Whole Wheat Banana Oatmeal Raisin Bread

Are you shocked that we have another banana bread recipe already?  Granted, the Banana Coconut Bread didn't last long, but for a banana non-lover, this is kind of much.  However, I did have some extra bananas that were simply refusing to be eaten.  This bread is moist and hearty and delicious.  The banana is totally there, but it is joined by cinnamon and raisins in a whole wheat and oatmeal bread.  

Banana Oatmeal Cinnamon Raisin Bread

1 cup plain nonfat yogurt
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 1/4 cups packed brown sugar
1 1/2 cups mashed banana (about 3-4 medium bananas)
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup old fashioned oats
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup raisins

Preheat oven to 350F.  Grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan.

Combine all of the ingredients together in a large bowl and stir until blended and completely combined.  Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 60 to 75 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Cool the bread in the pan for 10 minutes, then loosen the sides of the bread and remove from the pan.  Let cool on a cooling rack.  Makes 1 9x5 inch loaf.

Enjoy!  -Cardamommy

Fudge Brickle Brownies

I first had these brownies over seven years ago at my baby shower.  I last had these brownies over seven years ago at my baby shower.  It has been that long.  I have occasionally run into the recipe in my recipe binder over the years, but have never made these brownies!  Big mistake.  They are seriously delicious.  These brownies are quick, simple, and one bowl.  

Fudge Brickle Brownies

1/2 cup butter
2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup toffee bits
1/2 cup mini semi sweet chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350F.  Grease an 8x8 inch baking pan.

Place the butter and unsweetened chocolate in a microwaveable bowl.  Heat in the microwave in 30 second intervals until the butter and the chocolate are melted. Stir until smooth.  Stir in the sugar, eggs, and vanilla just until combined.  Add the flour, stirring just until no streaks of flour remain.  

Spread the batter into the prepared pan.  Sprinkle the toffee bits and mini chocolate chips over the top of the batter.  Bake the brownies for 30 minutes.  Cool in the pan on a cooling rack.

Enjoy!  -Cardamommy

Saucy Apple Pie

I found this recipe over on allrecipes.com the other day, and even though I just made an apple pie, I had to make this one too.  I have never seen a pie recipe quite like this before, and that appeals to me in a major way.   I love to try new things, and luckily this one turned out beautifully.  This pie differs from the traditional by calling for un-doctored sliced apples inside of a lattice topped pie, with a cooked syrup mixture poured over the top.  Yes, over the crust, apples, everything.  Intriguing, no?  It was delicious.  They syrup gave it a bit of a caramely flavor, and the consistency was great - not too runny.  

Saucy Apple Pie

1 recipe pastry for a 9 inch double crust pie

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter

4 Tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 cup water

4 medium Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and sliced

4 medium gala (or braeburn or fuji) apples, peeled, cored, and sliced

Preheat the oven to 425F.

Melt butter in a sauce pan. Stir in flour, white sugar, and brown sugar.  Add the water and bring to a boil. Reduce temperature, and simmer 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, place the bottom crust in your pan. Fill with apples, mounded slightly in the center. Cover with a lattice work crust. Gently pour the sugar and butter liquid over the crust very carefully so it doesn't run off the edges.  

Place the pie in the oven with a foil lined baking sheet set on the rack below directly underneath the pie.  Bake the pie for 15 minutes. Reduce the temperature to 350 degrees  and continue baking for 45 to 60 minutes, or until the filling is bubbly in the center.  If the top of the pie gets too brown, you can cover it lightly with tin foil.  Remove pie from the oven and cool completely on a cooling rack.

Enjoy!  -Cardamommy

Cranberry Orange Honey Butter

I am a huge fan of honey butter, but very infrequently do I make my own.  Thanks to a Taste of Home magazine, I was inspired to throw some together.  It isn't difficult, and the results are amazing.  I have never heard of such a honey butter combination, but this will definitely make my repeater list.

Cranberry Orange Honey Butter

1 cup salted butter, room temperature
1/3 cup dried cranberries, chopped fine
1/4 cup honey (use a good quality honey)
Grated zest of one orange

Place all ingredients in a bowl and beat with an electric mixer until completely combined. Store in the refrigerator.  Makes about 24 servings.

