Category Archives: banana

Friday Favorites: Bananas

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Any guesses as to the number one thing I’ve been asked for this pandemic? Anyone? Bueller?

Okay, I’ll tell you—it’s things to do with ripe bananas! I feel like I’ve been passing out banana bread recipes right and left for the last two months. Here are a few favorite banana breads and muffins, and a few more things to do with brown bananas. I figured you might like to have some options for the duration.Friday Favorites: BananasWhole Wheat Banana Bread

This soft and tender loaf has a little extra depth from whole wheat flour. There’s also a little life hack in the post for getting bananas to ripen in minutes rather than days. The more you know…Friday Favorites: BananasChocolate Banana Bread

This double chocolate banana bread is somewhere between breakfast and dessert. Incidentally, that is the exact time of day I like to enjoy it—anywhere between breakfast and dessert!

Friday Favorites: BananasSmall Batch Banana Muffins

One banana, six muffins, accidentally vegan. Need I say more?Friday Favorites: BananasOne-Banana Banana Bread

…okay, I’ll say that you can use the same basic formula from above (plus an egg or vegan egg substitute) and make a teeny loaf of banana bread. Small batch baking for the win!Friday Favorites: BananasWhole Grain Banana Muffins

One last banana bread/muffin/what have you, because heaven knows you can never have too many. These whole grain banana muffins are made with a ton of oats in addition to whole wheat flour, toasted walnuts, and chocolate chips. Yum!Friday Favorites: BananasWhole Grain Banana-Chocolate Chip Bars

Reading through the post, It seems I sort of tried to pass these off as a healthier option back in 2016. Not so sure about that, but I do know that these bars—made with oats,whole wheat flour, chocolate chips and one very ripe banana—are super delicious.Friday Favorites: BananasCaramelized Banana Milkshakes

Bananas cooked in butter and brown sugar and then whirled into a vanilla milkshake? Sign me up!Friday Favorites: BananasBanana Pecan Sticky Buns

The best sort of weekend breakfast! Sliced ripe bananas are rolled into cinnamon buns, baked over a lake of sticky pecan caramel, and then inverted so it all runs together in a truly wonderful way.Friday Favorites: BananasBanana Snickerdoodles

These soft, cinnamon-spiked banana cookies are coated in a thin, crackling layer of cinnamon-sugar. So, so, sooooo good.Friday Favorites: BananasBanana Pudding Cookies

I have had many baking “Everests” in the last several years, but this was the first. These soft, chewy, white chocolate chip studded cookies taste exactly (*exactly*) like banana pudding. They don’t contain a box of pudding mix either, instead relying on a mixture of powdered milk and cornstarch. Oh, and they are absurdly delicious and you should make a batch as soon as possible.Friday Favorites: BananasNo-Churn Banana Pudding Ice Cream

I love a no-churn ice cream, especially when it’s scented with vanilla and studded with banana and crumbled vanilla wafers! This was the most popular recipe on my site in 2016–believe the hype!

Have you made any of these or any of my other banana recipes? Let me know in the comments or on social media!Friday Favorites: BananasFriday Favorites: Bananas

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Small Batch Banana Muffins

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Small Batch Banana MuffinsJust in case you were wondering, if you decide to take my One-Banana Banana Bread recipe and make it into Small Batch Banana Muffins, it will work. It will work well.Small Batch Banana MuffinsSmall Batch Banana MuffinsIt will work if you use non-dairy milk or whole milk. It will work if you use lemon juice or white vinegar instead of apple cider vinegar.Small Batch Banana MuffinsIt will work if you use dark brown sugar instead of light brown. It will work if all you have is granulated sugar.Small Batch Banana MuffinsIt will work if you use canola oil or coconut oil or melted butter.Small Batch Banana MuffinsIt will work even when you get distracted by a Zoom call with friends and forget the (flax or regular) egg. In fact, your muffins will actually be better *because* you skipped the egg. I swear.

That never happens. It’s a quarantine miracle.Small Batch Banana MuffinsEr, *six* quarantine miracles.Small Batch Banana Muffins

Small Batch Banana Muffins
makes 6 standard muffins

1/3 cup milk of choice (non-dairy for vegan muffins)
1/2 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon Kosher or sea salt
1/4 cup canola oil
1 large very ripe banana, mashed

Preheat oven to 400F. Grease or use muffin liners in 6 cups of a standard muffin tin. Fill the remaining cups 1/3-1/2 of the way with water (to keep the pan from warping in the oven). Set aside.

In a measuring cup or small bowl, use a fork to whisk together milk and apple cider vinegar.

In a small bowl, whisk together flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Set aside.

Whisk oil into milk mixture, followed by mashed banana. Add dry ingredients. Use a silicone spatula or wooden spoon to fold ingredients together (20 strokes maximum). Batter will be thick.

Divide batter among prepared muffin cups. Bake 5 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350F and bake another 14-16 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Let muffins cool in the pan for at least five minutes before removing to a rack to cool completely. Serve. Leftovers will keep covered at room temperature for a couple of days, but may be refrigerated for up to 5.Small Batch Banana MuffinsSmall Batch Banana MuffinsSmall Batch Banana Muffins

Caramelized Banana Milkshakes

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Caramelized Banana MilkshakesThis post really couldn’t come at a better time: New York weather has officially crossed over into the “totally disgusting” zone. Blazing hot, humid AF—you get the picture. There will be no baking in my Brooklyn kitchen until Monday, at the very least.

I love my apartment—love it!—but its one major drawback is that the kitchen is both windowless and un-air-conditioned. There is no amount or configuration of tiny Costco tower fans that can counteract the all-consuming heat of a 350F oven on a sticky 99F NYC day. Believe me, I’ve tried them all.Caramelized Banana MilkshakesSo, let’s skip the oven this weekend and make milkshakes instead. Caramelized Banana Milkshakes, to be specific.Caramelized Banana MilkshakesCaramelized Banana MilkshakesCaramelized Banana MilkshakesSure, they require five minutes of stove time to caramelize the bananas, but that small amount of cooking will be totally worth it when you’re blitzing up frosty, brown sugar & banana milkshakes.Caramelized Banana MilkshakesWe’re talking pure banana flavor here, unencumbered by cinnamon or anything else. You may, of course, add a pinch of whatever you like, but don’t go too crazy. Simplicity is the name of the game.Caramelized Banana MilkshakesThis recipe is a breeze: three steps, four ingredients (six, if you count the recommended whipped cream and drizzle of caramel or butterscotch). The hardest part is waiting for the bananas to cool so that they don’t melt your ice cream. After that, it’s just a blitz in the blender and deciding which of your dwindling stash of paper straws you’re going to use today.

Oh, and parking yourself directly in front of your air conditioner until the heatwave is over, but you already knew that.Caramelized Banana Milkshakes

Caramelized Banana Milkshakes
makes about 2-3 small milkshakes

3 medium bananas, very ripe
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons light or dark brown sugar, packed
1 pint (2 cups) vanilla ice cream

For Garnish (optional):
caramel or butterscotch sauce
whipped cream

Peel bananas and slice into 1-inch chunks.

Combine butter and brown sugar in a skillet over medium heat, stirring occasionally until butter is melted and pan is hot. Carefully add banana slices and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes. Set aside to cool completely.

Combine bananas and ice cream in a high-powered blender. Blitz until smooth. Pour into glasses and garnish with caramel/butterscotch sauce and/or whipped cream, if desired. Serve immediately.Caramelized Banana MilkshakesCaramelized Banana Milkshakes

Chocolate Banana Bread

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Chocolate Banana BreadNobody really needs more than one recipe for banana bread, but here I am anyway, posting a fourth.Chocolate Banana BreadYes, now you can go into my archives and make banana bread four ways: whole wheat with walnuts, topped with oat crumble, vegan and made with just one banana, and today’s chocolate version! Because who needs cinnamon and nuts when you can have dutch process cocoa powder and chocolate chips?!Chocolate Banana BreadThis loaf is everything you want in a banana bread—easy, no-mixer, moist, rich, intensely flavored—with a fudgy stickiness usually reserved for chocolate cake. But since it’s a quick bread, this is socially acceptable for consumption before noon. You’re welcome.Chocolate Banana BreadChocolate Banana BreadThe rules for Chocolate Banana Bread are the same as with all my banana breads: use only the saddest of bananas and don’t stir the batter together more than 25 strokes. I’m serious—count your stirs aloud and stop at 25. The reason is simple: the more flour is stirred into liquid ingredients, the more its gluten forms. More gluten means tougher results. Rubbery banana bread? No, thank you! So, keep the stirring to 25 strokes and don’t be alarmed if there are a few floury streaks leftover; they’ll be long gone by the time your Chocolate Banana Bread comes out of the oven.Chocolate Banana BreadAnother quality this loaf shares with its cinnamon-spiked sisters? It’s good on day one, but unreal on day two. The chocolate and banana flavors combine and deepen overnight to create a near-brownie-like taste and texture that will have you going back for more! And since Chocolate Banana Bread has less sugar, oil, and flour than my other recipes, you can do that without thinking too hard.Chocolate Banana BreadChocolate Banana BreadLove that ❤ Chocolate Banana Bread

Chocolate Banana Bread
makes one 9×5” loaf

1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup cocoa powder (I like dutch process)
1 1/2 teaspoons espresso granules (optional)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon Kosher or sea salt
2/3 cup light brown sugar, packed
2 large eggs, room temperature
1/3 cup canola oil
3 large very ripe bananas, mashed
2/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips + more for topping

Preheat the oven to 350F. Grease a 9×5″ loaf pan. Line with parchment, leaving overhang on the long sides. Set aside.

