Have you, like me, go to Starbucks, see all the edible goodies behind the glass and think "oh that cake was too sweet, that one was too dry, the one I like the most is just too fattening....?
Do you do this?
I do.
And as much as I love their blueberry snack cake or is it called blueberry loaf?
It's just too sweet and always slightly under-baked.
And then their pumpkin loaf is just too dry and bland.
Don't get me started on how bread-like their croissants are.
Definitely not a real croissant, just bread shaped like a croissant.
There are days when I bring my own cake or snack with me when I go to Starbucks. Now that it's Fall I wanted to do a lighter version of a pumpkin snack cake. Flavorful and with texture, but not too heavy or too sweet. I think you'll like this one and it keeps great too.
Keep in mind that I do not like a lot of pumpkin pie spice, so if you do want to make this, you might want to add more; mine is on the low-end of spice flavor scale.
Taste-test the batter and see how you like it before you bake it.
I also used a Pumpkin Via for that hint of espresso in the cake--quite tasty. Up to you if you want to add this in. If you don't add it in then maybe double the amount of pumpkin spices.
9/23/12
pumpkin-walnut snack cake (lightened up)
9/21/12
friday links
Happy Friday!
Today I was able to see gorgeous waves AND a giant rainbow--all in one day.
Had to share them with you.
Nauset light beach in Eastham, MA. Just one of my surfing buds out today. Water temp. 64-66? I think.
Nauset light beach again. This is where I walk to strengthen my quads. The sand is deep, yet soft, so it's easy on the knees. Funny how this end of the cape was dark and cloudy and the other end was sunny.
And now closer to home, the rainbow we saw tonight was absolutely stunning and thick too. Never saw a rainbow width that wide before (if that makes sense). This was taken at town neck beach--boardwalk side.
Here is the other end of the rainbow. Hard to see, but it's in the middle of the two houses. This is when I wish I had one of those fancy zoom lens cameras. The sunsets on cape cod are memorable.
Today is the last day of summer. Booo.
I'm sad. I'm a sun-loving water girl; I hate to see summer go.
When I was younger I loved the fall and loved the snow in winter
Now any weather under 80 degrees and I'm frozen.
Could be old age, who knows. I do know for a fact, that come February I get a small case of the blues--SAD (seasonal affective disorder).
This is one of the reasons hubby is working so hard (god bless and love him) to get us back out to cali.
No snow there and plenty of sunshine.
I would be curious to know if any of my readers suffer from SAD?
What do you do to keep it at bay or minimize it?
I up my fish oil, stay outside more since they say even being outside even if it's cloudy the outside/sky illuminations helps the brain.
My friend has made coconut cupcakes with marshmallow creme frosting. I adore coconut cupcakes.
She has one of those fancy schmancy cameras and is quite good with it too.
How 1-hour on Sundays will change your life. What do you think?
Photo booth art from around the world.
Carole Feuerman sculptures. Hand painted resin sculptures that look exactly like humans.
You have to see her work.
How to make Jello worms (just in time for Halloween).
Interesting. Saw this at Whole Foods. Had no idea that Kale had that much Vitamin C. Did you?
What your belly fat really means.
Why CrossFit is getting popular with women.
Oh I love this! Getting the best hamstring stretch.
And for those of you who love to stretch moreso than working out, this new book maybe for you. Ballet Beautiful. I firmly believe that stretching is a great way to strengthen and tone up the body.
Ballet Beautiful is great book! I highly recommend this if you want to be more flexible and want a change up from your yoga routine. Definitely not as hard as the NYC Ballet Workout book. Remember that one? Oh that was hard.
Read an interview with Jennifer Graham, author of "Honey, do you need a ride? Confessions of a fat runner".
9/19/12
bacon jam cheeseburgers
One of the last things I used my sweet & spicy bacon jam on was cheeseburgers.
This was so insanely good on cheeseburgers; it was like having your bacon and condiments all in one.
I think bacon jam should be a staple in all burger and steakhouse joints.
I mean how can you not do this to a burger?
No recipe needed.
