Pumpkin Banana Bread

When autumn and winter roll around, it’s finally acceptable to crave foods containing baked apples, nutmeg, cinnamon and, my favorite, pumpkin. After the canned pumpkin shortage last year, I may have gotten a little excited over seeing the first cans of pumpkin appearing on our store shelves. I may have been excited enough to buy over 100 ounces of pumpkin (that would be over six pounds). While I wasn’t ready for pumpkin pie, I wanted to use one of my smaller cans of pumpkin as soon as possible. I pulled out some banana mash I had frozen a long time ago, the remnants of brown, spotted bananas too soft to eat fresh, and decided I’d make a pumpkin banana bread. There are a few recipes out in cyberspace, so I figured one of them must be worth trying.

This recipe called for two mashed bananas, but because my bananas were already mashed, I don’t exactly recall how many were in there. I guessed and put in one and a half cups of mash. The batter itself was very loose, but smelled amazing, with the addition of the pumpkin and spices, it really brought an autumnal scent to the kitchen.

The bread itself puffed up nicely when it baked, but then sank as soon as it came out of the oven. It didn’t surprise me, considering the batter was fairly wet, and I was pretty inexact when it came to the addition of the banana mash. The finished consistency was somewhat akin to a bread pudding – it was dense and moist, less like bread and set more like a silky pumpkin pie texture. Both the banana and pumpkin flavors are present in each bite, and they work surprisingly well together.

I would definitely make this again, and if I didn’t mess up the recipe beyond repair with my initial tweaking, I’m curious what other tweaks I’ll make next time to improve the end product even more.


Pumpkin Banana Bread
From Allrecipes.com

Ingredients
2 ripe bananas, mashed
2 eggs
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 1/3 cups canned pumpkin puree
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup white sugar
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 cup raisins (optional)
1/2 cup walnut pieces (optional)
Directions
1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease an 9x5 inch loaf pan.
2.In a large bowl, stir together the mashed banana, eggs, oil, pumpkin, honey and sugar. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, pie spice and cinnamon, stir into the banana mixture until just combined. Fold in the raisins and walnuts if desired. Pour batter into the prepared pan.
3.Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean. Cool loaf in the pan for 10 minutes before moving to a wire rack to cool completely.

Banana Gingerbread

It's hot as Hades out here right now and I'm posting a gingerbread recipe. Just bear with me, it's worth the heat of the oven.

This recipe is from bakingbites.com. It is so amazingly tasty. Definitely best once it's first cooled from the oven, but I've frozen it and eaten it after it's rethawed, and it's still good, just a little bit drier. I pretty much followed this recipe to a "t" and it's wonderful. This is probably one of my favorite quick breads out there - maybe because it's more like a banana ginger spice cake? Probably.

Banana Gingerbread
From Baking Bites

1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground cinnamon (sub for 1 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice)
1/2 tsp ground allspice
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp ground cardamom
pinch freshly ground nutmeg
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 cup banana, mashed (about 2 large)
1/2 cup molasses
1/2 cup buttermilk
4 tbsp vegetable oil

Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly grease a 9×5-inch loaf pan.
In a large bowl, whisk together flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices.
In a medium bowl, whisk together brown sugar, banana, molasses, buttermilk and vegetable oil. Pour into dry ingredients and stir until just ombined. Pour into prepared pan and sprinkle with coarse sugar, if desired.
Bake for about 45 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean.
Makes 1 loaf, 8-10 slices.

Chocolate-Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins

I had been having a great day, even for a Monday. I was rocking a new haircut, was gifted coconut rum cake (that will improve anyone’s day, I guarantee!), and got out of work on time. After work, I had to stop at the bank to replenish my quarter supply for my daily commuter parking lot fee. Instead of filling out a withdrawal slip, I just go to the ATM, take out some money and exchange a twenty dollar bill for two rolls of quarters.

