Moist Chocolate Chip Banana Nut Bread

I can’t get enough of that chocolate chip banana nut loaf from Starbucks and this tastes exactly like it…well to me. Try it and let me know what you think!

1 1/2 c. sugar
1 cup of cream cheese
½ c of butter
1 tbs. of almond paste
1 package of banana baby food
1 cup of mini chocolate chips
3/4 tsp. salt
3 eggs
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
3 c. flour
3 bananas, crushed
1 c. pecan, diced sm

Preheat oven to 350 degrees:

-Cream first 4 ingredients. Add banana baby food.
-Mix eggs in, one at a time. Add soda, salt, and flour while mixing at medium speed.
-Add chocolate chips and then mix in bananas and nuts.
-Bake in greased and floured 9 x 5 inch loaf pans for 1 hour until toothpick comes out clean.

Apple and Quince Bread Pudding

There is nothing more comforting than a big bowl of warm bread pudding right out of the oven. My father generally made bread pudding with raisins, but I found the addition of apples and quinces makes this dish heartier…and dare I say more delicious?

1 loaf of Italian bread (cut into cubes)

2 cups of heavy cream

1 peeled/diced quince

1 peeled/diced gala apple

3/4 cup of sugar

4 eggs

3 tbs of butter

¼ ts of cinnamon

½ ts of vanilla

¼ cup of whiskey (Johnny Walker Black)

 

Preheat Oven to 350

Melt butter in pan with whiskey and throw apples and quince. Cook until tender. Remove and let cool

In the meanwhile cut Italian bread into bite size pieces. Mix together cream, eggs, sugar, vanilla, and cinnamon until well blended. Grease oven safe bowl. Toss in bread a fruit mixture and let sit for 10 minutes.

Cook for 45-60 minutes until golden brown. If you like it creamy, cook for only 45 minutes.

Easy Fruit Crumbles

When you’re cooking for a large group of people dessert can sometimes take a backseat. If you didnt bake a cake or make a pie the day before - you’re generally too tired to make something after your finished with the savories (unless you’re serving cheese and honey…which is one of the best desserts ever). This fruit crumble could NOT be simpler. Try it!

Fruit:

4 cups of seasonal fruit (i.e. a mix of blueberries, cherries, strawberries, and raspberries - Frozen Fruit can also work)3 tbs. of strawberry/raspberry jam

Crumble:

2/3 cup of sugar

7 tbs of butter

3/4 cup of flour

Pinch of salt

Preheat Oven to 375 degrees

- Combine flour, sugar, and salt - mix in melted butter.

- In separate bowl combine fruit and jam

- Grease 8 small ramekins and arrange on a baking sheet. Divide fruit into ramekins and then sprinkle the flour mixture ontop. NOTE: you will need to put more crumble ontop of the ramekins than you might think. Flour mixture tends to seep into the fruit and can disappear into it completely

- Bake about 35 minutes and serve warm - with ice cream if you’d like.

(VARIATION: use diced apples for fruit and caramel sauce instead of jam. If using caramel sauce add an additional 2 tbs.)

 

 

 

Carrot Cake of the Gods

This carrot cake recipe is a little different because the cream cheese frosting doesn’t have butter and the cake contains a can of 8oz of crushed pineapple and dried cranberries. My husband LOVES this…

CAKE BATTER
2 cups of all purpose flour
2 ts of baking powder
1 ½ ts of baking soda
2 ts of ground cinnamon (preferably Vietnamese since its more fragrant)
4 large eggs
2 cups sugar
1 ½ cups veggie oil
2 cups peeled and finely grated carrots (about 4 large)
8oz of crushed pineapple (with juice in can)
1/2 cup of coarsely chopped pecans
½ cup of dried cranberries

Preheat Oven to 325:
- Stir together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon in bowl
- Whisk the eggs in large missing bowl and whisk in sugar until light – about a minute. Whisk in oil in slow stream
- Stir in carrots, pineapple, and pecans. Fold in dry ingredients.
- Scrape batter into 2 pans with parchment paper lining the bottom (about 2 inch deep and 9 inches round)
- Back 45 mins until golden and inserted toothpick emerges clean
- Cool cake in pans for 15 mins. And invert onto racks

Icing/Glaze
Ok – I made this up because all the other ones were way too sugary and I wanted to take the butter out of it so I didn’t feel bad eating it.

12 oz of cream cheese
1 cup of Fage (Greek yogurt) or 1 cup of sour cream
1 tbs of vanilla extract
1 tbs of ginger juice (or 1 tbs of ginger powder)_
2 cups of confectioners sugar
1 cup of pecans

Mix all ingredients together except pecans in a mixer with a paddle until its slightly firm. Put in frig for about 20 minutes. Then assemble cake, put thin layer of glaze in the middle of the cake and frost it with the rest. Top with pecans and put whole cake in frig for a hour

No Pudge Low Cal Whoopie Pie Dessert Recipe

I love whoopie pies but they are always too fatty for me to consume. If I do eat one - I am mad at myself for the rest of the day. As a smart alternative, I made this whoopie pie dessert recipe during one of my couch potato moments and they are just delightful!

Ingredients:

1 box No Pudge

1 cup Fresh Ricotta (if you don’t have fresh in your area then Polly-O or Sargento will do…but try for fresh)

3 tsp whole milk

1/2 vanilla bean seeds (or a dash of vanilla extract if you don’t have beans)

1 ts. splenda

Make ‘No Pudge‘ recipe according to the box but lay them out in a big pan to mak them thin. While they are baking, whip rest of the ingredients together and put in the frig. After the brownies have cooled, cut into bars (or circles if you like) and sandwich together with ricotta filling.

Ok - so they don’t look exactly like Whoppie Pies but they are delicious. Let me know how you like it!