Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

This recipe originated as a zucchini bread by Marion Cunningham many years ago.  I had some overripe bananas and used them in place of the zucchini and the rest is history....we've been making this for a very long time.  

You will need one 9 X 4 inch loaf pan.  The recipe makes one loaf, but I often double it to make two loaves as I did here.  It really depends on how may overripe bananas I have. Toss the chocolate chips with a tablespoon or so of flour to help keep them from sinking to the bottom of the breads.  

Ingredients:  Makes one loaf

2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted (8 ounces)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
2 eggs
1 1/3 cup sugar
2/3 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 to 3 pureed overripe bananas (I use a food processor)
1. cup chocolate chips

Directions:

1.  Heat oven to 350 degrees and coat the loaf pan with non-stick spray.
2.  Sift or whisk together first five ingredients and set aside.
3.  In the bowl of a stand mixer (or by hand if you'd like) beat the eggs until foamy.

4.  Add sugar, then oil and vanilla, mixing well after each addition.

5.  Reduce mixer to low and mix in dry ingredients until well blended.

6.  With a spatula, stir in bananas and chocolate chips.

7.  Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 60-75 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

8.  Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then remove and cool completely.

The Best Corn Muffins

This recipe was published by Cook's Illustrated in 2002. I have made them many, many times. They are moist and tender, and not too sweet. A favorite for serving with chili, or for breakfast with butter and jam.  

Notes:
I follow the recommendation of the folks at Cook's and use Arrowhead Mills yellow cornmeal.  It is available at Rainbow Blossom and Whole Foods.  I also highly recommend using an ice cream scoop to portion the batter into the pan.  It makes it very easy, and your muffins are all the same size.  These muffins freeze beautifully, just thaw and reheat in a low oven.  They are best served warm.

Makes 12 muffins, or 24 mini muffins

Ingredients:
2 cups (10 ounces) all-purpose flour
1 cup (4.5 ounces) fine-ground, whole-grain yellow cornmeal
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
3/4 cup (5.25 ounces) sugar
1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted
3/4 cup (6.25 fluid ounces) sour cream
1/2 cup (4.25 fluid ounces) milk

Directions:
1.  Heat oven to 400 degrees and spray a standard muffin pan with non-stick cooking spray.
2.  Whisk flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl.
3.  Whisk eggs in a second medium bowl until well combined and light colored.

4.  Add sugar to eggs and whisk vigorously until thick and homogeneous, about 30 seconds.

5.  Mix in melted butter in three additions.

6.  Whisk in the sour cream and milk in two additions.

7.  Add flour/cornmeal mixture and mix gently with a rubber spatula until batter is just combined and evenly moist.

8.  Use an ice cream scoop to divide the batter evenly among muffin cups.

9.  Bake for 15-18 minutes, rotating pan halfway through baking time.  A toothpick inserted in the center of muffins should come out clean.

10.  Cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then invert muffins onto a wire rack and cool 5 minutes longer.

Great Granola

I love granola and yogurt for breakfast, and have been making this recipe for years.  It is from The Perfect Recipe for Losing Weight & Eating Great by Pam Anderson.  

Pam Anderson lists a number of variations in her book.  The recipe below is my favorite combination but feel free to use any of the variations I have listed, or anything else that sounds good to you.  The calorie count for this varies from 110 to 125 calories per 1/4 cup serving depending on the specific nuts and fruits.

I frequently double this recipe to share.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups old-fashioned oats
• 1/2 cup of wheat germ
• 1/2 cup slivered almonds
• 1/2 t. cinnamon
• 1/4 t. salt
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 3 T. vegetable or canola oil
• 2 T. water
• 3/4 t. almond extract
• 1/2 cup unsweetened dried banana chips chopped - I prefer the dried unsweetened bananas found in the bulk section at Whole Foods
• 1/2 cup dried currants
  

1.  Heat oven to 275 degrees.  Line a 13 X 9 inch pan with heavy duty aluminum foil (to make clean up easy) and spray with vegetable cooking spray.
2.  Mix oats, wheat germ, almonds, cinnamon, and salt in a medium bowl.
3.  Heat syrup, oil, water, and extract until hot. (I use a Pyrex measuring cup and heat in the microwave) 

4.  Pour the hot syrup over the oat mixture and stir well.

5.  Spread the granola onto the prepared pan, pressing down on the granola to compact it to help make clumps.

6.  Bake for 30 minutes, stir the granola carefully so as not to break up the clumps, and bake for another 25-30 minutes.

7.  Mix in 1 cup dried fruit and cool completely.  

This keeps for about one month, I store it in a 1 quart glass jar.

Variations: 1 cup total

• Nuts - almonds, walnuts, pecans, cashews, peanuts, hazelnuts, coconut
• Seeds - sunflower, sesame
• Dried fruit - raisins, currants, cranberries, blueberries, strawberries, cherries, pears, pineapple 
• Mini chocolate chips

Additional variations include using nut oils in place of the vegetable oil, other spices, such as ginger, or vanilla extract in place of almond extract.  

New Jersey Crumb Buns

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I spent my formative years in New Jersey.  A standard bakery purchase in my family, and one of my all time favorites, were crumb buns - especially the corner buns since they had the most crumb topping!.  Trost's in Summit was our bakery of choice.  Sadly Trost's closed its doors about ten years ago.  Fortunately, Natale's Bakery in Summit picked up the slack and makes a great crumb bun (no icing for me). When I moved to Kentucky, there was not a  crumb bun to be found in any bakery.  Odd, since I thought the crumb bun was German in origin as are many of the bakeries in Kentucky.  Nevertheless, I was sadly crumb bun -less.  My wonderful sister sent me some from Natale's for Christmas this year and they were delicious.

Imagine my surprise when I received my Cook's Country magazine this week with New Jersey crumb buns on the cover!  According to Katie Leaird, the B&W Bakery in Hackensack, N.J. is at the center of the crumb bun universe.  My sister and niece are going to do a test taste to see if we agree.  Needless to say, I had to try the recipe and see if the folks at Cook's Country got it right, and I think they did.  These are as close as I will get to the New Jersey crumb buns I know and love until I get back to the 201.  

Notes:
The recipe calls for two kinds of flour - all purpose flour in the cake and cake flour for the crumb topping.   Cook's Illustrated published a New York Crumb Cake recipe in May 2007 that did not have a yeast based cake, but also used cake flour in the crumb topping.  I made that cake years ago and it's good, just not what I was looking for.  My point is that the cake flour in the crumb topping is a good idea and worth the effort to have a second type of flour on hand.  

I highly recommend using a scale when baking.  It is much easier and more accurate.  I have a Salter scale that I've used for many years.  Cook's Illustrated is currently recommending the Oxo Good Grips 11 lb scale, but I have not tried that scale myself.  

One last note regarding thermometers.  The directions indicate that the cake is done at a temperature of around 215 degrees.  I highly recommend the Thermapen  thermometer made by Thermoworks.  It is fast and accurate and well worth the investment.  I have the Classic, but the new Mk4 looks attractive - more water resistant.  

Ingredients:

CAKE:
2 1/4 cups (11 1/4 ounces) all-purpose flour
3/4 cups milk
1/4 cup (1 3/4 ounces) granulated sugar
1 large egg
3/4 t. vanilla (my addition)
2 1/4 t. instant or rapid rise yeast
3/4 t. salt
6 T. unsalted butter, cut into 6 pieces and very soft

TOPPING:
18 T. (2 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter, melted
3/4 cup (5 1/4 ounces) granulated sugar
3/4 cup (5 1/4 ounces) brown sugar - either light or dark brown (I used dark here)
1 1/2 t. ground cinnamon
1/2 t.salt
1 t. vanilla (my addition)
4 cups (16 ounces) cake flour
Confectioners' sugar

Directions:

1.  Heat oven to 350 degrees.  Butter a 9 X13 inch baking dish - they used a Pyrex baking dish as did I.  
2.  In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, combine flour, milk, sugar, egg, yeast, and salt.  Knead on low speed until dough comes together, about 2 minutes.

3.  With the mixer running, add butter 1 piece at a time, waiting until each piece is incorporated before adding the next.  The softer the butter is, the easier this process will be.

4.  Increase the speed to medium-high and continue to knead until the dough forms stretch, web-like strands on the sides of the bowl, about 6 minutes longer.  Dough will be soft and sticky.

5.  Using a greased rubber spatula (I rubbed the spatula in the buttered baking dish to grease it) transfer the dough to the prepared dish.  Using floured hands, press the dough into an even layer to the edges of the dish.

6.  Cover the dish with plastic wrap and let the dough rise at room temperature until slightly puffy, about one hour.  
7.  Ten minutes before dough has finished rising, whisk melted butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt together in a bowl.
8.  Add flour and stir with a rubber spatula until the mixture forms a thick, cohesive dough.  Let sit for 10 minutes to allow flour to hydrate.

9.  If dough has moved away from the sides of the dish, gently pat back into place.  

10.  Break topping mixture into rough 1/2 inch pieces using your fingers and scatter in an even layer over the dough.  Be sure to cover all the dough with a thick layer of crumbs (they are crumb buns!)

11.  Bake about 35 minutes until the crumbs are golden brown, a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean, and the cake portion registers about 215 degrees in the center.  

12.  Transfer the dish to a wire rack and cool completely, a couple of hours.

13.  Using a spatula, transfer cake to a cutting board.  Dust with confectioners' sugar and cut into 12 squares to serve.

Christmas Scones

This recipe came from Fine Cooking, a special issue published in the winter of 2004.  They are delicious, soft and moist, really  like a rich biscuit.  I make them every Christmas for a family brunch.  They have become a Christmas morning tradition at our house.  Particularly delicious with homemade strawberry jam - more on that later.  As an extra bonus, I make them through step #7 and freeze them.  I then bake them frozen for just a few minutes longer.  The do ahead feature certainly makes Christmas morning a bit less stressful!

Makes 8 large scones

Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour (9 ounces) - I always use King Arthur which is now widely available
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 T. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
6 T. (3 ounces) cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
3/4 cup heavy cream
2 large egg yolks

Optional Add-ins: (we prefer them plain - but feel free to try them)
1/2 cup (2 3/4 ounces) dried currants
or:
1 cup (5 1/2 ounces) coarsely chopped bittersweet or semisweet chocolate

For finishing:
1 egg lightly beaten or a few tablespoons of heavy cream
1 to 1 1/2 t. granulated sugar

1.  Heat the oven to 400 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment or non-stick foil.  I buy half sheets of parchment paper from King Arthur and use them all time. 
2.  In a large bowl, or the bowl of your food processor, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt and whisk together or pulse a few times in the processor.

3.  Cut in the butter with a pastry blender or two knives, or pulse in the food processor until the largest pieces of butter are about the size of peas.  

4.  Mix the egg yolks with the cream.  If you've used the food processor, move the flour mixture to a large bowl (mix in any optional add-ins now) and add the cream and yolk mixture all at once. 

5.  Stir the mixture with a fork and then use your hands to gently knead the mixture until all the dry ingredients are absorbed and the dough can be gathered into a moist, shaggy ball.

6.  Set the dough ball in the middle of the baking sheet and pat it gently into a round 1 inch thick and 7 inches in diameter.

7.  With a sharp knife, cut the round into eight wedges and separate them.  The scones may be frozen at this point on the baking sheet.  When frozen they may be packed into plastic freezer bags - it is helpful to write the baking instructions on the bag.

This is a double batch - 16 scones

8.  Before baking, brush the scones with the egg or cream wash and sprinkle with sugar.  
9.  Bake 18-22 minutes (a few minutes longer if frozen) until the scones are golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of a wedge comes out clean.  Let cool 10-15 minutes before serving.