As I turned around from the ATM to sort my money, put the receipt in my purse and go into the bank for my quarters, a lady walked up to use the ATM I was just leaving – or at least that’s what I mistakenly assumed. I moved off to my right to let her get by me, but instead of going around me to the ATM, she nearly plowed me over to get into the bank. I said “excuse me,” and had brushed it off, as I always end up doing the ‘dance’ with people trying to get around me. You know, the classic - go to your right to let the person by, and they go the same way. Then you shift to your left to let them go, and they shift, having the same idea. I didn’t think much of it. Apparently, though, to this lady, I must have looked like a crazed fool. She just stopped dead in her tracks, looked at me incredulously and said, “What are you DOING?” She rolled her eyes, shook her head and finally found it in herself to walk past me and carry on with her life.

I do not like when people intentionally make a big deal out of nothing (spoken from the person venting about one minor interaction in a whole day – I get the irony), and I do not like when someone treats me like I did something wrong and ruined their entire day because of something so trite. It sticks with me because I do not want to give people the impression that I’m rude or inconsiderate, and I feel like the people around that saw what happened may think I am by how she reacted at me.

A few years back, an incident like that would have ruined the rest of my day – I could have won the mega millions and I still would have been upset. I’d focus on that one event, being hurt and sometimes embarrassed because of something completely out of my control. But somewhere along the way, I finally learned that life is too short to let grumps, grouches, meanies or dillweeds take the joy out of my life. I heard somewhere that life is 10% of what happens to you and 90% how you react to it. That stuck with me.

So, I got my quarters, got on the train and carried on with my life. Instead of allowing that one incident to ruin an otherwise great day, I held onto those feelings just long enough to fuel a great run when I got home. By the time I was finished, I forgot all about what happened, and had done something positive for my body at the same time. Oh, and I had some chocolate, too. That always helps.

These muffins are like the love child of banana bread and a chocolate cake. They are moist and dense like a muffin. The bananas in it make it feel somewhat healthy (great after a run) and the chocolate in it is pronounced and satisfying (great anytime). These freeze amazingly well, and are a perfect go-to snack when you need a chocolate fix without all the guilt of a pint of Ben and Jerry’s.


Chocolate-Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins
Adapted from Grouprecipes.com
Ingredients
1 c AP Flour, ½ c Whole Wheat Flour
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup baking cocoa
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking powder
1 1/3 cups mashed ripe banana
1/3 cup applesauce
1 egg
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Directions
In a large bowl, combine the first six ingredients.
In a small bowl, combine bananas, oil and egg.
Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened.
Fold in chocolate chips.
Fill greased or paper lined muffin cups three fourths full. After 6 tins are filled, and maybe a few minis, add a bit of coconut to the rest of the batter and scoop into remaining cups.
Bake at 350 deg F for 20-25 minutes or until muffins test done.

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

When I saw bananas for 33 cents a pound at the store recently, I went a little hog wild. Banana breads are such a wonderful way to use overly-ripe bananas, and I make them as muffins so I can freeze the batch and pull out a couple at a time. I get to enjoy these for a long time, whereas the bananas would have been rotten by now. I also jazzed up some of the muffins by added some shredded coconut to the batter. These muffins freeze really well, and I love popping one in the microwave for about 20 seconds and getting a warm muffins that is still moist and delicious, with a very obvious banana flavor. These would be great just plain, no chocolate, no coconut, or even subbing in some walnuts if you prefer.

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins
Adapted From KAF Baker's Companion

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon fresh grated nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon allspice
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup mashed ripe bananas
1/3 cup milk
3/4 cup bittersweet chocolate chunks

Preheat oven to 350

In a medium bowl, whisk together flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt, nutmeg and allspice.

In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar. Mix in the egg, vanilla, mashed bananas and milk. Add to dry ingredients and mix until just blended.

Evenly divide the batter between a 12 cup muffin tin coated with nonstick spray. After 6 tins are filled, and maybe a few minis, add a bit of coconut to the rest of the batter and scoop into remaining cups. Bake until a toothpick placed in the center comes out mostly clean - about 16-20 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool for 5 to 10 minutes before carefully removing them from the pan to a wire rack to cool completely.

Makes 12 muffins. Plus a few Minis as well.

