Banana Crumb Muffins

It's finally getting warm here in Texas.

Spring time is in our midst, although you would never know that on the east coast.. I can't believe they are still getting snow!

With the flowers starting to bloom and the sun staying out a few extra hours, we can start looking forward to all that spring entails...more sun, allergies, flowers, a little rain, and cookouts.

But one of the best parts about the changing of seasons, other than the weather, is the new ingredients it brings along. If you're a foodie then you understand; I can't wait to start working with all the warm weather fruits and vegetables.

One fruit that never really goes out of season though is the oh-so-delicious banana. So while we wait out the last few freezes and Mother Nature actually allows Spring to take off, we can still enjoy these banana muffins.

Banana Crumb Muffins
Recipe from The Sono Baking Company Cookbook
Oven: 375 Bake time: 20 minutes
Makes 12 muffins or 6 large muffins

2 cups AP flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs, at room temperature
2 tsp vanilla
2-3 very ripe bananas, mashed
1/2 cup vanilla yogurt

Crumb
from the wonderful Lindsey at Gingerbread Bagels
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 1/3 cup AP flour
1/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup light brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp nutmeg

Preheat oven to 375 and spray muffin tin with cooking spray.
Make crumb by mixing all ingredients together and set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
In another bowl, beat sugar, butter, and vanilla until light and fluffy.
Add eggs one at a time, beating after each addition, then add bananas.
Slowly add dry ingredients to banana mixture, mixing until incorporated.
Use an ice cream scoop and divide batter evenly among muffin tin (1 scoop for regular sized muffins and 2 scoops for large muffins).
Sprinkle crumb over each muffin.
Bake in oven for 18-22 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.
Allow to cool in pan for about 10-15 minutes before removing.

Happy Baking! 

Chocolate Pound Cake with Mocha Glaze

While the rest of the world was making New Year's resolutions regarding health, making better choices and maintaining a workout regimen, my mind was in a different place.

I already workout 6 days a week.. how else would I stay under 400 pounds with all these sweets?? so no need to go there. And as far as health is concerned, despite what it may appear, we eat pretty healthy in our house as far as actual meals are concerned.

So what was my New Years resolution? I went with something that I knew I could keep: getting through all my cookbooks.

After receiving over 10 cookbooks for Christmas, in addition to the shelves I already have full, something needed to be done.

It's difficult to get through you books sometimes.. I always begin with good intentions, marking various recipes, flagging techniques I want to try, but then I start browsing the internet and it all goes out the window. It's so easy to get caught up in all the goodies on foodbuzz, foodgawker or tastespotting and before I know it, I'm recreating something that I've seen on one of the wonderful blogs I so eagerly follow or taking the easy way out with a recipe from a site like allrecipes.com that already has rave reviews.

But this year is going to be different; I'm going to start using the recipes that adorn the vast pages of my cookbook collection waiting so patiently on the shelves for me.

So that brings us to this delicious recipe for a Chocolate Pound Cake from All Cakes Considered. When I found this book at a local library sale I fell in love with the story behind it. For one year, the author, Melissa Gray, brought in a new cake every Monday for her colleagues at NPR, where she is a producer for the show All Things Considered. Her year long adventure left her with over 50 cakes, tips, tricks and techniques that she now shares with her readers.

A while back I had a reader ask if I had a good chocolate pound cake recipe for them to try. At the time, I did not and although it is long overdue, I hope they're still out there and I hope they'll give this cake a try.

Chocolate Pound Cake
recipe from All Cakes Considered
Fills a 10-inch bundt pan
Oven: 325 Bake time: 1 1/2 hours

3 cups AP flour
3 cups sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1 cup shortening
1 1/4 cup whole milk
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
5 eggs

Preheat oven to 325. Spray bundt pan with cooking spray and set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk flour, sugar, and cocoa.
Gradually add butter, shortening, and milk and beat on medium speed until smooth.
Add baking powder and salt, beating until incorporated.
Add vanilla and then add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition.
Pour batter into prepared pan and bake until thin knife comes out clean.
Cool cake in pan for 10 minutes before removing by flipping onto a plate.
Optional: Pour mocha glaze generously over cake

Mocha Glaze
1/2 cup hot water
2 TBS instant espresso or coffee
1 TBS unsweetened cocoa
1 cup powdered sugar

Prepare right before serving.
In a small bowl, mix powdered sugar and cocoa.
In a mug or measuring cup mix 1/2 cup hot water and instant coffee/espresso until dissolved.
Slowly add instant coffee to sugar/cocoa mixture, adding just enough coffee to make a thin glaze and whisking smooth (You will probably not use all the instant coffee that you made)
Pour generously over top cake.

Happy Baking!! 

Anadama Bread and My First Give-Away!!

A few weeks ago I was contacted by the kind folks at Tate's Bake Shop.