Just top the bacon jam on top of the done burger.
For bacon jam recipe click here. 
Also, congrats to the winners of the Sprinkle Bakes cookbook giveaway. #72 lleanmunro and #185 kristinpotpie.
Please email me your shipping address.
9/16/12
honey cornbread muffins stuffed w/ bacon jam
Remember the sweet & spicy bacon jam I made a couple weeks ago?
With the leftovers I had I used them up in another cornbread dish.
Instead of using them in pancake form I decided to go the muffin route.
Sweet honey cornbread just begs for bacon doesn't it?
The two flavor combo's are perfect with each other.
And with the gentle heat of the bacon jam paired with the honey touched cornbread--oh they were good.
I found a perfect honey cornbread recipe over at Baking Bites.
In her recipe she gives you the option of adding fresh corn kernels--please, do this.
It's a fabulous texture-boost.
honey cornbread muffins stuffed with bacon jam
muffin recipe adapted from bakingbites.com
print recipe
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup yellow cornmeal
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup butter, melted and cooled
1/2 cup honey
2 large eggs
1 cup buttermilk
2/3 cup fresh corn kernels (optional)
bacon jam (about 1/2 - 3/4 cup usage for this recipe)
cook notes: make sure to keep the bacon jam cold before you use it in here. Keeping it cold helps you form a better ball to place in the center of the muffin dough.
Preheat oven to 350F. Spray a 12 -cup muffin tin with a good amount of nonstick spray or you could use muffin liners (I did not).
In a large bowl, whisk together flour, cornbread, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
In a medium bowl, whisk together butter, honey, eggs and buttermilk until smooth. If adding in the fresh corn kernels, add those in now to the wet mixture.
Pour in to dry ingredients and stir just until batter is well combined an no streaks of dry ingredients remain.
Fill the muffin tin with half the batter.
Then place a scoop of bacon jam (a nice rounded ball like scoop if you can) on top of the muffin batter.
Then pour remaining batter on top of the muffins.
Give the muffin tray a little jiggle to make sure the batter is evenly coating the muffin tins.
Bake for 18-20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the SIDE of the muffin comes out clean. If you stick it in the middle you will get the bacon jam coating the toothpick. You also know when they are done by the tops of the muffins are golden brown.
Makes 12
9/14/12
friday links
Happy Friday!
The weather is still summer-like so I'm very happy.
Did I mention I saw one of these cupcake trucks the other day?
Did I squeal like a child when I saw it? Yes, yes I did.
Cute truck right?
Recently I was on a trip to western massachusetts to see one of my best friends. We visited the area of Shelburne Falls on the Mohawk Trail. What a nice area for for walking and eating. I was blown away at how many fabulous places to eat. Not only was the food good, but most of the restaurants served locally grown foods.
We went to West End Pub for these lobster rolls that we're the size of your head! And I'm from cape cod--we never get them that big!
We also ate at Hope & Olive in Greenfield, MA. And I cannot even begin to tell you how absolutely perfect their food was. It had been a long long time since I've been a restaurant that prides itself on local harvest with family owned values. The food was fresh, seasoned just right, and a huge array of choices not only in the tapas side but on the daily special dishes as well. I'm not a drinker, but I was at Hope & Olive because they had speciality drinks such as the swan dive:
tarragon infused vodka martini, with grapefruit, sugar and black pepper.
I had the coco mojo, a traditional mojito made with housemade coconut cream. A delight on the tastebuds.
I had photos, but they got deleted from my iphone sadly.
If you are making a trip out to western massachusetts this fall, please pay them a visit. They open at 5pm for dinner, and by 7pm they are already packed. Thankfully the seating is very roomy.
Of course a trip would never be complete without finding the perfect little gourmet resource shop for cooks.
I swear I seek out these gourmet kitchen stores whenever I'm on vacation.
The Lamson & Goodnow Factory Outlet in Shelburne Falls, MA.