In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, espresso granules, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together brown sugar, eggs and oil until combined. Whisk in mashed bananas. Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Use a silicone spatula or wooden spoon to stir the batter 10 strokes, making sure to scrape the side of the bowl. At ten strokes, pause and add the chocolate chips. Stir an additional 10-15 strokes.

Transfer batter to prepared pan and top with additional chocolate chips, if desired. Bake for 60-70 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out with only a few moist crumbs.

Let cool in the pan for 15 minutes before running a knife around the edge and using the parchment overhang to remove the bread to a rack. Cool completely before slicing and serving.

Leftovers will keep tightly-wrapped at room temperature for 2 days, or in the refrigerator for up to a week.Chocolate Banana BreadChocolate Banana BreadChocolate Banana Bread

Banana Cream Pie

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Banana Cream PieOutdoor entertaining season is so close, I can taste it…and it tastes like Banana Cream Pie.Banana Cream PieCold and creamy, with a soft banana-scented filling and a crumbly, buttery Nilla Wafer crust—it’s basically everything that’s good about banana pudding, made from scratch and layered into a pie plate.Banana Cream PieThis pie is a little kitschy and very retro—the sort of dessert that everyone forgets they love until they are presented with it…and then they fall in love all over again.Banana Cream PieBanana Cream PieI defy you to find a warm weather occasion that can’t be improved by Banana Cream Pie.Banana Cream PieBanana Cream PieRooftop cookout? Banana Cream Pie for dessert. (Pro Tip: this is especially good on nights that involve fireworks.)

Birthday? Banana Cream Pie > cake. Well, most cake.Banana Cream PieBanana Cream PieBeach weekend? Don’t forget a box of Nilla Wafers.

Picnic in the park? If you can find a way to keep it cold, absolutely.Banana Cream PieBanana Cream PieNetflix and chill…and Banana Cream Pie.Banana Cream PieTrust me. This is a pie capable of winning you new friends.Banana Cream PieBanana Cream PieI mean, I don’t know about you, but if I come to a gathering and someone has made Banana Cream Pie, I want to find that person and make them my friend.

It’s always good to have friends that make pie.Banana Cream PieBanana Cream Pie
makes one 9-inch standard pie

Crust:
60 Nilla Wafers*
1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
pinch of Kosher or sea salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Filling:
2 medium bananas, thinly sliced, divided
2 teaspoons lemon juice (or apple cider vinegar), divided
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon Kosher or sea salt
3 cups whole milk
4 large egg yolks
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
2 tablespoons unsalted butter

Topping:
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
2-3 tablespoons confectioners sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Nilla Wafers (optional)
banana slices (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350F.

Make the crust. Place Nilla Wafers in the bowl of a food processor and process until no large pieces remain. Add light brown sugar, melted butter, and salt. Process until the mixture resembles wet sand, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary. Transfer the mixture to a 9-inch standard pie plate and use clean hands to press the mixture onto the bottom and up the sides of the pan. Bake crust for 10 minutes. Cool it on a rack while you prepare the filling.

Thinly slice 1 banana and toss it in 1 teaspoon lemon juice. Line the cooled crust with banana slices. Set aside.

In a medium-large saucepan, whisk together sugar, cornstarch, and salt. Place the pan over medium-high heat. Whisking constantly, pour the milk into the dry ingredients. Continue to whisk until the mixture boils for 1 minute. Reduce the heat to low.

Whisk egg yolks with a fork. Remove 1/3 of the warm milk mixture from the pot. Whisking constantly, slowly pour milk mixture into the egg yolks until completely combined. Add egg yolk mixture to the pot and turn heat back up to medium-high. Continue to whisk until mixture boils for 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Whisk in vanilla extract and butter. Pour filling into prepared crust.

Slice remaining banana and toss in remaining teaspoon of lemon juice. Arrange slices over the top of the filling. Cover the pie with plastic wrap, pressing so it adheres to the surface, and chill for at least four hours or overnight. Bananas will brown a bit.

Make the whipped cream. In a medium-large mixing bowl, combine heavy cream, sugar, and vanilla. Use an electric mixer to whip cream until stiff peaks form. Remove pie from refrigerator and top with whipped cream. Slice and serve pie, topping individual slices with Nilla Wafers and banana slices immediately before serving, if desired.

Pie will keep covered in the refrigerator for 2-3 days.

Note:

I use boxed Nilla Wafers for this recipe and recommend that you do, too. I have not tested this recipe with my homemade Vanilla Wafers. If you do, please let me know how it works out.