off by that sort of thing. But I'm not. Ah, the great mysteries of my life. 

I decided to leave out the roasted garlic, for two reasons. 1. The family's not a huge fan of the taste and 2. I was too lazy to roast a head of garlic. If you like it, go for it! Joy the Baker does a great post on how to do it. Also, you'll probably want to add more than 4 cups of stock. Mine absorbed the liquid really quickly.

Lentil Soup

adapted from GeorgieCakes

2 Cups of Lentils

2 Cups of water

1 Tablespoon garlic powder

1 Medium Onion

3-4 cloves Garlic

2 Bay Leaves

3 Stalks of Celery

3 Carrots

¼ Teaspoon Salt

¼ Teaspoon Pepper

4 Cups Chicken Stock (I had equal parts stock and water. Lower sodium, y'know)

2 Tablespoon of Olive Oil

In a sauce pan combine water, lentils and garlic powder. Bring to a boil, drain and set aside. In your stockpot add olive oil, salt, pepper, heat for 2 minutes, then add chopped onions and crushed garlic, browning for 10 minutes. Prepare the celery and carrots by cutting into small pieces, add to stock pot to sear along with olive oil, onions and garlic for 5 minutes.

Take the lentils (do not rinse) add to stock pot, allow to heat with  vegetables and oil for 2 to 3 minutes so lentils absorb all the flavors. Finally add the chicken stock mixing all the ingredients, simmer for 45 minutes and serve.

Pink Snowball Cake

Not really sure if I've made this clear, but I'm not really a pink girl. AS a kid I was a proud tomboy, often the only female at boy birthday parties and a fierce rejector of dresses. Heck, I once told the neighbor kid to punch me in the stomach just to prove how strong I was. Yep. 

I've definitely toned it down since then, but I still feel more at ease around males compared to females, get pretty tuckered out by shopping excursions, and would much rather play video games than watch something with the word Liar, Gossip or Vampire in the title. I'm gonna stop now before I make any more stereotypes, haha. 

Point I'm trying to make is...I made a pink, fluffy, girly cake and you should be surprised. It's pretty, and totally not my original idea. Sprinkle Bakes is a total genius and makes me want to be fancy and bake pink things. And that is something to be impressed with.

 Pink Snowball Cake

by Sprinkle Bakes

(This cake is modeled after those Hostess Snoball thingies you can buy at convenience stores. Mine didn't turn out as hemisphery looking as I wanted, so I'd recommend using a 2 qt bowl, nothing larger)

 Cake

6 tbsp. cocoa

6 tbsp hot water

1 ½ cups flour

½ tsp baking soda

½ tsp baking powder

½ tsp salt

1 ½ sticks unsalted butter (12 tbsp)

1 cup plus 1 tbsp sugar

2 large eggs

2 tsp. vanilla

½ cup sour cream

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Grease a 2 quart heat-proof bowl (stainless or pyrex) with shortening and lightly flour. Set aside.
Whisk together cocoa and hot water.  In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.

Melt butter with sugar in a saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring to combine. Remove from heat, and pour mixture into a mixing bowl. Beat with an electric hand mixer until mixture has cooled enough to add the eggs without scrambling them.

Add eggs, vanilla, and then cocoa mixture.  Beat until well combined.  Reduce mixer speed and add flour mixture in two batches, alternating with the sour cream.

Pour into greased bowl and bake for 60-70 minutes, or until a toothpick tester comes out clean.  Let cool slightly. Run a knife around the edge of the cake, then turn out onto a cake stand or serving tray lined with wax paper strips. Let cool completely.  Cut the dome of the cake off about 1/3 of the way down from the top.  With your fingers, press to make an indentation in the middle of the base of the cake.  This will make room for the marshmallow filling without wasting any cake.

 1 lb unsalted butter, softened
1 16 oz. jar marshmallow cream
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1 generous cup sweetened flaked coconut 

 Pink soft gel food color

In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat butter until fluffy.  Add marshmallow cream and beat again, scraping down the sides and bottom of bowl as needed.  When thoroughly combined, remove 1 cup of the white mixture and place in the center of the cut cake.  Place the top of the cake over the marshmallow center and line up the edges as best as possible.

Add the 1 cup of confectioners' sugar to the remaining frosting.  Mix well. Use a small dab of pink food coloring to tint the frosting pastel pink.  Make sure to scrape down the sides and bottom of bowl so no white streaks remain.  Frost cake with an offset spatula. 

In a medium bowl, tint coconut with a drop of pink gel food coloring.  Mix well - you can use a fork but I found my fingers did a much better job.  Coat frosted cake with pink coconut.  Remove wax paper strips from underneath the cake and tidy up the serving plate edges if coconut remnants are present.