You might have heard of Lamson & Goodnow maker of LamsonSharp™ cutlery, is the oldest cutlery manufacturer in the United States. Lamson & Goodnow was established in Shelburne Falls, Massachusetts in 1837. The factory outlet in Shelburne Falls is the ONLY place where you can buy Lamson & Goodnow cutlery seconds at drastically reduced prices.
When I say reduced, I mean a true factory outlet price, not just discounts on crappy, scratched up seconds.
The knife in the above photo, is from the vintage collection, with super alloy american steel, double tempered, morado wood handle, and full tang with double brass rivets. A true knife, that is handcrafted to last. I was very impressed by how well made these knives were.
The Lamson & Goodnow factory outlet store in Shelburne Falls, MA.
Another knife that caught my eye!
What did I buy?
Oh you know all kinds of little knick knacks because they are so small, so cute.
I mean who doesn't love mini souffle dishes?
Are you interested in what's happening at the planet Mars?
The rover Curiosity?
I am too, and I found this neat little curiosity cam website.
DIY banana liqueur? Yes please.
20 ways to cultivate intermittent euphoria in your life. Interesting indeed.
frosted carrot-ancho snack cake! From scarletta bakes. Seriously.
Apple pie bundles from bake or break.
peanut butter & jelly blondies from averie cooks.
Has anyone tried this yet?
I hope it's not too sweet. I adore flavorful coffee's but not sugar-filled.
Downton Abbey fans?
Have you seen this cookbook?
It's actually quite good.
Has actual recipes as seen on the show; dining with the Crawleys!
I was drawn to this cookbook because of those "breakfast baked beans". Remember those? The recipe is in here.
One could really say these are vintage-like recipes. Even the book is laid out with a vintage-like theme.
Nibble on Sybil's Ginger Nut Biscuits during tea. Treat yourself to Ethel's Beloved Crepes Suzette. Feast on Mr. Bates' Chicken and Mushroom Pie with a room full of guests.
With this collection of delicacies inspired by Emmy Award winning series Downton Abbey, you'll feel as sophisticated and poised as the men and women of Downton when you prepare these upstairs and downstairs favorites. Each dish finds its roots within the kitchen of the grand estate, including:
Mrs. Isobel Crawley's Smoked Salmon Tea Sandwiches
Filet Mignon with Foie Gras and Truffle Sauce
Walnut and Celery Salad with Pecorino
Decadent Chocolate Almond Cake with Chocolate Sour Cream Icing
Very Vanilla Rice Pudding
Fig & blue cheese tarts. Pg. 33
Butternut squash soup. Pg. 42
Tips for keeping your hormones in balance. (very helpful).
Curious. Do you believe (and practice) the health benefits of apple cider vinegar?
Superfoods for youthful skin. (they should have added blueberries!--the miracle fruit).
For those of you that love vintage recipes (I do).
You're sure to love this food blog: Kitchen Historic.
Craft junkies? Have you seen this new website: craftgawker.
Find a lot of inspiration here for your next crafting project.
Mine is sewing. I am determined to take up sewing. Knitting didn't go so well.
A wonderful piece in the New York Times about happy cows, happy farming,and healthy food.
How I wish we had more of these kinds of articles and more of these kinds of dedicated/caring farmers.
Mini moon pies. And one has mint! I'm in heaven.
Info-graphic: how women are being set up for eating disorders.
Coconut oil may help prevent tooth decay?
4 new tick-borne illnesses have been identified.
Buffalo "chicken" vegetarian style. You must see these!
How to manage the 7 most common sleep disorders.
10,000 unwanted books take over the streets of melbourne.
Intimate and revealing backstage photos of famous musicians.
Merguez hot dogs with pickled carrots & cumin aioli.
How do foods affect my sleep?
Before you tell yourself "I can't", watch this video.
Easy peasy ways to add more raw fruits & veggies to your diet. (you can easily do these).
It's going to be really hard to say goodbye to summer.
We had one heck of a beautiful (and hot) summer here on cape cod.
....really hard to say goodbye to summer.....
Have a great weekend everyone!
9/10/12
Interview: Heather Baird of Sprinkle Bakes +Giveaway!
