Banana Chocolate Chip Bars with a Nutella Swirl

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baking, banana bars, bananas, bars, Brownies, chocolate, chocolate chips, food, Nutella, recipe, recipes

Long weekends always almost call for delicious desserts.

My mom invited my whole family over for a turkey dinner last night (Thanksgiving Part 2!) because she snagged an extra $5.00 13 lb turkey the week before Thanksgiving. So I thought I’d bring something for dessert.

I wanted to go beyond the standard cake or brownie. And I’ve been cookie-ed out since Christmas. I had 3 bananas on the counter and thought, “hmmm something with bananas.” Then I remembered I had Nutella. And bananas and Nutella are always a good pairing. “hmmm….I wonder if there’s a brownie recipe out there for this.”

Of. Course. There. Is.

And it exists here on this gigantic INDEX OF AMAZING NUTELLA RECIPES:

http://www.nutelladay.com/nutella-recipes/

If you have never seen this index, bookmark it now. There is literally every single kind of sweet decadence that exists with Nutella in it on this page. Brownies, cakes, cookies, pancakes, candy, pizza, you name it. So sure enough, they had my banana and Nutella combo in bar form. And you bet I made it.

And you bet that it was a hit!

Banana Chocolate Chip Bars with a Nutella Swirl (Adapted from The Onyx Plate)

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted (1 1/2 sticks)
• 2/3 cup packed brown sugar
• 2/3 cup white sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 3 ripe bananas, mashed
• 1 egg
• 2 cups flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 cup chocolate chips (semi-sweet or milk chocolate)
• 3/4 – 1 cup Nutella

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 13 x 9 inch baking pan with cooking spray, or line with parchment paper.
2. In large bowl, mix together the melted butter, brown sugar, and white sugar.
3. Mix in the vanilla, egg, and bananas.
4. In a separate bowl, sift together the baking powder and flour, then gradually add the flour mixture to the banana batter until just incorporated. The batter will be lumpy because of the bananas — do not over mix.
5. Fold in the chocolate chips and spread the batter out onto prepared pan. Melt the Nutella in the microwave for 30 seconds to make it easy to spread. Then drop it onto the batter in dollops. Take a knife and cut through the Nutella to make the swirls.
6. Bake for 35 minutes or until the center springs back when you touch it. (The toothpick test might not work so well here since the Nutella may mess you up.)
7. Let cool for 30 minutes to 1 hour in the pan before cutting and serving —- if you can wait that long!

My Two Cents: Between 11 people, there were only 3 small pieces left in this pan by the end of the night. These bars were like banana bread, but better. You didn’t have to slice the bread and have it crumble in front of your face. You didn’t have to deal with a gooey dense center (even though those are good on occasion). Instead, this turned into a banana-y, Nutella-ness, cakey, beautiful, blond (not quite brownie), Bar.

In essence, an oodle of yummness.

Try it and taste for yourself!

 

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

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baking, chocolate, chocolate chips, Cookies, food, pumpkin, pumpkin cookies, recipes, thanksgiving, thanksgiving recipes

Brace yourselves for the best pumpkin chocolate chip cookies your tongue will ever touch its taste buds on.

I bought 8 cans of pumpkin over the past month. Every time I went to the store I put another two in my cart. I did this because pumpkin is hard to find in the stores unless it’s around Thanksgiving, so if in mid-April I wanted to make something with pumpkin in it, I’d have a can lying around.

However, I wanted to use some seasonally as well. So when I was invited to a party this past weekend, I thought cookies would be a good treat to have on the table. Then I thought, “pumpkin cookies”. Then I thought, “but there needs to be chocolate.” So pumpkin chocolate chip cookies was entered into Google. After weeding through some of the recipes, I settled on this one from Food Network.