Enjoy!  -Cardamommy

Chocolate Chip Cookie Pizza Cake

This is a fun recipe that I have made several times in the past.  It is a chocolate chip cookie base with a thin layer of peanut butter frosting, topped with a chocolate cake layer, topped with chocolate frosting and sprinkled with chopped peanut butter cups and other assorted candy of your choice.  I takes a bit more effort, but it is worth it.  You get a nice combination of textures and flavors all wrapped up in one dessert.  My Hungry Puppies love this dessert, and that makes it well worth any extra effort.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Pizza Cake

18 ounces chocolate chip cookie dough (use your favorite or store-bought)
1 box chocolate cake mix, plus ingredients to prepare

Frosting:
1/2 cup butter, softened
4 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 to 4 Tablespoons milk
1/2 cup peanut butter
3 Tablespoons cocoa powder
Chopped Peanut Butter Cups (or other candy of your choice)

Preheat the oven to 350F.  Spray 2 12-inch pizza pans with cooking spray (or if they have holes like mine do, line with tin foil and then spray).  If you do not have 2 same size pizza pans (like I don't), simply bake the cookie layer first, then re-line and re-spray the pan for the cake layer.

Press the cookie dough evenly into the pizza pan and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until golden at the edges and set in the center.  Remove the cookie from the pan and let cool completely on a cooling rack.

For the cake layer, prepared the mix according to the package instructions, then pour 1/2 of the prepared batter into the second (or reused) pizza pan.  Bake for about 10 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Carefully remove the cake from the pan and let cool completely on a cooling rack.

While the cookie and cake layers are cooling, prepare the frosting.  Beat the butter until smooth, then gradually beat in the powdered sugar.  Beat in the vanilla extract and enough milk to reach the desired consistency.  Transfer 1 cup of frosting to a smaller bowl and add the peanut butter to it.  Beat until combined.  Set aside.  Add the  cocoa powder to the remaining vanilla frosting and beat until well blended.

To assemble the cake, place the cooled cookie on a serving plate, or back on the pizza pan.  Spread the peanut butter frosting evenly over the cookie.  Place the chocolate cake layer on top, trimming the cookie to match the size of the cake if necessary.  Frost the top and sides of the cake with chocolate frosting.  Sprinkle the chopped peanut butter cups on top.  Makes 12 to 14 servings.

Enjoy!  -Cardamommy

Sour Cream Chocolate Chip Cookies

Here we go with another chocolate chip cookie recipe.  This one is different due to the addition of sour cream.  I don't think I have ever made chocolate chip cookies with sour cream before, and I was a bit skeptical.  I was worried that I would end up with chocolate chip cake drops.  I don't like a cakey cookie.  I like my cookies to be crispy and chewy.  These cookies turned out to be kind of cakey chewy.  A slightly different texture than I am used to, and these probably won't replace my favorite chocolate chip cookie recipes, but they are yummy and have a good flavor.  This recipe makes giant chocolate chip cookies, but if you want to bake regular size cookies, just scoop smaller dough balls and reduce the baking time accordingly.

Sour Cream Chocolate Chip Cookies

1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 cups granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 cup sour cream
3 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
3/4 cup milk chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped pecans

Preheat the oven to 375F.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Cream together the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar.  Beat in the eggs, vanilla, and sour cream.  Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and beat until just combined.  Stir in the chocolate chips and pecans.  

Use a 1/4 cup measure to scoop the dough and form into balls.  Place the balls of dough 6 to a baking sheet, about 3 inches apart.  Bake for about 14 minutes, or until golden brown at the edges.  Remove cookies from the oven and transfer from the pan to a cooling rack. Makes 18 giant cookies.

Enjoy!  -Cardamommy

Wassail Spiced Apple Pie

I have been mildly obsessed with Wassail lately.  I found a Wassail drink mix at the Gourmet Chef the other day, and since then have been stirring it into hot apple cider.  Since I have been enjoying this so much, I thought it would be fun to try using the mix in an apple pie.  This pie is mildly spiced and contains a nice amount of moisture (or goo for lack of a better word) thanks to the added cider.  If you don't have or can't find wassail drink mix, just use apple pie spice or cinnamon and nutmeg.

Wassail Spiced Apple Pie

9-inch double layer pie crust (like this one, or this one)
5 medium granny smith apples, peeled, cored, and sliced
5 medium gala apples, peeled, cored, and sliced
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1/3 cup apple cider
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup flour
3 - 4 Tablespoons wassail drink mix powder (or use 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 tsp nutmeg)
1/4 teaspoon salt

Line a baking sheet with tin foil and place in the oven.  Preheat the oven to 500F. 

In a large bowl, toss together the sliced apples, lemon juice, and apple cider.  In a small bowl, stir together the sugar, flour, wassail drink mix, and salt.  Pour the sugar mixture over the apples and toss to coat evenly.

Roll out the top crust and fit it in the pie plate.  Arrange the apples in the prepared pie crust.  Roll out the top crust and lay it over the apples.  Seal and crimp the edges of the pie crust, then cut 4 to 6 holes or slits to vent the steam.

Place the pie in the oven on top of the heated baking sheet and immediately lower the oven temperature to 425F.  Bake the pie for 25 minutes, then cover the top of the pie loosely with tin foil and reduce the oven temperature to 375F.  Bake for an additional 45 to 55 minutes, or until the filling is bubbly.  Remove the pie from the oven and let cool on a wire rack.  Makes 8 to 12 servings.

