Banana and Peanut Butter Bread

Have you ever had a banana and peanut butter sandwich? Did you know it was a favorite of Elvis Presley's?? I have never had that type of sandwich, but the hubby said he used to eat them when he was little. The most unusual sandwich I eat on a semi-regular basis is liverwurst and pickles :)  There are other banana bread recipes on this blog, but none that have peanut butter in it. While baking, the peanut butter baking chips kind of melt a little - one word - DELICIOUS!!  I guess Elvis was onto something mixing banana and peanut butter together - it is a really great combination!!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 cup white sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups white flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup mashed bananas (about 3 large)
1/2 cup sour cream
1 cup peanut butter baking chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray a 1 1/2 quart loaf pan with non-stick cooking spray.  In large bowl, mix all ingredients (except the peanut butter baking chips) together with large spoon or with electric mixer until smooth (it's okay if there are a few larger pieces of banana).  Stir in peanut butter baking chips with large spoon until well combined.  Pour into loaf pan and bake for 1 hour and 10 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the loaf comes out clean. Remove from oven and let cool about 20 minutes and then remove to wire rack to continue cooling.

Oatmeal No Bake Scotchies

Where I live, the weather seemed to go from winter to summer overnight! When it's already really warm in your house, do you really feel like turning the oven on to bake cookies? I know I don't! I had a good friend recently send me some recipes for no bake cookies. Today, I decided to give one of the recipes a "test drive."  I changed the proportions of the ingredients and the end result was absolutely decadent!  Be forewarned, these are super duper rich. Trust me, half of one of these will satisfy your taste for something sweet :) I don't even think that I would qualify these as cookies - I think they taste more like candy!

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups white sugar
1/2 cup white milk
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups butterscotch morsels/chips
3 1/2 cups quick oatmeal (not instant)

Place paper liners in a 12-cup cupcake tin and set aside.  In large saucepan, bring sugar, milk and butter to a boil.  Turn the heat down slightly and continue to boil for one full minute, stirring constantly with large spoon.  Remove from heat and add vanilla and butterscotch morsels/chips. Stir constantly for one more minute until all the morsels/chips are melted. Add the oatmeal and combine thoroughly.  Pour batter evenly into the paper liners.  Put in refrigerator for at least one hour or until firm.  Makes 12.  These must be stored in the fridge, not at room temperature.

Momma's Oatmeal Cookies

This oatmeal cookie recipe came from my mother-in-law.  I found it a few months ago on a handwritten piece of paper, but hadn't had a chance to make them until last night.  I had always called my mother-in-law,  "Umba" which was a nickname my stepson gave her a really long time ago.  I can probably count on one hand how many times I called her by her given name, Cecelia!  A few years before she passed away, she was telling me that she didn't want to be called Umba anymore, so I started calling her "Momma." All three kids would still call her Grandma or Umba, but the hubby and I would call her Momma.  My mother-in-law was one of the strongest women I ever met.  She outlived her parents, all of her many siblings and her husband.  I was kind of close to my mother-in-law when she lived in Cleveland, but when she moved to an assisted living facility closer to us, I became ultra close to her. One of the hardest and most heartbreaking things for us to watch was her decline into advanced dementia.  We really didn't know that was what she had until about six months before she passed away.  I know it was extremely difficult for her to move out of her house and into assisted living.  She was not able to entertain or cook or bake.  When my husband would visit her she would give him something from her lunch or dinner (like a cookie or a piece of pie). No matter how often he would tell her not to do it, she still would.  I think in her mind, she was still entertaining.  One of my fondest memories of Momma was when she, my husband and Lauren tried to make kolaches one Christmas.  I think in both of these pictures she was trying to dispense some advice :)

 

I am so glad that I keep finding her handwritten recipes and making them. It kind of makes me feel that she is still with us (she passed away in January 2011).  Hope you enjoy Momma's oatmeal cookies!

Ingredients:

2 cups white flour
2 cups light brown sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/4 cup vegetable shortening
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
3 cups old fashioned oatmeal

In large bowl put flour, sugar, butter, shortening, baking soda, salt and eggs.  Mix with electric mixer or by hand with large spoon until smooth.  Add oatmeal and mix by hand until well combined.  Cover with plastic wrap and chill in fridge at least one hour.  When ready to make, preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Roll dough into small balls (about the size of a ping pong ball) and place on an ungreased cookie sheet.  Bake for 18 minutes or until cookies are starting to get brown.  Remove from oven, let cool five minutes and then remove to wire rack. Makes four dozen.

Vanilla Biscotti

 

Biscotti is a "twice-cooked/baked" Italian biscuit or cookie. Did you know that the reason they are long is so you can dip them into coffee or wine in order to soften them??  You learn something new every day! They are traditionally known for being hard and crunchy :) I have made four other kinds of biscotti (chocolate, hot chocolate, lemonade and pumpkin), but vanilla was a kind I hadn't tried to make before.  These smell so good when they are baking - kind of like sugar cookies.  You can have biscotti for breakfast with your coffee or tea, as a mid-afternoon snack or after dinner for dessert.  They are perfect anytime of the day when you are looking for something sweet to eat!

Ingredients:

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

2/3 cup white sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 large eggs

2 cups white flour

In large bowl, beat butter, sugar, salt, baking powder and vanilla extract until smooth with large spoon. Add eggs and white flour and combine well.  Cover with plastic wrap and chill in fridge at least one hour.  When ready to make, preheat oven to 350 degrees and lightly spray two cookie sheets with non-stick spray.  Divide dough in half and shape each into a log 12 inches in length and about 2-3 inches across.  Bake for 25 minutes and then remove from oven.  Let sit five minutes and then with a serrated knife, slice each log into 12 slices.  Place cut side down and then bake another 20 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool 10 minutes and then remove to wire rack.  Makes 2 dozen.

Homemade Chocolate Cupcakes

Buried in the binder of the old newspaper clippings and handwritten recipes that were my mother-in-law's,  I found a recipe for old-fashioned cocoa cake.  I have absolutely no idea which newspaper this came out of or how old this recipe is, but I'm guessing it's close to at least 50 years old. Since I had all the necessary ingredients in the house, I decided to give this recipe a try and make them into cupcakes.  I had an unexpected "assistant" today helping me in Cathy's Kitchen. Dominic was home recovering from a really bad migraine he had yesterday and wasn't quite up to going to school today. Since he started feeling a little better later in the afternoon, I let him be my "taste tester."  Dominic did have one special request, he wanted his cupcake with blue sprinkles. He proclaimed his cupcake, "good, yes!" When the hubby and Lauren returned home, they ranked them a 10 and 9, respectively.  Since I have not had chocolate since February (when I gave it up for Lent), I have to 100% rely on their positive endorsement :)  After you make up a batch of these,  I would love to hear how you liked these cupcakes!  I think they're a winner for our family!

 

Ingredients:

1 1/3 cups white flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/3 cups white sugar
2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place paper liners in two 12-cup muffin tins. Set aside.  In large bowl, put the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, sugar, cocoa, shortening and 3/4 of the cup of milk.  Beat two minutes with electric mixer or by hand with large spoon until smooth.  Add the remaining 1/4 cup of milk, vanilla and the eggs.  Beat an additional minute with electric mixer or by hand until well combined.  Pour batter evenly between the 24 paper liners.  Bake for 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of a cupcake comes out clean. Remove from oven and let cool 10 minutes. Transfer to wire rack to continue cooling.  Frost with your favorite frosting. Makes 24 cupcakes.