Peanut Butter Banana Bread

This genius combination adds a new twist to an old fave! It's so good, you're going to want to double this recipe to get TWO loaves!

Bread:

• 1 1/2 cups mashed ripe banana (approx. 3 bananas)
• 1/3 cup plain fat-free yogurt
• 1/3 cup creamy peanut butter
• 3 Tbs butter, melted
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup ground flaxseed
• 3/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp ground allspice
• 2 Tbs chopped dry-roasted peanuts

Glaze:

• 1/3 cup powdered sugar
• 1 Tbs 1% low-fat milk
• 1 Tbs creamy peanut butter

PREHEAT to 350

COMBINE first five ingredients in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed. Add sugars; beat until blended.

COMBINE flour and next five ingredients (through allspice) in a small bowl. Add flour mixture to banana mixture; beat just until blended. Stir in nuts. Pour batter into a 9x5 loaf pan coated with cooking spray.

BAKE at 350 for 1 hour and 5 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove from oven; cool 10 minutes in pan on a wire rack. Remove bread from pan; cool.

TO PREPARE GLAZE, combine powdered sugar, milk, and peanut butter in a small bowl, stirring with a wisk. Drizzle glaze over bread. Yield: 1 loaf

Cooking Light Magazine, October 2010

Streusel Caramel Bars

Streusel Caramel Bars

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
• 1 egg, beaten
• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) cold butter, divided
• 3/4 cup chopped nuts (optional)
• 24 caramels, unwrapped
• 1 can (14oz) Sweetened Condensed Milk

PREHEAT oven to 350F. Grease 13x9 baking pan. In large bowl, combine flour, brown sugar and egg. Cut in 1/2 cup butter until crumbly. Stir in nuts. Reserve 2 cups crumb mixture. Press remaining crumb mixture firmly on bottom of prepared pan. Bake 15 minutes.

MEANWHILE, in a heavy saucepan over low heat, melt caramels and remaining 1/4 cup butter with sweetened condensed milk. Pour evenly over baked crust. Top with reserved crumb mixture.

BAKE 20 minutes or until bubbly. Cool. Cut into bars. Store loosely covered at room temperature. Makes 2-3 dozen bars. *No high altitude modifications

-Incredibly Easy Cookies CookBook

Kona Inn Banana Bread

This comes from my mom's recipe archives - - a recipe lovingly borrowed from a bakery she visited in Hawaii as a child.

Kona Inn Banana Bread
*with high altitude modifications

• 2 1/2 cups sifted cake flour or all-purpose flour [*add 2 Tbs flour]
• 2 tsp baking soda [*only use 1 3/4 tsp]
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 cups granulated sugar [*subtract 2 Tbs sugar]
• 1 cup softened butter
• 6 ripe banans, mashed (approx 3 cups)
• 4 eggs, well beaten before adding

PREHEAT oven to 350F. Lightly grease TWO (2) loaf pans. Sift dry ingredients together.

CREAM together sugar and butter until light and fluffy. Add bananas and eggs, beating until well mixed. Blend dry ingredients into banana mixture – Do not overmix!

BAKE 45-60 minutes until center is firm and edges begin to separate from pan. Cool 10 min before removing from pans.

Outrageous Cookie Bars

I keep all of these ingredients on hand at all times. This is the easiest treat to whip up with short notice. It does require time to cool before serving or else it falls apart.

Outrageous Cookie Bars

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs (sold in a box)
• 1 can (14oz) sweetened condensed milk
• 2 cups (12oz package) semi-sweet chocolate morsels
• 1 cup flaked coconut
• 1 cup chopped walnuts (don't leave this out!)

PREHEAT oven to 350F.

MELT butter in 13x9 pan by placing it in the preheating oven for a few minutes. Sprinkle graham cracker crumbs over butter. Stir well with fork. Press onto bottom of pan with fingers.

POUR condensed milk over crust; be sure to cover edges. Sprinkle with chocolate morsels, then coconut, then walnuts; press down firmly. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool completely before cutting.

*No high altitude modifications

The World's Best Cookie

I know the name is bold, but trust me, it earned the right to be immodest. This is my favorite all-time cookie. Not too sweet, not too gooey, a very mature flavor, and it sort of crumbles in your mouth. Plus, you can it a ton of the cookie dough and never get a tummy ache - - now THAT'S the sign of a great cookie! You're going to want to commit this one to memory!

