Banana Chocolate Bread

I'll be the first to admit that my Super Bowl treats this year were not exactly your typical Game Day fare--"bananas" and "cocoa" and "bread" are less synonymous with football as "wings" and "beer" and "Doritos," but I wanted to bake something from my new cookbook, Baking: Perfect Cakes & Bakes by Rosie's Pantry. And I knew my fellow football viewers were fans of "fruit" and "chocolate" and especially, "dessert."

The only trouble I ran into with this one was that the recipe I wanted to use called for self-rising flour, of which I had none. After a quick Internet search, however, I discovered I could make my own self-rising flour with just 1/4 teaspoon of baking powder and 1/4 teaspoon of salt for every 1 cup of flour. It must have worked, because this bread rose higher than I expected! I also changed the original recipe from butter to oil in an attempt to make the banana bread just a touch more moist. And again, I took advantage of the mini chocolate chips I had on hand to complete this tasty Banana Chocolate Bread that is practically cake.

Ingredients:

1 and 3/8 cups of self-rising flour (see above)
2/3 cup vegetable oil
2 ripe bananas (the brown kind)
2 eggs
1/4 cup cocoa powder
3/8 cup white sugar
2 Tablespoons milk
3/4 cup mini chocolate chips

Directions: 

1.) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a bowl, combine the oil, sugar and eggs.

2.) Sift in the flour and cocoa powder, then add the milk. Beat together until well combined. Mash in the bananas until smooth, then stir in the chocolate chips.

3.) Bake in a loaf pan greased with nonstick cooking spray for about 40 minutes (the original recipe called for 50-60, but please check just before 40 minutes are up as mine still came out a little too "done" for my liking on the edges). Let cool completely before running a butter knife around the edges to loosen the bread. Cut your slices and serve.

I like new recipes, and I've never made a chocolate banana bread before, so I was quite pleased with the results. I was also pleased with the fact that all my slices (divided in half to last longer) were gone before the end of the third quarter. I think football rooting just makes you hungry in general--hungry for winning, hungry for fun, and hungry for snacks that don't have to be chips alone. Unless they're chocolate chips.

Mini Chocolate Chip Cookies

Another one for my grandma. After tasting my Classic Snickerdoodles, my grandma once again requested I bring her some home-baked cookies on our next visit, and I'm always eager to fulfill a request. With grandmas, sometimes classic is best (nothing super adventurous), so I stuck with a chocolate chip cookie recipe from the back of a bag of Nestle mini chocolate chips (quick and on hand). As usual, however, my adaptations included whole wheat pastry flour and adjusting the amount of chips to my liking. Another adjustment I would make is to bake these cookies for only about 8 minutes (the original recipe said 9-11 minutes!) since the bottoms did turn out just a little dark. But the flavor is there for sure, as classic as a chocolate chip cookie can get.

(Also, keep in mind that the "mini" in Mini Chocolate Chip Cookies stands for "mini chocolate chips" and not "mini cookies." These things spread wider than you'd expect!)

Ingredients:

1 and 1/8 cups sifted whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 stick of butter, softened
6 Tablespoons brown sugar
6 Tablespoons white sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg
Just under 1 cup of mini chocolate chips

Directions:

1.) Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. In a bowl, combine the flour, baking soda and salt.

2.) In a separate bowl, combine the butter, sugar, vanilla and egg. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, and beat to thoroughly combine. Then add the chocolate chiops and mix again.

3.) Use a Tablespoon to drop mounds of batter onto an ungreased cookie sheet, leaving some room between the cookies to allow for spreading. Bake about 8 minutes (or 9 if you want them crisper).

4.) Transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool, but enjoy while they're still warm.

Unfortunately, my grandma had to go to the ER before our next visit, so I gave her the cookies in her hospital room. While she wasn't eating much, she made a point to bite into and keep down at least a portion of one cookie, which is not only her own kind of praise for my efforts but a good sign that she can regain her appetite and get more calories in. I hope she heals quickly and is back to her lively, cookie-requesting self soon.

Red Velvet Cuppy Cakes

Another coworker birthday meant another baking opportunity at the end of January! When I asked what kind of treat my coworker would like to celebrate her special day, she was less specific than her predecessor's request for savory scones. Instead, she simply wanted something chocolate. While the thought of brownies did cross my mind, I was hoping to try something a little more adventurous again, and I remembered her ordering a Red Velvet dessert at Claim Jumper for her birthday last year. Though deeply red, Red Velvet cakes are actually made with cocoa powder, and so I hoped a cupcake version would fulfill her craving.

After searching both cookbooks and websites for a tasty (and easy) Red Velvet cupcake recipe, I discovered that the ones calling for cake flour (which I didn't have) usually called for buttermilk (which I did) and the recipes that called for flour that I did have were lacking in buttermilk, and most of them seemed like they just didn't have quite enough cocoa powder to taste like chocolate anyway. Not to mention the fact that vinegar still sounded like an odd ingredient in a baked good to me.

Still, I was determined to produced Red Velvet Cuppy Cakes that morning to take to work that day. It was time to start adapting.

While I tend to stay away from a lot of Food Network recipes simply because they can be fairly complex, I had stumbled upon the famous Paula Deen's Red Velvet cupcake recipe that didn't require cake flour and didn't sound too complicated. Though my cooking tends to be a lot lighter than Paula Deen's (much less butter), I had a feeling I could adapt the recipe to my needs easily enough too. The public comments on the recipe recommended using more cocoa powder (what I had in mind) and less oil (huzzah!) so I didn't dive in completely unprepared. I also halved the recipe--more manageable to make and take in one morning before work. The results:

Ingredients:

For the cupcakes:

1 and 1/4 cups whole wheat pastry flour (my staple)
1/2 + 1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/2 + 1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 egg
1 Tablespoon red food coloring
1/2 teaspoon white distilled vinegar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the frosting:

8 ounces Neufchatel (it's what i had in the fridge--cream cheese will work)
1 stick of butter
2 cups sugar (the original recipe called for powdered sugar but I only had granulated baking sugar)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

1.) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder. In a separate bowl, beat together the oil, buttermilk, eggs, food coloring, vinegar and vanilla (be careful that the very red food coloring and resulting mixture doesn't get on your clothes).

2.) Combine the dry ingredients and the wet ingredients slowly. Stir until well mixed, and then pour into a cupcake tin lined with paper wrappers until each is about 2/3 full.

3.) Bake the cupcakes for about 20 minutes, using a toothpick to test for doneness (watch the time closely so they don't overbake and come out dry).

4.) Remove from oven and let cool completely before frosting. To create the frosting, beat the cheese and butter with an electric mixer until smooth, add the sugar and beat again on a low speed. Finish on a high speed until the mixture becomes light and fluffy.

That's all there is to it! If I were to make it again, I might try cake flour, a little less baking time, and with powdered sugar in the frosting. But all in all, I think this birthday treat turned out quite beautiful, and disappeared from my office break room quite rapidly. With the chocolate flavoring and rich red color, it's also something to keep in mind for Valentine's Day. Which is coming up. In nine days. Just saying. Be prepared....