(contest closed)
Today I’m beyond excited to have Heather Baird of the award-winning blog sprinklebakes.com as our guest interview.
Heather has her first cookbook out “Sprinkle Bakes”. A delightful book about unleashing your inner creative self with her easy, foolproof recipes, baker and artist Heather offers us a fresh and innovative approach to creating anything from cookies, cakes, spoon desserts, pastries and candy to look and tastes like works of art.
She also teaches us the finer points to making the perfect icings, best tips for perfect piping, ways to make culinary paints, crushed pigments—even informs us on brushes and how to create a template for piping, gum paste or fondant. Literally every area of fine cake decorating is covered and with ease or as I like to call it “no fear”. Heather truly shows us how easy it really is to take an image we see in a book, magazine or the Internet and transform it unto a cake or cookie.
Her cookbook Sprinkle Bakes is perfectly laid out with:
baking equipment, art supplies & decorating tools.
cookies, cakes, candies, spoon desserts, icings, pastries & crusts.
culinary paints, crushed pigments, gel food coloring paints, brushes, creating a template.
sculpture: carving, hand-modeling, armature, building,, manipulating, subtracting, assembling, impasto, casting.
color: color wheel, color harmony, natural hues, color icings & batters.
templates, baking websites, useful suppliers, index.
Biography: She is an accomplished painter and photographer whose works are in public and private collections across the United States, but her passion is creating eye-popping, mouthwatering desserts. She is a devoted practitioner of international confectionery technique who explores the outer limits of patisserie. She writes about her adventures in the world of creative dessert-making in her award-winning blog at sprinklebakes.com. Heather lives in Knoxville, TN, with her husband Mark and a mischievous pug named Biscuit.
Heather has also, generously shared with us a special recipe that just for the vanilla sugar blog readers. (see recipe after the interview).
Thank you so much Heather!
Questions:
Heather, first off, congratulations on the book! When my copy arrived in the mail I literally sat at my desk for a straight hour, mouth open, heart racing, feet tapping at all the culinary creations. I was shocked, as I read through how easy these are to make. I mean you really show us how easy it is to create fancy/edible works of art.
Always had it in my mind that the actual creations you make need a ton of specials tools, or fancy pastry schooling—but no, most of them are just so easy. Case in point, the “Impasto” you used on a cake (see photo below) to make flames is nothing more than candy melts painted (thinly) on parchment paper.
Impasto: is a form of painting that crosses over into sculpture. It refers to a technique in which a heavy bodied paint is laid on a surface very thickly. A palette knife is used to create three-dimensional strokes.
You don’t necessarily need any pastry skills – or art skills - to make the creations in this book. At my last book signing someone said “I could never make that!”(pointing to the impasto cake), but the technique is really easy and we’ve worked very hard to describe the steps for each recipe in great detail.
extremely helpful hints throughout the book on colors for doughs, frostings, icings, candies.....
I know you were, and still are a painter. What medium?
I work in oils and acrylics. I love painting but it’s been difficult to find the time when elbow-deep in frosting.
Were you behind the scenes of a gallery? Or an at-home designer for various clients?
I’ve been involved in nearly every aspect of gallery work, but I was behind the scenes for many years. In 2004 I was trained as an archival picture framer, which taught me patience and discipline when handling valuable art.
I actually think that experience has helped me with my cake decorating!
My favorite job was being a fine artist.
With painting, you get to be part of something long-lasting, something that has the potential to survive for ages.
Of course, the same cannot be said for dessert.
But sometimes the art is in the creating, and not the finished product.
Hard caramel, step by step instructions, pg. 54
What kind of works of art did you create? Mixed media?
Were you classically trained in the culinary world?
As a young artist I was drawn to abstract cubism (think Picasso) and that’s what I practiced and had success selling, but through the years my artwork has become more figurative.
I have never taken a cooking or pastry class – not even a cake decorating class!
I read and research if there’s a baking or decorating technique I want to learn. I learn best from trial and error.
Were you ever intimidated by sugar crafting? I know I am, a lot actually.