The World's Best Cookie

• 1 cup butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
• 1 egg
• 1 cup salad oil (I like Enova)
• 1 cup rolled oats
• 1 cup crushed cornflakes
• 1/2 cup shredded coconut
• 1/2 cup chopped walnut or pecans (don't leave the nuts out of this one!)
• 3 1/2 cup sifted all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• (I add a smidge of almond extract too)

PREHEAT oven to 325F.

In small bowl, combine oats, cornflakes, coconut and nuts. In separate bowl, sift together flour, baking soda and salt. Put both bowls aside. In large mixer bowl, cream together butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add egg, mixing well, then salad oil, mixing well, then vanilla. Add oats mixture, stirring well. Then add flour mixture. Mix well and roll into balls the size of small walnuts with hands. Place on ungreased cookie sheet. Flatten with a fork dipped in water. Bake for 12 minutes. Cool on cookie sheet for a minute before removing. Move to wire rack to cool and sprinkle the warm cookies with granulated sugar. MAKES 5 ½ DOZEN

Layers of Love Chocolate Brownies

I mean seriously. This is the real deal.

Layers of Love Chocolate Brownies
*with high altitude modifications

• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour [*add 1 Tbs flour]
• 3/4 cup baking cocoa (ie, Nestle, Hershey's, etc)
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, cut into pieces
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar [*subtract almost 1 full Tbs sugar]
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 3 large eggs, divided
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup chopped pecans (optional)
• 3/4 cup Nestle Toll House Premier White Morsels (I increased to 1 cup because I did not add pecans)
• 1/2 cup caramel ice cream topping
• 3/4 cup Nestle Toll House Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels

PREHEAT oven to 350F. Grease 8-inch square baking pan.

COMBINE flour, cocoa and salt in small bowl. Beat butter and sugars in large mixer bowl until cream. Add TWO (2) eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add vanilla extract; mix well. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Reserve 3/4 cup batter. Spread remaining batter into prepared baking pan. Sprinkle pecans and white morsels over batter. Drizzle caramel topping over top. Beat remaining egg and reserved batter in same large bowl until light in color. Stir in semi-sweet morsels. Spread evely over caramel topping.

BAKE for 30-35 minutes or until center is set. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Cut into squares.

*I left baking temp and time the same because I like my brownies moist! Makes 16 brownies.

-Incredibly Easy Cookies CookBook

Light Sour Cream Coffee Cake Recipe

For all you fellow Bay Area kids that remember Lafayette's famed Milly's Kitchen and it's delicious, piping hot coffee cake, have I got a recipe for YOU! I should mention I also have a weakness for pretty much any baked good that contains sour cream, so this was obviously up my alley as well!

Light Sour Cream Coffee Cake

· 2 cups all-purpose flour
· 1 ½ cups sugar
· 1 tsp baking powder
· ½ tsp salt
· ½ tsp ground cinnamon
· 2 eggs, beaten
· 1 cup (8oz) reduced-fat sour cream
· ½ cup vanilla yogurt
· ½ cup butter, melted
· 1 tsp vanilla extract

Streusel:
· ½ cup packed brown sugar
· 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
· 2 Tbs butter, melted
· 1 tsp ground cinnamon

In a large bowl, combine the first five ingredients. In another bowl, combine the eggs, sour cream, yogurt, butter and vanilla. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened.

In a small bowl, combine the streusel ingredients. Spoon half of the batter into a 13x9in baking pan coated with cooking spray; sprinkle with half of streusel. Top with remaining batter and then remaining streusel. Bake at 350F for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Place pan on a wire rack to cool.

TasteOfHome.com

High Altitude Modifications: Add 2 Tbs flour to the batter mixture; subtract 1 Tbs sugar from batter; shake off a smidge of the baking powder from the teaspoon before adding it the batter. The pro's say to increase the oven temp and decrease the baking time, but I think leaving these components just as they are in the recipe yields a fluffier cake in this case. Be sure to do the toothpick test to check for doneness when the oven beeps though -- you don't want it too gooey on the inside!