What do you do when you are feeling stressed, overwhelmed and under-effective? I usually cry and feel sorry for myself. Sometimes I bake.




Chocolate Chip Banana Bread...this recipe is so good, and it uses apple sauce instead of oil and not too much butter, so you don't have to feel bad about the chocolate chips! Here is a picture of my loaf, cooling on the stove.



I found this recipe at www.tastykitchen.com

Ingredients:




1 cup Mashed Bananas (2-3 Whole Bananas)

4 Tablespoons Butter, Softened

¼ cups Apple Butter Or Applesauce

2 whole Eggs

2 Tablespoons Milk

¾ cups Lightly Packed Brown Sugar

1-¾ cup Flour (sneak Some Wheat Flour In, Nobody Will Know)

2 teaspoons Baking Powder

½ teaspoons Baking Soda

¼ teaspoons Salt

¾ cups Chocolate Chips

¼ cups Chopped Walnuts (optional)
Preparation Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Smash the bananas until they’re broken up but not completely smooth. Some lumps are OK.

Add in the butter, apple butter, eggs, milk, and brown sugar. Blend with a hand mixer until everything is incorporated. Again, small lumps are OK.

In a separate bowl, sift the dry ingredients.

Add the dry ingredients to the banana mixture and mix gently with a spoon. When all the flour is mixed in, add your chocolate chips and walnuts.

Spray your loaf pan with cooking spray, and pour in the batter. Bake until golden and a toothpick/piece of dry spaghetti comes out clean, about 60 minutes.

Cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes, then remove from pan and cool to room temperature.




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Yes, it was a particularly rough morning, so along with the Chocolate Crinkle batter I have chilling in the fridge for later, I also made these awesome cookies.

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My friend Jessica from work passed this recipe on, and I made them today, though I am not a walnut fan so I used pecans instead (YUM!). I am thinking I may stick some in the freezer for Christmas Eve dessert, if not, they will surely be eaten quickly!




Santa’s Helpers




Servings: Makes about 2 dozen cookies

Preparation time: About 20 minutes

Baking time: About 15 minutes per batch




Ingredients:

1 ½ cups firmly packed brown sugar, divided

¼ sour cream

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts

½ cup (1 stick) butter or margarine, softened

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups all-purpose flour

½ teaspoon baking soda

¼ teaspoon salt

24 walnut halves for garnish, optional




Preheat oven to 350˚. In small bowl, stir together ½ cup brown sugar, sour cream, and cinnamon until smooth. Stir in chopped walnuts; set aside. In medium-sized bowl, with electric mixer at medium speed, cream butter and 1 cup brown sugar. Add egg and vanilla; beat until light and fluffy. With mixer on low speed, gradually add dry ingredients, beating just until smooth. Divide dough into quarters. From each quarter into 6 equal balls; place balls 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets. With fingertip, make a wide, round depression in the center of each cookie, reaching almost to the edge and leaving a rim. Fill depressions in cookies with walnut mixture, mounding above the rims. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until filling is set. Cool cookies on wire racks. Garnish each cookie with walnut half, if desired.