Chocolate and peanut butter…is there really any flavor combination out there that’s better than this? I can really only think of a few (chocolate and caramel, anyone?). As far as sweets are concerned, the marriage of chocolate and peanut butter really tops the list. And these cookies showcase the union perfectly.

Soft pillows of chocolate cookie surround a sweet, creamy, peanut-y center. This isn’t a cookie you just chomp away at—you can’t help but break the cookie in half to admire its beauty before biting into it. My only regret was not flattening out the dough before baking…it would have given me a bigger cookie with a bigger diameter. Because you know: Bigger cookies equal more bites per cookie!

Recipe: Peanut Butter-Filled Chocolate Cookies
Adapted from Better Homes and Gardens
Makes 32 cookies

• 1 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 cup Smart Balance 50/50 Butter Blend, softened
• 1/2 cup turbinado sugar
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/4 cup natural peanut butter
• 1/3 cup Egg Beaters
• 1 tablespoon milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 3/4 cup sifted powdered sugar
• 1/2 cup natural peanut butter
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a medium mixing bowl stir together flour, cocoa powder, and baking soda; set aside.

In a large mixing bowl beat together butter, the 1/2 cup granulated sugar, brown sugar, and the 1/4 cup peanut butter with an electric mixer until combined. Add egg, milk, and vanilla; beat well. Beat in as much of the dry ingredients as you can with mixer. Stir in remaining dry ingredients by hand with a wooden spoon. Form chocolate dough into 32 balls about 1 1/4 inches in diameter. Set aside.

For peanut butter filling, in a medium mixing bowl combine powdered sugar and the remaining 1/2 cup peanut butter until smooth. Shape mixture into 32 (3/4-inch) balls.

On a work surface, slightly flatten a chocolate dough ball and top with a peanut butter ball. Shape the chocolate dough over the peanut butter filling, completely covering the filling. Roll dough into a ball. Repeat with the remaining chocolate dough and peanut butter filling balls.

Place balls 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Lightly flatten with the bottom of a glass dipped in the 2 tablespoons granulated sugar.

Bake cookies in preheated oven for 8 minutes or until they’re just set and surface is slightly cracked. Let cookies stand for 1 minute. Transfer cookies to wire racks; cool. Makes 32 cookies.

To Store: Place in layers separated by waxed paper in an airtight container; cover. Store at room temperature for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months.

You May Also Like:

1. Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
2. Jacques Torres’ Chocolate Chip Cookies
3. Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

Here’s an interesting take on banana bread…and when I say “interesting,” I don’t mean it in a bad way at all. I say it’s interesting because it’s made with teff flour—a whole grain very high in fiber, iron and protein.

Teff isn’t used widely in the United States—I mostly associate it with Ethiopian food, as it’s the main ingredient in injera, the sour, spongy bread that Ethiopians use to scoop up food. I love Ethiopian food, and I’ve always wanted to try making it at home, but that’s a cooking experiment for another day. Today, we’re talking about this yummy treat, and how a variation on a classic recipe can be a good thing.

The addition off the teff flour in this recipe gave the bread a somewhat nutty, somewhat earthy flavor. I realize that may sound somewhat off-putting, but believe me, the result was delicious. I was skeptical at first, but realized the next day that, like many baked goods, the bread tasted even better after sitting for a while, and not straight out of the oven. The chocolate and banana flavor melded perfectly with the smokiness of the teff flour.

I found this recipe on the blog Gluten-Free Girl and the Chef, however my adaptation is not gluten free, as I did use some all purpose flour. Shauna suggests serving it warm with cream cheese—I didn’t try it that way, but I can imagine it tastes fabulous.

Recipe: Chocolate Banana Bread with Teff Flour
Adapted from Gluten-Free Girl and the Chef

• 1 cup AP flour
• 1 cup of teff flour
• 3/4 cup turbinado sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 6 tablespoons high-quality, unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 3 overly ripe bananas
• 1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt
• 2 large eggs
• 6 tablespoons melted butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350° degrees. Move the rack to a position in the lower half of the oven. This will prevent the crust of the bread from burning. Grease a loaf pan (I used four mini loaf pans).

Stir together all the dry ingredients, making sure to tame the lumps of cocoa powder with a fork. Set aside.

With a standing mixer or hand mixer, beat the eggs lightly. Then, add the yogurt, vanilla extract, and melted butter. When this assemblage is completely mixed, then gently add in the dry ingredients. Using a rubber spatula, fold in the dry ingredients until they are just mixed.

Scrape the dough into your pan. Pat down the top to make a flat surface. If you wish, toss a few pecans or walnut halves onto the top. Place into the oven and bake for about 40 minutes, or until the knife you insert gently into the bread comes out again clean. Let the bread sit in the pan for 5 to 10 minutes, then turn it over onto a wire rack. Serve warm, with cream cheese, if you wish.

You May Also Like:

1. Tuesdays with Dorie: Cocoa-Nana Bread
2. Banana Pineapple Bread
3. Tuesdays with Dorie: Fresh Mango Bread

When B and I first started dating, I was surprised to find out that his idea of delicious breakfast was what I considered to be dessert. Things like butternut donuts from Dunkin’ Donuts. Or giant sticky buns from the local coffeeshop. Or cinnamon rolls—you know, the kind that are made from dough in cardboard tubes that you pop open with the side of your spoon. Yikes. (I put that sugar-for-breakfast habit to bed soon after we got married, and now his new favorite breakfast is this healthy omelette.)

Buuuut, every once in a while, I feel sorry for B, that he lives with a health addict. So this year, for his birthday, I decided to make him a better-for-you version of cinnamon rolls. These have whole wheat and flax seeds, so they’re somewhat more wholesome than their white flour counterparts.

B was surprised he liked these as much as he did. “I was scared when you said you were making me cinnamon rolls, because I didn’t think your ‘healthy’ version would taste as good,” he said. “But these are really good!”

Good to know he’s got confidence in my abilities :)

You should try these! They’re yummy. And while it does take some time for the dough to rise, you can do most of the work the night before—then, all you really have to do in the morning is pop them into the oven to bake and glaze with icing. They’re chewy and perfectly sweet, even without the icing, should you decide to forego it.

Recipe: Whole Wheat Cinnamon Rolls
Adapted from Evolving Mommy

Dough

• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 1/2 tablespoons melted Smart Balance 50/50 Butter Blend
• 1/6 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup Egg Beaters
• 1 1/8 teaspoon active dry yeast
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 3/4 cup white flour
• 1/8 cup ground flax seed meal

Filling

• 1 tablespoons melted Smart Balance 50/50 Butter Blend
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon freshly ground cinnamon

Icing

• 1 tablespoons Smart Balance 50/50 Butter Blend
• Dash salt
• 1/2 cup confectioners sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 tablespoon milk

Warm milk in microwave safe bowl to 120°F to 130°F, or for about 30 to 45 seconds. Pour milk and melted butter into large mixing bowl. Add 1 cup whole wheat flour, sugar, egg, yeast and salt. Beat on low speed for about 3 minutes, stopping occasionally to scrape down sides of bowl. Add flax seed meal and remaining flour to dough mixture. Beat on low until flour is absorbed and dough is sticky. If dough is too sticky to handle easily, add more flour by tablespoonfuls until dough begins to form ball and pulls away from sides of bowl. If using a stand mixer use dough hook to knead dough for about 6-8 minutes on a medium/slow speed, otherwise lightly flour your work surface and turn dough out onto counter. Knead until dough is smooth and elastic. Form dough into a ball. Lightly oil large bowl. Place dough in bowl, turning to coat. Cover bowl and let dough rise in warm draft-free place until doubled in size, about 2 hours.

While the dough is rising mix brown sugar and cinnamon for the filling in a medium bowl.

Once doubled in size punch down dough. Working on a floured surface roll dough out to a roughly 10×5-inch rectangle. Brush the melted butter over dough, leaving the top 1/2-inch without butter. Sprinkle cinnamon sugar mixture evenly over dough. Starting at 1 long side, roll dough into log, pinching gently to keep it rolled up. With seam side down, cut with sharp knife into 9 equal slices.

Grease a 9×9 pan. Arrange rolls cut side up, leaving a bit of space between rolls. Cover baking dishes with plastic wrap and let dough rise in warm draft-free place until almost doubled in size, 40 to 45 minutes. If serving the next day arrange rolls in pan, cover with plastic wrap and place in refrigerator. Pan should be removed from the refrigerator about an hour before baking to allow time for rolls to rise.

Bake rolls on the middle rack of a 375° oven. Bake until rolls are lightly golden, about 20 minutes. Remove pan from oven onto wire rack to cool for about 5 minutes.

While rolls are cooling mix powdered sugar, butter, vanilla, and milk in medium bowl. Spread icing on rolls. Rolls are best served warm.

You May Also Like:

1. Whole Wheat Ginger Cookies
2. Egg Rolls…or Are They Spring Rolls?
3. Tuesdays with Dorie: Cinnamon “Squares”

Well, after a slight scare that put me in the hospital for two nights and modified bedrest for the rest of this week, I just couldn’t not do a post on this. I took a picture of every meal that was delivered to my room, because I was in total shock at how disgusting each was!

Last time I checked, a hospital was a place that cared for you physical well-being. One would expect that the food to be healthy, nourishing, complete, no? Here was the menu while I was being monitored for bleeding and pre-term contractions (don’t worry, the IV meds they administered took care of everything—for now at least!):

First meal after coming off of IV meds:

• A very salty chicken broth
• Lemon Jello
• Orange juice
• Coffee

Breakfast:

• White toast
• Rubbery scrambled eggs
• Two cold, fried sausages
• Oatmeal
• 2% milk
• Orange juice
• Coffee

Lunch:

• Mac ‘n’ cheese (topped with breadcrumbs)
• Buttered peas
• White dinner roll
• Lemon bar dusted in powdered sugar
• Salty minestrone soup
• Two packets of saltine crackers
• 2% milk
• Grape juice

Dinner:

• Beef stroganoff over egg noodles
• Buttered carrots
• White dinner roll
• Jello fruit salad
• Peach cobbler with whipped cream
• Coffee

Breakfast:

• Orange muffin
• Rubbery scrambled eggs
• Two slices of ham
• Cream of Wheat
• 2% milk
• Orange juice
• Coffee

The crazy thing is, is that with each meal came a description of the USDA Pyramid, as well as advice on how to eat a well-rounded meal. Sorry, but when you’re being fed fried sausages for breakfast, mac ‘n’ cheese as your lunch entree and two desserts for dinner, I don’t think that qualifies as being a healthful meal. Not to mention what it did to my digestive system (or what it didn’t do, I guess I should say. All the food that went in basically stagnated and refused to come out. I know, I know, that’s a little too much information.)

Oh well. I’m out of the hospital now, and back on my low fat, super high-fiber diet. The bleeding and contractions have stopped…but now I feel like I have to nurse my diet back into shape!

On another note, I did get some R&R while laying in bed the whole time. I spent most of the days reading magazines and checking my BlackBerry. Fun times!

No related posts.

Sweet and salty…if you like that combination, you’ll enjoy these mini cupcakes. I certainly did! Deep, rich, moist chocolate cupcake topped with a generous slather of buttery, salty caramel frosting…mmmm.

Now, this isn’t for everyone, mind you. The frosting can be pretty salty for some, although it is possible to adjust how much salt you actually add. I will say, however: Your tongue can play tricks on you—after taste testing little bits of frosting as I went along, my tastebuds started to get a bit desensitized, and eventually I couldn’t really tell if it was too sweet or too salty. Does that make sense?

Some of my co-workers who ate the cupcakes said they were fantastic. Another co-worker said the frosting was too salty (in my defense, though, he has high blood pressure and told me he typically avoids salt, so on the few occassions when he does taste it, he’s acutely aware of it).

Hopefully you won’t let any of that scare you away from making these. If anything, you should at least try making the caramel that flavors the frosting. If you’ve never made caramel yourself, you’re in for a grand surprise. It’s very easy, and it tastes fantastic! (Here’s another recipe for candy caramels: Honey Vanilla Fleur de Sel Caramels.)

If you’re still not convinced, and decide to forego the caramel frosting altogether, do try the cupcake recipe. It makes by far the best chocolate cupcakes on the planet. I’ve made them numerous times, with different frostings—cream cheese and vanilla buttercream frostings are the best—and they’re always great.

Dark Chocolate Cupcakes
Adapted from Cooks Illustrated
Makes 12 cupcakes or 30 mini cupcakes

• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) Smart Balance 50/50 Butter Blend, cut into 4 pieces
• 2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
• 1/2 cup (1 1/2 oz) Dutch-processed cocoa
• 3/4 cup (3 3/4 oz) unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 large eggs
• 3/4 cup (5 1/4 oz) turbinado sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon table salt
• 1/2 cup (4 oz) sour cream

Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position; heat oven to 350 degrees. Line muffin pan with baking-cup liners.

Combine butter, chocolate and cocoa in medium heatproof bowl. Set bowl over saucepan containing barely simmering water; heat mixture until butter and chocolate are melted and whisk until smooth and fully combined. Set aside to cool until just warm to touch.

Whisk flour, baking soda and baking powder in small bowl to combine.

Whisk eggs in second medium bowl to combine; add sugar, vanilla and salt and whisk until fully incorporated. Add cooled chocolate mixture and whisk until combined. Sift about one-third of flour mixture over chocolate mixture and whisk until combined; whisk in sour cream until combined; then sift in remaining flour mixture and whisk batter until it is homogenous and thick.

Divide batter evenly among muffin pan cups. Bake until skewer inserted into center of cupcakes comes out clean (18-20 minutes for cupcakes, 13-15 minutes for mini cupcakes).

Cool cupcakes in muffin pan on wire rack until cool enough to handle, about 15 minutes. Carefully lift each cupcake from muffin pan and set on wire rack. Cool to room temperature before icing, about 30 minutes.

Salted Caramel Frosting
Adapted from CHOW
Makes enough for 12 cupcakes or 30 mini cupcakes

• 1/8 cup turbinado sugar
• 1 tablespoons water
• 1/8 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter (3/4 sticks), at room temperature
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt (Be sure to use kosher salt, as a 1/2 teaspoon of table salt will be extremely salty. If you don’t have kosher salt, decrease the amount of table salt, to taste.)
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar

Briefly stir together granulated sugar and water in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Continue cooking, without stirring, until mixture turns dark amber in color, about 6 to 7 minutes.

Remove from heat and slowly add in cream and vanilla, stirring with a wooden spoon until completely smooth. Set aside until cool to the touch, about 25 minutes.

Combine butter and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat on medium-high speed until light in color and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Reduce speed to low, add powdered sugar, and mix until completely incorporated.

Turn mixer off and scrape down the sides of the bowl, then add caramel. Beat frosting on medium-high speed until airy and thoroughly mixed, about 2 minutes. Cover and refrigerate until stiff, about 45 minutes, before using.

You May Also Like:

1. White Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting
2. Tuesdays with Dorie: Caramel Crunch Bars
3. Tuesdays with Dorie: Cinnamon “Squares”

Oh Dulce de Leche Duos, how I love you. You’re like the cousin of the alfajor, except unlike the crumbly, shortbread-y Spanish confection, your thick, gooey, caramelly filling is sandwiched between two soft, chewy cookies. You’re fabulously delicious…even without the dulce de leche, for those who think that’s too over-the-top (crazies!).

Can you tell I loved these? For one thing, my cookies came out super-sized. I didn’t realize how much the batter would spread and thin, and my perfectly portioned cookie-scoop cookies came out of the oven about 4 inches in diameter.

I made my own dulce de leche using Chez Pim’s recipe. It was much faster than boiling a can of sweetened condensed milk.

These cookies have made their way to the top of my Dorie faves list! Thanks to Jodie of Beansy Loves Cake for picking this week’s recipe.

Recipe: Dulce de Leche Duos
Makes about 30 sandwich cookies

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 3/4 cup store-bought dulce de leche, plus more for filling
• 3/4 cup (packed) light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 large eggs

Getting ready: Position the racks to divide the oven into thirds and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment or silicone mats.

Whisk together flour, baking soda and salt.

Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat butter at medium speed until soft. Add the Dulce de Leche and both sugars and continue to beat until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, beating for 1 minute after each addition. Don’t be concerned if the mixture looks a little curddled, it will smooth out when the flour mixture is added. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the dry ingredients, mixing only until they disappear into the batter.

Spoon the dough onto the baking sheets, using a heaping teaspoon of dough for each cookie and leaving 2 inches between them.

Bake the cookies for 10-12 minutes, rotating the pans from top to bottom and front to back at the midway point. The cookies should be honey brown with a light sugar crust, but they will be soft, so remove the sheets from the oven but don’t touch the cookies for another minute or two. Then, using a wide metal spatula, transfer the cookies to a rack to cool to room temperature.

Repeat with the remaining dough, making sure you cool the baking sheets before spooning the dough onto them.

When the cookies are completely cool, spread the flat bottoms of half the cookies with a small amount of dulce de leche, and sandwich with the flat sides of the remaining cookies.

Recipe: Dulce de Leche
Adapted from Chez Pim
Makes about 1 cup

• 1 14oz can sweetened condensed milk
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 425F

Open the can of condensed milk and pour it into a medium-sized baking pan. Cover the baking pan with aluminum foil.

Place the baking pan on top of a larger pan with high sides. Add water to the larger pan until it comes halfway up to the side of the small pan. Place it in the oven and bake for about one hour. Check it every so often to make sure there’s still water in the pan, fill it if necessary.

Remove the pan from the oven and add vanilla extract. Whisk until the texture is smooth. Let it cool to room temperature before using.

You May Also Like:

1. Tuesdays with Dorie: Caramel Crunch Bars
2. Tuesdays with Dorie: Buttery Jam Cookies
3. Tuesdays with Dorie: World Peace Cookies

My sister came to visit a few weekends ago. We’d talked for weeks about what to bake when we got together. She wanted to try a lemon tea cake, as a sort of dress rehearsal for the dessert she wants to make for the baby shower she and my mom are throwing me. I wanted to try making an olive oil cake, after eating the most delicious one at the famed Zingerman’s in Ann Arbor.

So, we found the perfect compromise: This lemon olive-oil cake. Tangy and sweet, with the most amazing texture ever. Not a sponge or angel cake at all, but definitely lighter, “airier” and “springier” than pound cake, is the best way I can describe it. We topped ours with a lemony glaze as well as toasted roughly chopped almonds, which I think made it exceptional.

Recipe: Lemon Olive-Oil Cake
Adapted from Epicurious

Makes 8 servings

• 3/4 cup olive oil (extra-virgin if desired), plus additional for greasing pan
• 1 large lemon
• 1 cup cake flour (not self-rising)
• 5 large eggs, separated, reserving 1 white for another use
• 3/4 cup turbinado sugar
• 1/2 cup roughly chopped or slivered almonds, toasted
• Powdered sugar (about 1 cup, but you can measure as you go)
• Lemon juice

Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F. Grease springform pan with some oil, then line bottom with a round of parchment paper. Oil parchment.

Finely grate enough lemon zest to measure 1 1/2 teaspoons and whisk together with flour. Halve lemon, then squeeze and reserve 1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice.

Beat together yolks and 1/2 cup sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at high speed until thick and pale, about 3 minutes. Reduce speed to medium and add olive oil (3/4 cup) and reserved lemon juice, beating until just combined (mixture may appear separated). Using a wooden spoon, stir in flour mixture (do not beat) until just combined.

Beat egg whites (from 4 eggs) with 1/2 teaspoon salt in another large bowl with cleaned beaters at medium-high speed until foamy, then add 1/4 cup sugar a little at a time, beating, and continue to beat until egg whites just hold soft peaks, about 3 minutes.

Gently fold one third of whites into yolk mixture to lighten, then fold in remaining whites gently but thoroughly.

Transfer batter to springform pan and gently rap against work surface once or twice to release any air bubbles. Bake until puffed and golden and a wooden pick or skewer inserted in center of cake comes out clean, about 45 minutes. Cool cake in pan on a rack 10 minutes, then run a thin knife around edge of pan and remove side of pan. Cool cake to room temperature, about 1 1/4 hours. Remove bottom of pan and peel off parchment, then transfer cake to a serving plate.

Mix powdered sugar with enough lemon juice to create a thin glaze—how thin is up to you. Line bottom of cake with wax paper to catch any drippings from the glaze. Pour glaze over cake. When glaze has dried, remove wax paper.

Top cake with toasted almonds and serve.

You May Also Like:

1. Tuesdays with Dorie: French Yogurt Cake with Marmalade Glaze
2. Tuesdays with Dorie: Chocolate Armagnac Cake
3. Tuesdays with Dorie: Devil’s Food White-Out Cake

I’m back! And what a week to join in on the fun!

I loved this bread. I think chocolate and bananas are such a winning combination. Usually, I have ripe bananas waiting for me in the freezer, but I must have used all of them because I couldn’t find any. So I purposefully bought a bunch of bananas a week ahead of time to give them plenty of time to grow those big black spots. And sure enough, when the weekend rolled around, those babies were ripe!

I love that this bread was made with cocoa. I think there is such a difference between straight-up chocolate flavor and cocoa flavor. The former can be really sweet—even the darkest of varieties. The latter has a very smoky, earthy, almost woody taste. That may sound gross, but really, it’s delicious. And paired with the banana, it was heavenly.

Of course, I made a few changes. I figured since the bread was saturated with heavy flavors, a little whole wheat flour would go unnoticed. I also baked the bread in four mini-loaf tins. Much better to freeze and save that way, since I knew we wouldn’t be able to eat an entire big loaf between the two of us. Yum yum. The final product was a delicious. And I still have a mini-loaf wrapped up tightly in the freezer for another day!

Thanks to Steph for this week’s selection. You can find Dorie’s original recipe at Steph’s blog, Obsessed with Baking. My adapted version is below!

Recipe: Cocoa-Nana Bread
Adapted from Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan

• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 cup semisweet cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1 stick Smart Balance 50/50 Butter Blend, at room temp
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 ripe bananas, mashed
• 3/4 cup buttermilk
• 3 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped, or 1/2 cup store-bought chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350°. Butter a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan and place it on an insulated baking sheet or on two regular baking sheets stacked on top of the other. (This extra insulation will keep the bottom of the bread from over baking.)

Sift together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, salt and baking soda.

Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the butter at medium speed for about a minute, until softened. Add the sugars and beat for 2 minutes more. Add the eggs one at a time, beating for a minute after each addition. At this point, the batter may look a little curdled — it’s okay. Reduce the mixer speed to low and mix in the mashed bananas. Add the dry ingredients in 3 additions, mixing only until they disappear into the batter. Still on low speed, add the buttermilk, mixing until it is incorporated. Stir in the chopped chocolate. Scrape the batter into the pan.

Bake for 30 minutes. Cover the bread loosely with a foil tent to keep the top from getting too dark, and continue to bake for another 40 to 45 minutes (total baking time is between 70 to 75 minutes) or until a thin knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Transfer the pan to a rack and cool for at least 20 minutes before running a knife around the edges of the bread and unmolding. Invert and cool to room temp right side up.

You May Also Like:

1. Chocolate Banana Bread with Teff Flour
2. Tuesdays with Dorie: Fresh Mango Bread
3. Banana Pineapple Bread

Happy New Year!

Wow…it has been way too long since I last posted. Why have I been away for so long?

Well, for about nine weeks straight, I had absolutely NO desire to step into the kitchen. I also had an incredible aversion to sweets of any kind. Can you believe it? Me? An aversion to sweets? Crazy, I know, but it’s true!

Have you guessed why I’ve been away? I’m pregnant! There is a bun in the oven! I’m so happy that I can finally let the cat out of the bag!

I’m now almost four months pregnant. While my first trimester was horrible—24/7 nausea, food aversions, heartburn, extreme fatigue—I’m now feeling so much better! And I’m back in the kitchen!

But of course now, my spare time is spent thinking about the baby-to-be, so I’m not sure I’ll be posting to this blog nearly as much as I used to :) We’ll be finding out the sex at the end of the month, and we can’t wait. B and I are convinced it’s a boy… “Only a boy could wreak that much havoc on your body!” he jokes. But we would be happy with either a boy or a girl! No preference here!

In the meantime, try this recipe for white cupcakes! I frosted them with a delicious cream cheese frosting, originally meant for Red Velvet cupcakes, but equally as delicious with these. I brought these to work to announce my pregnancy—my coworkers decided they’d eat the cupcake with the frosting color corresponding to the sex they thought I’d be having. And wouldn’t you know it—the color that went the fastest by far was pink!

Recipe: Classic White Cupcakes
Adapted from MarthaStewart.com
Makes 12 cupcakes or 30 mini cupcakes

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (or 1 1/2 cups + 3 Tbsp. cake flour)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) Smart Balance 50/50 Butter Blend, room temperature
• 3/4 cup turbinado sugar
• 2/3 cups Egg Beaters
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2/3 cup reduced-fat sour cream

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a standard (12-cup) muffin tin with paper liners. In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.

With an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Beat in eggs, one at a time, until combined. Beat in vanilla.

With the mixer on low speed, gradually beat in flour mixture and sour cream in alternating batches, beginning and ending with the flour. Divide batter evenly among prepared muffin cups.

Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean and the top is springy to the touch, about 15 minutes. Cool 10 minutes in the pan, then turn out onto a rack to cool completely before spreading with frosting.

Recipe: Cream Cheese Frosting
Adapted from Pinch My Salt
Makes enough for 12 cupcakes or 30 mini cupcakes

• 8 oz. cream cheese (1 package), softened
• 1/4 cup Smart Balance 50/50 Butter Blend (half a stick), softened
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 cups powdered sugar, sifted
• Pinch of salt
• A drop or two of your favorite food coloring (optional)

With an electric mixer, blend together cream cheese and butter until smooth. Turn mixer to low speed and blend in powdered sugar, salt and vanilla extract. Turn mixer on high and beat until light and fluffy. If desired, add a drop or two of your favorite food coloring and mix until well blended. Use immediately or refrigerate, covered, until ready to use. If refrigerated, the frosting will need to be brought to room temperature before using (after frosting softens up, beat with mixer until smooth).

Recipe notes: If you prefer a sweeter and/or stiffer frosting, more powdered sugar can be added. But remember, the more sugar you add, the less you’ll be able to taste the tangy cream cheese!

You May Also Like:

1. Dark Chocolate Cupcakes with Salted Caramel Frosting
2. Tuesdays with Dorie: Cinnamon “Squares”
3. Tuesdays with Dorie: Chocolate Cream Tart

What a sad week it’s been for the food world. I couldn’t believe my eyes when I read that Gourmet magazine was folding after 70 years! I so love that magazine, and am so sad to see it go. At least its sister publication, Bon Appetit, will still be around.

I know it’s already October, and this post is way too late. But this Brown Sugar Berry Cobbler was the last Gourmet recipe I made, and thought it would be a fitting tribute to the beloved cooking magazine… not to mention a sweet reminder of the height of summer, when plump, juicy berries of all kinds were bountiful.

My sister and I made this when she came to visit one weekend. We’d never made a cobbler before, and were pleasantly pleased with this recipe. Flaky, buttery biscuits swimming in a slightly sweet, slightly tart pool of berries—this was a delicious dessert.

Actually… we ate it for breakfast, forks straight into the baking dish… but that’s our little secret, hee hee!
 

Recipe: Brown Sugar Berry Cobbler
From Gourmet
Serves 6

• 3/4 to 1 cup plus 1 teaspoon packed dark brown sugar (depending on sweetness of berries), divided
• 2 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 2 3/4 lb mixed berries (strawberries trimmed and halved if using)
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• Rounded 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 sticks cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
• 3/4 cup whole milk
• 1 teaspoon granulated sugar

Preheat oven to 425°F with rack in middle.

Stir together 3/4 to 1 cup brown sugar and cornstarch in a large bowl. Add berries and toss to coat. Transfer mixture to a shallow 3-qt baking dish and bake until mixture is hot, about 12 minutes.

Meanwhile, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Add butter and blend with your fingertips or a pastry blender until mixture resembles coarse meal with some roughly pea-size butter lumps. Add milk and stir until dough just comes together.

Remove baking dish from oven and drop 12 mounds of dough onto hot berries. Stir together remaining tsp brown sugar and granulated sugar and sprinkle over dough. Bake cobbler until topping is golden, 25 to 30 minutes. Cool to warm, about 30 minutes.

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