Not only was I lucky enough to receive a gift box containing their famous Chocolate Chip, White Chocolate Macadamia Nut and Oatmeal Raisin Cookies, but I also got a copy of Kathleen King's new Tate's Bake Shop Cookbook.

While Mountain Man and I feasted on these deliciously crisp and buttery cookies, I got to looking through the cookbook for something fabulous to try. You know it's going to be a good book when Ina Garten is writing the foreword!


Although there are many recipes to get through, I couldn't help but stop at a recipe for Anadama Bread-  I was completely intrigued by the name!

After a quick read up on wikipedia, I learned that the bread got its name from an angry fisherman who was mad at his wife, Anna. She was a lazy wife and served him only cornmeal and molasses for dinner, until one day while she was out, the fisherman decided to add flour and yeast to the porridge and bake it, all the while cursing, "Anna, damn her!" The resultant bread turned out to be delicious and all the neighbors began baking it as well, coining it Anadama.


I don't totally buy the story... mostly because wives are never lazy and maybe the fisherman should have been a better at his job and brought home some fish for dinner if he was going to complain!


Story or not, the bread is quite delicious.

Anadama Bread

from Tate's Bake Shop Cookbook

Rise time: 2 hours total

Bake time: 50 minutes

Oven: 350

Yields 2 loaves

2 cups boiling water

1/2 cup corn meal

1/2 cup molasses

2 TBS salted butter

1 TBS salt

1/2 cup warm water, about 110-115 degrees

Two 1/4 oz. packets of active yeast (or 1/2 oz. yeast)

7-8 cups of flour (I ended up using just about 7)

In a medium saucepan, bring 2 cups of water to boil. Transfer to large mixing bowl and add corn meal.

Add molasses, butter and salt. Mix until blended. Allow to cool slightly.

While mixture is cooling, bring 1/2 cup water to 110-115 degrees. Sprinkle yeast over top and lightly whisk to break up yeast. Let sit for about 5 minutes or until mixture starts to bubble.

If the yeast mixture doesn't bubble, discard and try again- if your yeast doesn't bubble your bread won't rise.

Add yeast mixture to molasses mixture and stir until combined.

Slowly add flour, 1 cup at a time, and mix until stiff dough is reached.

Transfer dough to lightly floured surface and continue to knead with hands until dough becomes smooth and elastic.*

Transfer dough to lightly oiled mixing bowl, cover with saran wrap and store in a warm place until dough has doubled in size.*

Once dough has doubled in size, lightly beat down and cut in half.

Shape each piece into a loaf, transfer to pans, cover with saran wrap and return to warm place to double in size again.

Once risen, preheat oven to 350 and bake loaves for 40-50 minutes.

*Some Mountain Man dough tips:

When kneading dough- fold and press firmly with hand over and over until smooth, elastic consistency is reached.

When dough is rising- Turn oven on briefly, when temp is about 100 degrees turn oven off and place dough inside closed oven to rise OR place in a warm room, like the garage in direct sunlight if possible OR place inside your car if it's in the sunlight!

According to Kathleen, "All the recipes in the book should take less time to make than it would to go to a store to buy a commercially prepared baked good."  

Maybe this bread took a little longer to bake then it would have for me to run out to the store, but where's the accomplishment in that?! For those of you that have been following my adventures, you know that yeast is something I'm still a little new too.. but even for a yeast amateur, this bread was simple and worth the wait.


But here's the best part... One of YOU can win all these goodies too! Just think about it... three boxes of delicious cookies that you can add to your Christmas cookie selection and a cookbook full of even more cookies you can bake as you please...

All you have to do is leave a comment (or two or three)!

One winner (U.S. only please) will receive a gift box that includes Chocolate Chip, White Chocolate Macadamia Nut, and Oatmeal Raisin Cookies, along with Tate's Bake Shop Cookbook.


To enter:

- Leave a comment telling me about your favorite holiday treat


For extra entries: (leave a separate comment for each entry)


- Become a fan of  Tate's Bake Shop on Facebook
- Become a follower of swEEts by e (if you're not already)
- Tweet about the giveaway


The give-away ends this Friday, December 10th so enter now :)


Oh and if you don't win? That's okay, because they're still offering a 15% discount for anything you by online at Tate's Bake Shop. Just use the code "cookies" and just make your purchases before December 31st.

One more plug and then I'm done I promise!

I recently stumbled upon this awesome website, Namely Marly, and participated in Marly's name project. Whereas my passion lies in baking, Marly's passion lies in names.. (but she has some delicious looking recipes to share as well!) Her website is full of all sorts of goodies and name interviews so I highly recommend you go check her out.. oh and there's a little story all about me and my name over there too :) 

Don't forget, the give-away ends Friday!!

 

Happy Baking!!