Sweets and Such

 

 

 

 

 

 

When Life gives you bananas….

Walking into the kitchen this morning I noticed the bananas on the counter were getting to the over-ripe point. When this happens the best thing to do is make banana bread. This is a recipe I have used forever, tweaking an old recipe that my mom used I came up with this one and have stuck with it. Always comes out great.

Ingredients

1 cup Sugar

1 stick unsalted Butter

2 Large Eggs

3 Ripe Bananas

1 Tablespoon Milk

1 teaspoon Cinnamon

2 Cups A. P. Flour

1 teaspoon Baking Powder

1 teaspoon Baking Soda

1 teaspoon Salt

Pre-heat your oven to 325 degrees F, grease a 9”x 5”x 3” loaf pan. In one bowl cream the butter and sugar together, then add the eggs one at a time, until well incorporated. In another bowl mash the bananas along with the milk and the cinnamon. In another bowl combine the dry ingredients and mix together well. Add the banana mixture into the butter sugar and egg mixture and mix well. Now add the dry ingredients and mix just until the flour is not visible. Pour this into your loaf pan and level it out by tapping it on the counter a couple times. Place into your pre-heated oven and bake for about an hour. Remove from oven let cool in pan for about 15 minutes and then remove from the pan and place on a rack to finish cooling. Slice it off and eat it as is or top with butter, cream cheese, or whatever your preference. It goes pretty good with ice cream as well.

 

 

Chocolate Hazelnut Cream Pie

 

 

One thing I love to make in the summertime is a cream pie. Chocolate, peanut butter, Coconut. I love them all. This one I had the idea one day for when making peanut butter pudding. Why not sub the peanut butter for Nutella. Well needless to say it worked, and it was a big hit. So, make one of these up and watch it vanish!!

Pie Crust Recipe

Ingredients:

5 Tbsp Unsalted Butter cut into 1/4-inch cubes and chilled

1 tsp salt

1 Cup (approximately) A.P. Flour

1/4 cup Ice Water

In a bowl combine the flour and salt and mix together with a fork. Add the chilled butter and blend together with a pastry blender until mealy texture. Add water 1 tsp at a time until the dough sticks together when pinched. Sometimes it will take more, sometimes less. Place the dough onto a floured surface and bring together into a ball. Then pat it down to form a round disc. place this into a zip-lock bag and put in the fridge for at least a half an hour. While you are at it place your pie pan in there as well and let it get cold. Cold is the key to a good crust if you haven’t noticed the pattern already. After 30 mins or so remove the dough from the fridge and the bag and place onto your floured surface again. Sprinkle some more flour on top of your dough and rub some on your rolling pin as well. Starting at the center, roll outward changing directions often until you have a big enough circle to cover your pan with some excess. Now roll the edge of your circle up over your rolling pin and gently roll it up. Place this over your chilled pan and unroll. Form the dough to the pan and trim off the excess leaving enough to cover the edge of pan. Now using your finger and thumb work your way around the edge and pinch the dough to neaten it up. Using a fork, poke holes in the bottom of the crust and place back in the fridge for about 15 mins to chill again. (again, cold is key) Pre-heat your oven to 425 degrees place a piece of parchment paper over the crust and fill with dried beans. This will help the crust hold its shape while baking. Bake in the oven for about 10 minutes and remove and let cool before adding your filling.

Chocolate Hazelnut Pudding

Ingredients: 

1/3 cup White Sugar

1/3 cup Corn Starch

2 1/4 cups Whole Milk or half and half (heavy cream if you want it really rich) 

2 tsp Vanilla extract

1 Cup Nutella 

In a med saucepan add the sugar and cornstarch. Slowly add the milk and stir constantly over med-low heat until it is thick and bubbly. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla and Nutella. let this cool for a bit and pour into your prepared pie shell. Place in the fridge to set up for at least 3 hours. Remove, slice and serve with whipped cream on top. Enjoy!!

Cook from the heart taste the love