Brown Sugar and Cinnamon Pancakes

Breakfast. It’s the most important meal of the day. Some people can get by simply by pouring some cereal into a bowl, dousing it with milk and calling it a day. I will typically eat cereal only when I have to. I love omelets, french toast, pancakes, waffles, crepes, cinnamon buns and all the other glorious baked goods with tons of butter that are only fit to eat because they are breakfast foods!
Every once in a while, I enjoy breakfast dinners. There is something so comforting to me coming home after a long day of work and having pancakes, eggs and sausage. And because I’m usually really exhausted after work (and after working out) my pancakes have been coming from *gasp* the box! I don’t usually leave well-enough alone, though. I like jazzing up my pancakes, so it looks like I at least put a little effort into my dinner. Bananas, blueberries, nuts, chocolate sometimes just whatever I see laying around. My most recent discovery though, are brown sugar and cinnamon pancakes. Perfect for a late night or an early morning when you want something quick and easy on the table, but jazzed up enough that anyone eating them can feel the love.
Brown Sugar and Cinnamon Bisquick Pancakes
1 c Bisquick
½ c Milk
1 Egg
2 Tbsp Brown Sugar
2 tsp Cinnamon
Stir Bisquick, brown sugar and cinnamon together in a bowl. Add egg and milk, stirring until just combined. Batter will be lumpy. Do not overstir.
Cook on medium heat on one side until bubbles pop and top side appears to have dried out slightly.
Flip and cook on other side for 1-2 additional minutes.
Store, covered, in warm oven until ready to serve.

Banana Bread

So many incarnations of banana bread have exited my kitchen that for once, I wanted to try just a basic banana bread recipe. No frills, no gimmicks, no healthyfying. Good old banana bread. I scoured through many of my cookbooks, and found two options. One was in a Southern Living cookbook from 1985 which included a half cup of shortening in the recipe. Hmm. Though I am not looking for a ‘healthy’ version (aka applesauce instead of oil, whole wheat flour, etc) a half cup of shortening in one loaf is a little too much for me to be comfortable eating. The other recipe was in a Bride and Groom cookbook from our wedding. It was called Unbelievable Banana Bread. Sounds promising, right? From the recipe, there are two main changes. First, because I did not need two loaves of banana bread sitting around my house, the recipe was cut in half. Second, the nuts were omitted because I was just too darn lazy to go to the store and buy them. How’s that for honest?

Another honest truth? This banana bread was delicious. Like, I-keep-sneaking-pieces-even-though-I-know-no-one-is-watching delicious. And despite my resolution not to ‘healthyfy’ it, this recipe isn’t all that terrible for you. I was a little concerned watching it bake because it doesn’t get a lot of lift, and I was half expecting to pull a banana brick from the oven. I was also noticing how quickly the outsides of the loaf started to brown, and thought it would burn on the outsides before it set up inside. I was expecting to be writing a post about ‘The Ultimate Banana Bread Failure.’

Instead, the loaf came out of the oven and had a wonderful somewhat chewy/crunchy crust on the outside resulting from the banana and brown sugar caramelizing in the oven. It didn't burn. Nor did rise up like I expected, but it was a dense yet soft intensely banana-flavored loaf. I love that I cut through it and can see little chunks of banana.

This is definitely my go-to Banana Bread recipe.

Ultimate Banana Bread
Adapted from Bride and Groom Cookbook

1 c and 2 Tbsp AP Flour
1 tsp Kosher Salt
1/4 tsp Ground Cinnamon
1/4 c and 1 Tbsp Vegetable Oil
1 c and 2 Tbsp Sugar
1 egg, lightly beaten
3/4 tsp vanilla
3/4 tsp Baking Soda
1/4 c buttermilk or 1% milk mixed with 1-2 tsp lemon juice
1 c very ripe mashed bananas (about 2 medium)

Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees.

Spray a 9 x 5 pan with vegetable oil cooking spray.

Stir together flour,salt and cinnamon in medium bowl. Set aside.

Combine the oil and sugar in a bowl until combined. Add egg and vanilla and beat until incorporated, about 1 minute.

Stir baking soda into buttermilk(or milk and lemon mixture)in measuring cup or small bowl. Add one third of the dry ingredients, followed by half of the buttermilk mixture. Mix until combined. Add next third of dry ingredients and rest of buttermilk mixture. Stir until combined. Add last of dry ingredients and combine.

Add banana and mix until just incorporated. Don't overmix.

Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake until the bread is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. 55 minutes to 1 hour.

Let pans cool on racks for 5 minutes. Then remove loaves from pan and let sit on racks for at least 10 minutes until serving.