Super delicious birthday cookies

***There seriously aren't very many things that smell better than Banana Nut Bread baking in the oven.   Don't you agree?  This recipe for Cream Cheese Banana Nut Bread from Southern Living magazine was one of the very first recipes that I added to this blog...back in November 2007!  In fact, I came across it when I worked for the magazine as a Marketing Intern.  Back then, I didn't have a photo for every recipe, and the blog post was simply the recipe and nothing else.  Because this is my go-to recipe for Banana Nut Bread (and because it is so amazing!), I thought that it deserved a little more attention. 

This is quite honestly some of the best Banana Nut Bread that I've ever had.  An entire 8oz. package of cream cheese is added right to the batter, along with 4 mashed bananas.  The cream cheese adds so much to this recipe, with an incredibly moist texture being the main component.  Plus, the roasted pecans are the perfect addition.  Roasting the nuts brings out their natural oils and adds SO much flavor...Don't skip this step!  To roast them, simply place the pecans on a cookie sheet in a single layer and bake at 350 degrees for a few minutes until fragrant and lightly toasted.  I usually add a sprinkling of pecans over the top of the batter before baking.  Another trick is to leave a few small chunks of banana...I don't mash them up completely. 

Another great thing about this recipe?  It makes TWO loaves, so you can put one in the freezer for later or give it away to someone very lucky!

Bon Appetit!***

Cream Cheese Banana Nut Bread
***Makes 2 loaves***

3/4 c. butter, softened
1 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese, softened
2 c. sugar
2 large eggs
3 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 cups mashed bananas (about 4 medium bananas)
1 cup roughly chopped pecans, toasted
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Beat butter and cream cheese at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy. Gradually add sugar, beating until light and fluffy. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating just until blended after each addition.

Combine flour and next 3 ingredients; gradually add to butter mixture, beating at low speed just until blended. Stir in bananas, pecans, and vanillla. Spoon batter into 2 greased and floured 8x4 inch loafpans.

Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour or until a long wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean and sides pull away from pan, shielding with aluminum foil last 15 minutes to prevent browning, if necessary. (I found that after one hour, my banana bread wasn't completely cooked through.  I ended up baking it for an extra 10-15 minutes.) Cool bread in pans on wire racks for 10 minutes. Remove from pans, and cool 30 minutes on wire racks before slicing.

Source: Southern Living magazine

***Ina Garten never lets me down...Her recipes never disappoint and consistently deliver in the flavor department.  Case in point - Her "Country Hashed Browns."  One thing that I adore about the weekend is making a yummy homemade breakfast.  After watching Ina prepare this dish recently on her TV show, I knew that it was going to make an appearance in my kitchen soon.

I decided to surprise Brad with a delicious brunch this morning...And we were both thrilled with how it turned out.  I served these hashed browns with fresh scrambled eggs, juicy peaches from Chilton county, and plump blueberries from the farmer's market.  It was the perfect blend of fresh fruitiness and hearty yumminess!  We didn't want the meal to end!

After a brunch like that, you know the day ahead will be fabulous!

Bon Appetit!***

Country Hashed Browns
Source:  Ina Garten, Barefoot Contessa

Ingredients:
5 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 1/2 pounds boiling potatoes, peeled and 1/2-inch diced
1 1/2 cups chopped yellow onions (2 onions)
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons minced fresh flat-leaf parsley
2 tablespoons minced scallions, white and green parts
1/2 pound smoked ham slices, 1/2-inch diced


Directions:
Melt the butter in a large (10 to 12-inch) saute pan. Add the potatoes, onions, salt, and pepper and cook over medium-low heat for 15 to 20 minutes, turning occasionally with a flat spatula, until the potatoes are evenly browned and cooked through. (Allow the potatoes to cook for 5 minutes before turning.) Turn off the heat and add the parsley, scallions and ham. Reheat on top of the stove or over a hot charcoal grill.


Cook's Note: Use any leftover potatoes in Potato Basil Frittata (see recipe) for lunch.


You can peel and dice the potatoes early and keep them in the refrigerator in a bowl of cold water. Drain them and dry them well with paper towels before frying.

***Ahh...pancakes...one of those quintessential, scrumptiously delicious breakfast foods....But wait a gosh-darn-minute....Who says you can't have pancakes for dinner, anyway?  That's exactly what I made tonight...Edna Mae's Sour Cream Pancakes, to be precise.  I took these over-the-top pancakes one step further by adding some mashed bananas.  WOW...that's all I can say!

It was one of those moments where I didn't have the exact ingredients that I needed.  But hey, sometimes those moments are just what you need for an awesome result!  The recipe calls for 1 full cup of sour cream, and I only had 1/2 cup.  Oh, what ever should I do??  I glanced around the kitchen, and my eyes fell upon the perfect solution...a few perfectly ripe bananas.  I peeled one of those suckers, put him in a bowl, and mashed him all to bits.  After adding the one banana to my 1/2 cup of sour cream, I had just the right amount.  Voila!

These pancakes tasted a lot like banana nut bread.  In fact, a drizzling of chopped pecans over the top would have made these pancakes even better.

While making these pancakes, I couldn't help but sing Jack Johnson's "Banana Pancakes" song to myself...

...Maybe we could sleep in
I'll make you banana pancakes
Pretend like it's the weekend now...