They were a hit. No one could eat just one of these soft, pillow-y, pumpkin-y, chocolatey goodness.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies (Adapted from foodnetwork.com)

Makes 4 dozen

Ingredients:

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 cup light brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 1/2 cups canned pumpkin puree
• 3 cups flour
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 heaping tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1/8 tsp ginger
• 2 1/4 cups milk chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.
2. Beat the butter in a mixer until smooth. Beat in the white and brown sugars, until the mixture is lightly and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, then mix in the vanilla and pumpkin puree.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger. Slowly beat the flour mixture into the batter in thirds, scraping down the bowl as you go. Stir in the chocolate chips.
4. Scoop the dough by heaping tablespoons onto the cookie sheets and bake for 15-20 minutes, or until the cookies are set and browned around the edges. Let them cool on pan for 2 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

My Two Cents: These cookies are some of the most moist, cakey, fluffy cookies I’ve ever made. (In a tie for first are these banana chocolate chip cookies.) I attribute that to the moisture from the pumpkin. The original recipe called for only 1 cup of canned pumpkin, but after reading the reviews, a lot of people opted to put the whole can in. I decided to meet the recipe and the reviewers halfway and used 1 1/2 cups of pumpkin, bumping up the moisture (and pumpkin flavor). Most of my friends said it was like eating pumpkin cake or pumpkin muffins in cookie form.

The original recipe said to put in 2 cups of chocolate chips, and that’s all I had on hand. But I would bump it up to an additional 1/4 cup or 1/2 cup of chocolate chips. There is a lot of batter–so the more the merrier.

These would be perfect for Thanksgiving. If you’re looking for something different than the traditional pie, opt to put these on the table instead (or alongside the pie. There can never be too much dessert. Never.)

Enjoy!

Whole Wheat Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

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baked goods, baking, bananas, chocolate chips, food, Muffins, recipe, recipes, whole wheat

I recently achieved not one, but TWO of my goals.

I did a half hour of yoga today, and was both annoyed at how my body was twisted in all sorts of weird ways, yet rejuvenated after I was all done.

I also bought a kitchen shelf and new storage containers. Now I finally have a place to put my different types of flour. I can stock up on canned goods. And I now have extra space for appliances I don’t use frequently, or big dishes that never fit anywhere else. Hooray! (And, folks, I must thank Josh over at Crying Onions for the shelf suggestion–thanks, Josh!)

It’s amazing how a shelf can really brighten your day. And yoga.

So to celebrate my two most recent accomplishments, enjoy a healthy muffin with me. These banana chocolate chip muffins are made with whole wheat. And as my mother would say, you would never know when you bite into it… (When I was younger, my mom would often put whole wheat flour or flax into baked goods. We would often cringe at the thought, but now that I’m older and my metabolism is slowing down, I understand why my mom snuck whole wheat into baked goods. You get to eat some sweets–but without all the guilt!)

Whole Wheat Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins (Adapted from Joy of Baking)

Makes 16

Ingredients:

• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1 1/2 cups mashed banana (about 3 large ripe bananas)
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1/2 cup maple syrup (preferably pure)
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar
• 1/3 cup milk
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 cup mini chocolate chips

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line 16 muffin cups with paper liners.

2. In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.

3. In another large bowl, combine the mashed bananas, eggs, maple syrup, brown sugar, milk, oil, and vanilla. With a rubber spatula or wooden spool, lightly fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until just combined. Then fold in the chocolate chips. Be careful not to overmix the muffin batter. The dry ingredients should be mixed in, but it should still be lumpy.

4. Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin tins about 3/4 full. Bake for 18-22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cool for 5 minutes in the pan, then remove onto a wire rack to cool completely.

5. Eat your heart out.

My Two Cents: You can’t go wrong with these muffins.

And might I recommend baking these in cute, colorful, reusable silicon cups? My future mother-in-law gave these to me as a Christmas present this past year, and I absolutely love them. Best part? Dishwasher safe!

Also, beware. These are so good that before you know it, you’ll be sitting on the couch in a muffin-coma…

Peanut Butter Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies

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baking, bananas, chocolate chips, Cookies, food, peanut butter cookies, recipes

I was craving all three of these ingredients last night. And instead of eating a few spoonfuls of peanut butter, a banana, and some chocolate chips, I decided to see if there was a recipe out there that combined all of them into one.

By golly gosh darn dang it there was.

Evidently I’m not the only person out there who craves these three wonderful ingredients at the same time.

But before I continue with the recipe, I need to inform you that these are not your typical cookies. They’re actually very different, dense, thick cookies. They don’t have eggs. They also don’t have white granulated sugar. (I know…you’re thinking, “Megan, you have sinned. No granulated sugar? No eggs? Two very important ingredients in your basic cookie? I’m leaving.”)