Enjoy!  -Cardamommy

Oatmeal M&M Cookies

The first time I made this recipe it turned out to be kind of a flop, so I threw out the recipe.  Then my Hungry Puppies and I did a taste test and we loved them!  They were so delicious!  It's a good thing too, because it took me three attempts to get it right!  The flavor was really great, but they turned out really flat and pancake-y.  Not my favorite.  So, I retrieved the recipe and made a couple of changes so that now the consistency of the cookie matches the flavor.  This recipe can be doubled for a larger batch.

Oatmeal M&M Cookies

1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup butter shortening
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon mexican vanilla
1 1/4 cups flour
1 cup quick oats
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup mini M&Ms

Preheat the oven to 350F.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Cream together the butter, shortening, sugar, and brown sugar.  Beat in the egg and vanilla.  Add the flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, and beat until just combined.  Stir in the M&Ms. 

Drop by 2 tablespoonsfull on the prepared baking sheet.  Bake for about 10 minutes, or until lightly browned and just set in the center.  Remove cookies from oven and transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.  Makes 18 cookies.

Enjoy!  -Cardamommy

Oatmeal Raisin Bars

I have been meaning to make these bars for quite some time now, and always finding some excuse to make something else.  Not sure why that is because these treats are so delicious.  They are easy and hearty, moist and chewy, and have a wonderful cinnamon raisin flavor.  

Oatmeal Raisin Bars

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter, melted
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cinnamon
1 cup all purpose flour
2 cups old fashioned oats
1 cup raisins

Preheat the oven to 350F.  Spray and 8 inch square baking dish with cooking spray.

In a large bowl, combine the butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, egg, salt, and cinnamon, stirring until well blended.  Add the flour, oats, and raisins and stir until just combined.  

Pour batter in the prepared pan and spread evenly.  Bake for about 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with  moist crumbs.  Cool then cut into bars.  Makes 12 bars.

Enjoy!  -Cardamommy

Banana Coconut Bread

I am not a fan of banana bread.  At all.  There are some recipes that I have made before that are tolerable, and I am constantly looking for a new variation that I will be okay with eating.  Generally, I avoid the topic all together.  However, my youngest Hungry Puppy has been asking to make banana bread all week, so what's an indulgent mom to do?  Search out/create a new recipe and make it happen.  This bread is very light and straight forward.  No brown sugar, no spices.  I think that the banana and the coconut go together well, and neither flavor dominates the other.  It is quite delicious.  Even for a banana bread non-lover.

Banana Coconut  Bread

1/2 cup butter, melted
1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon coconut extract
1/4 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup cream of coconut
3 bananas, mashed (about 1 cup)
1 3/4 cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup shredded coconut (I used fresh coconut, packaged will work as well)
Demerara sugar (optional) to sprinkle on top

Preheat the oven to 350F.  Grease and flour a 9x5 inch loaf pan.

In a large bowl, stir together the butter and the sugar until completely combined.  Stir in the eggs, vanilla and coconut extracts, buttermilk, cream of coconut, and mashed bananas.  Stir in the flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda.  Add the coconut and stir until just combined.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top.  Sprinkle with the desired amount of Demerara sugar.  Bake for 55 to 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the loaf comes out with a few moist crumbs.  Remove bread from the oven and let cool in the pan for about 15 minutes.  Carefully remove bread from the pan and let cool before slicing.  Makes 1 loaf.

Enjoy!  -Cardamommy

Fall Recall

I am continually searching for new recipes to try and because of this, there are very few recipes that I will make over and over again.  I wanted to take this opportunity to bring back some super delicious Fall recipes that are definitely worth repeating.

Nutella Caramel Apples


Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies


Mommy's Pumpkin Pie


Pumpkin Whoopie Pies with Lemon Filling


Pumpkin , Sweet Potato, and Pumpkin Pie


Sweet Potato Toffee Pie


Sweet Potato S'mores Pies


Cinnamon Apple Flatbread


Sweet Potato Doughnuts


Tunnel Of Apple Spice Cake


Pumpkin Biscuits


Pumpkin Snickerdoodles


Apple Cinnamon Cheddar Grilled Cheese


(The Best Ever!) Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies


Pumpkin Spice Pudding Cookies


Cinnamon Spice Caramel Apples


Caramel Apple Pie


Rice Krispie Critters


Pumpkin Brownies


Peanut Butter Caramel Apples


Pumpkin Cornbread


Pumpkin Bagels with Pumpkin Cream Cheese


Sweet Potato Cake with Brown Sugar Cinnamon Swiss Buttercream


Apple Fritter Muffins


Enjoy!  -Cardamommy