This recipe is certainly going in my regular repertoire...I KNOW you'll love these!!***

Edna Mae’s Sour Cream Pancakes
Adapted from The Pioneer Woman Cooks
Ree says this makes 12 4-inch pancakes; I got 6 that were closer to 5 inches

Ingredients:
7 tablespoons all purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/ 2 teaspoon salt
1 cup sour cream (I used 1/2 cup sour cream + 1/2 cup mashed banana)
2 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Butter
Maple syrup

Directions:
Heat a cast iron skillet or griddle over medium-low heat; you want it to slowly get nice and hot.

Stir the flour, sugar, baking soda and salt together in the bottom of a medium bowl. Dump the sour cream in on top and stir it together very gently; it’s okay to leave the texture a bit uneven. Whisk the eggs and vanilla in a separate bowl and stir them into the sour cream mixture, once again, being careful not to overmix.

Melt about a tablespoon of butter in your skillet or griddle and pour the batter in, a scant 1/4 cup at a time. Cook for about 2 minutes on the first side, or until bubbles appear all over the surface [See Pancakes 101 for this and other tips], flipping them carefully and cooking for about a minute on the other side. Repeat with remaining batter.

Serve in a stack, topped with a pat of butter and a cascade of maple syrup.

***If you've ever had the good fortune to eat a warm Krispy Kreme doughnut right off of the conveyor belt, you know that they are purely heaven-sent.  However, there isn't always a Krispy Kreme right down the street or at your disposal, so this recipe will help satisfy your doughnut craving! 

A co-worker of mine shared this recipe with me last week, and I couldn't wait to try it!  These doughnuts are very easy to make...The hardest part is simply waiting for the dough to rise.  After frying the first few doughnuts, you may want to cut into them just to make sure they're cooked all the way through.  I don't have a candy thermometer, so I had to guess at the right temperature.  The first few were a tiny bit under-cooked in the middle, so they had to go back into the hot tub!

I only made half of this recipe, because I certainly didn't need the full 48 doughnuts hanging out in the kitchen!  While these do taste A LOT like the real thing, no homemade doughnut can replace the original!  Without a doubt, you'll LOVE these!

Bon Appetit!***


Krispy Kreme Doughnuts
Recipe Adapted From:  http://www.recipezaar.com/Krispy-Kreme-Doughnuts-63746

Ingredients:

Doughnuts:
2 cups scalded milk
1/2 cup butter
2/3 cup sugar, divided
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons yeast
4 eggs (beaten)
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
7 cups sifted flour

Glaze:
3 cups powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup cold water

Directions:
Mix together ingredients for glaze.  Set aside.

Melt butter in hot milk, add 1 tsp sugar and salt. Allow to cool.  Pour milk mixture into the bowl of a stand mixer.

Beat in yeast, nutmeg, eggs, remaining sugar, and 3 cups flour.

Add rest of flour (dough will be sticky).

With the dough hook attachment, knead for 5 minutes.  Cover bowl with a kitchen towel, and set it in a warm, dry room.  Allow to rise for 1-1 1/2 hours.

Roll out dough to about 1/4 to 1/2 inch thickness, cut into shapes.

Do not re-roll dough, then allow to rise for 30-45 minutes.

Heat oil to 365° and fry 1 - 2 minutes on each side or until brown. Toss in the doughnut holes first, let those cook, and then proceed to cooking the doughnuts.

Let them cool on a paper towel.  This will help get the glaze to stick.

Dip in warm glaze.  Enjoy!

The Christmas Tree...

It was mass chaos in our living room at 8:30AM this morning...hah...

Our pups...Lady & Hannah

MERRY CHRISTMAS and a very HAPPY NEW YEAR to you and your family!!!

***With summer upon us and all of the deliciously fresh fruits that are available, I've really been craving fruits! Beautiful strawberries, amazing cherries, perfect peaches...the list goes on and on. I find myself buying this fresh produce and telling myself I'll worry about exactly what to make with it later! The fresh cherries that I used in my Classic Cherry Pie is a perfect example.

***Alrighty, here are the cinnamon rolls that I mentioned in my previous post. I put these together on Christmas Eve, and then baked them on Christmas morning. Let me just tell you...there's nothing quite like the smell of yummy cinnamon rolls wafting through the house on Christmas morning...ahhhhh...so wonderful! This is going to be a new tradition for us...fresh, homemade rolls on Christmas. I thought that I might try this recipe, and then maybe try a new one next year...until I found one that I really loved. However, I hit the jackpot on the first try! This is THE recipe that I'll always use.

The great thing was that I could prepare them on Christmas Eve. Just put them together...all the way until the step where they're ready to go into the oven. Instead of popping them into the oven, just put them in the fridge and let them rise for the 2nd time in the fridge overnight (they'll rise VERY slowly in the fridge). Then, in the morning let them sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes, and then pop them in the oven as directed.

I looked and looked online and in my numerous cookbooks for the perfect recipe. I think the thing that got me about this particular recipe was the coffee glaze drizzled over the rolls...omg. You had me at coffee! I didn't look much further after that.

I found this recipe over on Pioneer Woman's blog. She's got a great story that goes along with them, so be sure to check out her post.

I will say that I decreased the ginormous amount of butter that she called for in this recipe. I also halved the recipe to suit my needs. I didn't need 7 pans of rolls...neither do my hips! :)

Try these today...you won't be sorry! I promise!!!***

Source: The Pioneer Woman

This is my 5th Daring Bakers Challenge, and I have to say that this was my favorite! I've always wanted to try baking a pastry, so when I found out what this month's challenge was, I was pretty excited! After completing this challange, I've added a few new words to my baking vocabulary such as "butter-laminated dough", "Beurrage", and "Detrempe."

FYI: