Banana Cookies - Taste and Create

For Taste & Create this month I was paired with Quick & Easy, Cheap & Healthy. Anne does an awesome job reviewing recipes, products and ingredients for quickness, easyness, cheapness and healthiness. After searching through her blog I couldn't pass on the banana cookies. I always have issues with bananas going bad. I have recently started freezing those nasty black bananas that attract fruit flies in my kitchen. I was getting quite a collection of these nasty black things in the freezer and had to do something about it.

This is a very good recipe for banana cookies. What I really like about it is that the cookies are very light and soft. I added some toffee chips that I had leftover and they were perfect. Everyone seemed to enjoy them here and they will make a perfect after school snack!

Banana Cookies

Ingredients
1/2 cup of unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup of sugar
1 egg, room temperature
1 cup of mashed bananas (about 2 ½ large bananas)
1 teaspoon of baking soda
2 cups of flour
pinch of salt
1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon of ground mace or nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon of ground cloves
1 cup of pecans (walnuts and chocolate chips are fine alternatives) I used toffee chips

Method
1 Preheat the oven to 350°F. Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add the egg and continue to beat until the mixture is light and fluffy.
2 In a bowl, mix the mashed bananas and baking soda. Let sit for 2 minutes. The baking soda will react with the acid in the bananas which in turn will give the cookies their lift and rise.
3 Mix the banana mixture into the butter mixture. Mix together the flour, salt, and spices and sift into the butter and banana mixture and mix until just combined.
4 Fold into the batter the pecans or chocolate chips if using. Drop in dollops onto parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Bake for 11-13 minutes or until nicely golden brown. Let cool on wire racks.
Makes about 30 cookies

Brownie Buttons - TWD

These were not my favorite. I don't think that I liked the orange flavor. And I probably overcooked mine. Or maybe it was the fact that I forgot to add the brown sugar until the batter was already in the mini muffin tins. I just happened to glance back at the perfectly measured brown sugar sitting on the counter. CWAP! I actually just divided up the brown sugar in each invidual muffin portion and then mixed it with a toothpick. I don't think that I would attempt them again!

The recipe was chosen by Two Scientists Experimenting in the Kitchen. My batch made 24 buttons by doubling the recipe by 1/2.

Vanilla Ice Cream and Banana Bundt Cake

I have been awful about getting any blogging done lately. No excuses!

I made the vanilla ice cream last week. It was yummy and everyone enjoyed it. I followed Megan's recommendation and only used 3 eggs. The recipe was chosen by CafeLynnylu and can be found HERE.

Today I baked the banana bundt cake. Also a winner. It was moist and delicious. The recipe was chosen by The Food Librarian. I did use light sour cream though. I tried to make it less fattening. Yeah right:)!

Pretzels - Taste & Create

For Taste & Create this month, I was paired with foodie plus 4. There were lots of yummy recipes to choose from. But I couldn't resist the pretzels. I love stadium pretzels and these looked so good. I was going to make some mustard dip to serve with them but have been very unmotivated lately...especially with my blogging. So we are eating them plain. They are good. And so easy too. I was shocked at how much they taste like the real thing.

Pretzels
Makes about 12 medium pretzels.

1 package active dry yeast
1/8 cup warm water
1 1/3 cups warm water
1/3 cup light brown sugar
5 cups flour
6 cups water (for boiling)
12 Tbsp. baking soda
lots of coarse or kosher salt

Preheat oven to 475°F.
Sprinkle 2 baking sheets with coarse or kosher salt and set aside.
In a mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in 1/8 cup warm water.
Stir in remaining 1 1/3 cups warm water, brown sugar, and flour.
Mix until smooth, then knead dough (with the kneading attachment on your mixer or by hand on a floured surface) until smooth and elastic (about 3 minutes).
In a wide saucepan, boil the water with baking soda.
Divide the dough and start rolling the pieces like a pencil. Shape as desired.

Gently lower pretzels into boiling water (we did two at a time) and let cook for about 20 seconds or until dough is slightly yellow in color.

Remove pretzel with a slotted spoon and place on salted baking sheet. Sprinkle with salt, and bake for 8-10 minutes.

Thanks for the delicious recipe my fellow Taste & Create partner. I am also going to have to try that poundcake that I had a hard time passing up too. It sure looks like a diet killer and I just couldn't do that one since I have been a good girl and working out all week. But I will someday soon.

You Capture. 4th of July and Food

If you can believe it, I chose not to photograph any food for the challenge this week. All of my shots are from the 4th of July parade. My youngest has been sick since the 3rd but we were lucky enough to get to the parade.

My 3 favorite guys enjoying the parade.

This is such a neat shot. One of my favorites! If you look closely at the reflection in the bumper of the fire truck, you can see both of my boys covering their ears as the siren is being blared as it drives by!! I love it.

Be sure to head over to Beth's for the other You Capture participants.

Tribute To Katherine Hepburn Brownies - TWD

Lisa from Surviving Oz chose the recipe this week after she designed a fabulous logo for TWD. Check it out along with the recipe HERE.

The recipe is Katherine Hepburn brownies. They were good. Even though I did not really follow the recipe as Dorie suggested. I skipped the cinnamon and nuts. I also used espresso powder in place of instant coffee and only used half the amount.

The brownies are super fudgey and moist. Go ahead....try them. You won't be disappointed.

You Capture. Photographer's Choice.

This week's challenge for You Capture is a photo of your choice. I chose this picture of my youngest, Brady, after he fell asleep during our bike ride last weekend. He was pretty tuckered out after not having a nap for the second day in a row due to our camping trip. He was also up very late the night before trying to fall asleep in the tent. He managed to sleep like this while we took a 6 mile bike ride. His head kept hitting my back and I really have no idea how he slept?!

Check out the other "Photographer's Choice" selections at Beth's.

Happy 4th of July to everyone!!