Yes! There are still projects that I haven’t tried because they are so intricate.
The process can’t be rushed. You have to be good to yourself and allow plenty of time to create and get in “the zone”.
That’s half the work. The finished product is so worth it, though.
Afterward I find that I just want to keep going, trying new crafts and bettering myself through this medium.
What made you switch over to food? What drove you or inspired to give it a go?
There are events in life that are really hard on a person’s creativity – like moving house.
My canvas and brushes were in moving boxes and I decided to explore baking because, well – my muffin tins and cookie cutters were the only things accessible at the time!
(I got a couple questions from fans on this one)
How were you approached to do a cookbook?
A literary agent had browsed my blog after finding the Mehndi hand cookies I created.
She read my bio and saw that I was an artist and felt the art angle could work for a baking book.
blue velvet cupcakes (look at that color!) pg. 195
Are there any recipes that you had a really hard time with?
I didn’t have many problems with the recipes, most of the time it was photography with which I struggled. I was shooting during the winter months and was desperate for some natural light. My dining room had to become a full-blown photography studio.
Any that didn’t make the book?
Yes, a few. A pumpkin-spice cake covered with autumnal-hued leaf tuiles was one of my favorites that didn’t make it. It was very pretty, but I decided against submitting it when informed that the book was brimming at 386 pages.
Originally, this book was expected to be around 170 pages. It was finally edited down to 277 pages.
The recipe I’m sharing today is from a sketch in my recipe journal (see below for recipe).
I had planned to make it for the book, but I had one too many ideas for hard caramel. It’s great to finally see this cake come to life – and it’s so delicious! Who doesn’t love Hummingbird Cake?!
What is your favorite creation in the book? The one that gave you the most satisfaction?
I really love the yule log cake. It was so fun to make because it looks just like a plank of wood. It’s made of orange genoise and chocolate ganache, so it’s really delicious too.
How did you come up with all your creations (for the book and the blog)?
Do you get a creative idea in your head, write it down? Or see a recipe elsewhere and think of ways to “kick it up a notch?”
All of those things.
But I am constantly sketching ideas in my recipe journal.
I usually have a picture of what I want to make in my head and then think to myself “how do I get there from here?”
One of Heather’s most recent creations (on her blog) the cappuccino mousse with coffee caviar: dessert caviar without the molecular gastronomy! Here is a video of that creation.
Coffee Caviar from Heather Baird on Vimeo.
What made you think of this?
It’s really neat to see all the things molecular gastronomists come up with, but most of the techniques are not accessible to the home baker. As the latter, I just wanted to have some fun, too!
Who were your taste-testers?
My friends and family were well fed throughout the writing of this book.
I love how enthusiastic they were, even at the end when everyone’s eyeballs were floating in cake they never turned down a bite.
What do you like to do in your leisure time?
Coffee, books, music. I also love to watch Star Trek re-runs.
In a typical day, what do you eat? I know sugar is a staple in your diet for recipe taste-testing.
I’m a minimalist when it comes to solid food.
I like simple; multigrain toast with real butter almost every morning for breakfast and I eat salmon and tuna nigiri about twice a week.
sweet coconut sushi w/ chocolate "soy" sauce. pg. 159
Any foods that you don’t care for?
Well, this isn’t exactly food per se, but I don’t like mint chewing gum.
When I was a child my mom would give me a piece when I got squirmy in church.
Chewing a piece takes me right back to that restless feeling.
Favorite pig out foods?
Onion rings and a grilled cheese with pickles.
Cherry limeade to go with that.
Chocolate-chunk cookie dough ice cream.
Did you grow up in a “foodie family”?
I have a family of great cooks – great southern cooks.
Growing up there was never pink Himalayan sea-salt on our dinner table. Nothing fancy.
One of my favorite family meals is “soup” beans (pintos) with cornbread and slices of home-grown tomato on the side.
The food was, and still is, simply but expertly prepared.
The fanciest dessert my grandmother ever made was apple stack cake.
postcard cookies. pg. 109
Is your husband a foodie?
He is!