But don’t leave yet! These cookies are (somewhat) healthy, tasty, and actually very filling. You don’t feel like you need to eat 6 of them to be satisfied (only 3 for me…)

Go on and try ‘em.

Peanut Butter Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies (Adapted from Zesty Cook)

Makes 15-20 cookies

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 1/4 cup mashed bananas (about 1 medium)
• 1/2 cup peanut butter
• 1 tsp vanilla
• pinch of salt
• 1 cup flour
• 1/3 cup chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Mix together maple syrup, brown sugar, canola oil, peanut butter, banana, and vanilla with a wooden spoon. Add the flour and salt; stir to combine.

3. Stir in the chocolate chips.

4. Roll dough into small balls and place on a baking pan. Press down on the balls with the back of a fork or spoon. Bake for 15 – 20 minutes until the tops are golden brown. Let cool on a wire rack before serving.

My Two Cents: Please, oh please squash down your dough a bit before you bake these cookies. The first batch I made I (wise old me) just left them in their ball form, and they didn’t spread out at all. Whoops.

But I am actually really impressed with these cookies. No butter. No eggs. No granulated sugar–yet they don’t taste deprived of sweetness at all. The brown sugar and maple syrup are sweet enough. Plus, the peanut butter itself is sweet. If there was any more sugar in this, it would actually be too sweet for my palate.

Originally this recipe called for oat flour. I don’t have any oat flour, and I’m not sure if that would’ve made a difference in the texture of these cookies, but have at it if you have it in the house. Also, chunky peanut butter would give these cookies a different texture element. And pecans. Pecans would be excellent in these. I’m not normally a nut person, but these cookies tasted more like breakfast cookies than dessert cookies, and pecans would pair well with that idea in mind. And, you know, I do like to eat cookies for breakfast…

Chocolate Chip Muffins: Guest Post on A Nesting Experience

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baking, Breakfast, chocolate, chocolate chips, food, Muffins, recipes

If you haven’t already checked it out, head  over to Erin’s blog, A Nesting Experience, to see this Chocolate Chip Muffin recipe. Erin guest posted a few days ago (See Chocolate Blackberry Sandwich Cookies below), and she was nice enough to let me guest post today on her site. Thanks, Erin!

Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies

Tags

baking, banana cookies, bananas, chocolate, chocolate chips, Cookies, food, recipes

I have heard of banana bread and banana muffins and banana pancakes (and I’ve made them all), but I never thought of making banana chocolate chip cookies before. But man oh man, next time I’m in the mood for a cookie, I’m going to make these. They were so moist and fluffy, and they were the first cookie I’ve made in a long long time that baked to absolute perfection. (Not just okay, not just great. I’m telling you. This is the perfect recipe.)

So if you like banana bread or banana muffins, grab your mixing bowls and your beaters and whip up this batch of cookies.

Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients (From MatthwJ on Flickr)

• 1 1/4 cup flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/3 cup butter, softened (5 1/3 tbsp)
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1 ripe banana, mashed
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 cup chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper, or lightly grease it.

2. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in a small bowl. Set aside.

3. Beat butter, sugar, and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Mix in banana, egg, and vanilla. Then gradually add the flour mixture until combined. Fold in the chocolate chips.

4. Bake for 9-11 minutes until the edges and bottoms of the cookies are a golden brown. Cool on cookie sheet for 2 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

My Two Cents: The moisture from the banana really ups the ante with these cookies. They are so fluffy and don’t cook so quickly on the bottom as most cookies do because of that. And I subconsciously want to believe these are better for you, simply because there’s not a huge amount of butter in them. Although, I know that’s only me being optimistic.

I was also tempted to add a little nutmeg and/or cinnamon to the mix. But I wanted the first run of this recipe to stay true to the original recipe. In my opinion, though, I think this would taste pretty great with the addition of cinnamon, nutmeg, and/or nuts.

This made almost exactly 2 dozen cookies. If you’re planning on sharing with a bunch of people, I suggest doubling the recipe. Or if you just want to hoard them to yourself like me (and don’t want to gain 5 lbs in a week), I assume these freeze well (or at least I’m hoping they do–I just stuck 15 in the freezer).

Happy Baking!