He’s given me some great insight on some of the recipes I develop, and he never spares my feelings.
I think that’s great but I don’t always take his advice.
In the culinary world, who are your favorite chefs/bakers?
Stella Parks of Table 310 in Lexington KY, and author of the blog BraveTart.
I just love her spin on nostalgic treats. I must give some love to my favorite local bakery, too.
Magpie’s in Knoxville TN. has the best Strawberry cake I’ve ever tasted.
Favorite places to travel just for the food?
When I was in New York, my agent took me to The Breslin for breakfast.
They have an amazing fried peanut butter-banana bourbon sandwich.
I would travel long distances for that sandwich.
tuile cookie spoons w/ peanut butter mousse. pg. 162
A second cookbook in the works? If so, what will it be about?
My editor encouraged me to think about a second cookbook.
We’ll see what happens.
I’d definitely love the opportunity to create another book.
Any advice to your fans who wish to achieve your level of culinary creations?
Grow some patience, and don’t get too discouraged if a recipe doesn’t turn out as planned.
I’ve had plenty of failures and that’s a valuable lesson in what not to do.
Also, any sensible advice to people who wish to get published?
I didn’t actively seek out an agent, so I’m afraid I don’t have a great answer to this question.
I can only say that if you do your best and if your passion shines through your writing, then others will take notice!
One of the recipes that didn't make the book: Hummingbird Cake. Thanks again Heather for sharing this.
Hummingbird in a Cage
by heather baird of sprinklebakes. com
print recipe
This recipe was once destined for the pages of my baking book, but because of limited space it was only realized as a sketch – until now!
I hope you’ll enjoy my take on this popular southern dessert called Hummingbird Cake. The “cage” is made of deep amber hard caramel pieces that are pressed into the top of the cake. A single walnut halve is placed in the top center of the cake inside the “cage” to represent a hummingbird.
Cake:
3 cups cake flour (sifted all-purpose may be used)
2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 large slightly over-ripe bananas, chopped
1 cup drained crushed pineapple
1 cup canola oil
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup (4 ounces) finely chopped walnuts
Preheat oven to 350°. Lightly grease and flour three 6-inch (pictured) or two 9-inch round cake pans.
Sift the flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon and salt into a bowl. In another bowl, stir or whisk (by hand, not with an electric mixer!) the bananas, pineapple, oil, eggs and vanilla until combined. Pour into the dry mixture and fold together with a rubber spatula just until well combined. Do not over mix. Fold in the walnuts. Spread evenly into the pans.
Bake until the cake springs back when pressed in the center, 30 to 40 minutes. Let cakes cool in the pans for 10 minutes, and then turn out onto a piece of parchment or wax paper. Invert them onto a cooling rack so the cakes are right-side up. Cool completely.
The cake can be prepared up to 1 day ahead and stored, uncovered in the refrigerator. Let stand at room temperature 1 hour before serving.
Frosting:
1 cup white chocolate morsels
1 8 oz. package cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter, softened
3 cups powdered sugar
Place white chocolate morsels in a microwave-safe bowl. Heat at 30 second intervals in the microwave until melted and smooth. Set aside.
Combine cream cheese and butter in a large mixing bowl; beat at high speed with an electric mixer until creamy. Add melted chocolate; beat well. Gradually add in powdered sugar, beating at low speed at first, then increasing to medium speed until mixture reaches desired spreading consistency. Frost cooled cake layers.
Caramel cage pieces:
1 cup (225 g.) sugar
½ teaspoon lemon juice
1 walnut halve(for garnish)
Fold a large piece of baking parchment over the bottom dome of an 8 or 9-inch heat-proof bowl. Place the bowl dome-side-up on another piece of parchment.
Combine sugar and lemon juice in a saucepan with a metal kitchen spoon stirring until the sugar resembles wet sand. Place on medium heat; heat without stirring until sugar starts to melt around the sides of the pan and the center begins to smoke. Begin to stir sugar. Continue heating, stirring occasionally until the sugar is a clear, deep amber color. Remove from heat immediately; place bottom of pan in ice water to stop the cooking.
Drizzle caramel from the tip of a metal spoon onto and over the entire surface of the parchment dome. Repeat until all the caramel is used. Let caramel harden, then break caramel pieces off the parchment paper in tall shards. Press hard caramel pieces into the top of the cake, so that the curved pieces are pointing inward to create a “cage”. Place a single walnut halve in the center of the cake to represent the “hummingbird”.
Giveaway!
Heather is donating two of her books for a giveaway.
All you have to do to enter is leave ONE comment telling us what is your favorite recipe over at sprinklebakes.com.
Anything there you might be inspired to create yourself?
Please leave one comment, have a valid email address in post or in the comment.
We'll do the drawing on September 18, 2012
8/29/12
banana bread balls
Cake balls.
I like them, they're ok. I prefer cake balls made with real chocolate not dipping melts.
Something about that flavor of dipping melts is just not right--chemically? metallic?
The one thing that I hated about making cake balls is the batter is a little too delicate, sure I'm not a professional and really haven't made them a lot, so I could get better with practice.
With these banana bread balls, the dough/batter is so much easier to dip. Heartier, less chances of it falling apart when you dip them in chocolate.
Who doesn't love easier?
(sorry for the moisture droplets on the chocolate; it's been a hot & humid summer on cape cod)
So yes, these banana bread balls were a HUGE success; I was truly happy with the first run.
I'm certain you will be too.
Great idea to make with the kids. Just have your dipping station set up and it's so easy.
I highly recommend using the nuts--you really want that texture. You could also stick them on a stick.
So easy to make really. If you want to find a 'hard part'? It would dipping the balls in chocolate.
Take a perfectly cooked loaf of banana bread, smash it up and mix with cream cheese.
Roll into 1-2 inch size balls. And keep in fridge till ready to dip. Make sure the balls are always kept cold before dipping.
Get your dipping station ready.
For dipping, I used a plastic fork. Chopsticks also work well too.
Make sure to sprinkle tops with chopped walnuts!
Let set up until chocolate hardens.
I used milk chocolate for dipping. But dark might work too.
I think these lasted a day in the house? They are really good. A real treat.
I'll be taking a small blogging break for a few days.
Have a wonderful Labor Day weekend.
banana bread balls
print recipe
I used one of my favorite banana breads: Mama Dips’ Banana Bread.
Feel free to use whatever banan bread recipe you prefer.
1/2 cup shortening
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 cup mashed bananas (about 3 medium; the browner, the better!)
3 TB sour cream
1 TB lemon juice
2 cups flour
1 1/2 ts baking powder
1/2 ts salt
1/2 ts baking soda
8 ounces of cream cheese, room temp
2 cups +/- of milk chocolate chips (for dipping)
1 cup of crushed walnuts or pecans, optional
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
In bowl of stand mixer, cream shortening and sugar.
Beat in eggs one at a time; then bananas, sour cream, and lemon juice.
Sift together flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda.
Slowly add dry ingredients to mixture.
Pour into greased and floured 9x5x3 loaf pan.
Bake for 60 minutes.
Once bread is cooled. Crumble it up in a large bowl until you have crumbs—no large chunks should be remaining.
Add in the softened cream cheese. Mix well. I used my hands to mix this really well. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let set up, harden.
Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
Scoop out 1 or 2 inch balls, roll into fairly uniform balls. If using a medium size ice cream scoop makes it easier then go ahead. Remember you don’t want balls any larger than 2 inches.
Once all balls are done, place in fridge to chill.
Temper milk or dark chocolate. I used about 2+ cups of milk chocolate chips.
You might need a bit more.
Once chocolate is tempered, using a plastic fork or chopsticks, dip balls into chocolate and place on parchment lined cookie sheet.
Sprinkle the balls with the chopped nuts while chocolate is still soft.
It takes a while for the chocolate to harden or you can place them in the fridge to speed up the process.
They keep covered in air tight container in the fridge for about 3 days.
Should make about 25 balls; dependent on the size you roll them.
