Going Bananas

Quite awhile ago, I saw a really fabulous idea online for a snack using bananas.  They seemed healthy and yummy and I knew I would love them.  I have been waiting and waiting for bananas to get really cheap so I could go buy a "bunch" (haha) and try it.  So when Winco put them on sale for 18 cents a pound I knew my time had come!  I headed to Walmart and price matched them...and I ended up with 27 pounds of bananas.  Here's the picture to prove it:

Now it's time to use these bananas up before they all go yucky.  One important thing to know about bananas (and the reason I will probably go get more before the sale ends) is that you can mash them and freeze them and they are GREAT for adding to recipes like banana bread and muffins.  Yes, they turn dark brown...but if you're putting them in something you will never even know.  I will be mashing these in batches of 3 and 6 (based on the recipes I will use them in) and freezing them.  But, before I do that I'm going to enjoy as many as I can right now!
As for the great idea I wanted to try... they turned out great and I highly recommend them.  While they would have been fun to have during the summer, when you're waiting for bananas to go on sale, you take them when you can get them...


BANANA PUDDING POPS

While I love bananas dipped in chocolate, these seemed like a more healthy alternative.  There is no real recipe, so just have fun and experiment!

First, you want to use bananas that aren't overripe at all.  The ones I peeled were almost a titch green.  Peel them, cut them in half and stick a craft stick into each half.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and lay the bananas out so they aren't touching each other and place the pan in the freezer for a few hours (until they're completely frozen.)

While the bananas are freezing, decide on some toppings you would like.  I crushed up a bunch of different things including peanuts, graham crackers, white chocolate chips, and toffee bar.  You could use just about anything.  Crush or chop the toppings as fine as you can and put them in pie plates or shallow bowls.  (You may be tempted to not use toppings, but the toppings help hold the pudding in place so they are a good idea.) You will need more toppings than you think--they went fast and so did the pudding!  Some other toppings I thought about using were Oreo cookies, mini Reese's pieces, mini chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, or vanilla wafers.  Some crunched up cereal might be good, too.

Make your pudding according to directions on the package less 1/4 cup of milk (for the pudding directions).  I used devil's food for one batch, chocolate fudge for one batch, and chocolate mint chip for the last batch.  One of my boxes of pudding was not Jell-o brand, and it didn't work out as well (the pudding went lumpy and it wasn't sweet enough) so I would probably stick with Jell-o brand next time. Beat the pudding with a whisk until it starts to set up, then you need to start dipping bananas before it completely thickens up.

Put the banana down in the pudding and spoon pudding until the banana is covered.  Then dip the banana in your topping.  DO NOT ROLL THE BANANA or you will just scrape all the pudding off into your topping.  Dip it, then turn it and dip it again and so on until the banana is covered.  The bananas I dipped in the chocolate mint chip didn't get a topping because I had run out (and there were chunks of mint chips in the pudding anyway). I let that pudding set up a little more before dipping them and they seemed to cover and freeze well.

Place the dipped bananas back on the baking sheet and when the pan is full put it back in the freezer.  When the bananas are completely frozen, cover them in plastic wrap (or plain sandwich baggies would work good too) and they can all be tossed in a freezer bag.
For the record, the white chocolate ones are my favorite, but the graham cracker ones run a close second.  The salt of the peanuts was a little much so I will probably use unsalted nuts next time. These were really yummy and make GOOD after school treats!  I still have bananas AND more pudding so I think I'm going to go make some using Cookies & Creme pudding...YUM!

A Halloween Tradition

My kids have been asking me for weeks if I am going to make donuts.  The funny thing about them asking is that I do it EVERY YEAR.  It has become such a tradition that I now even have my kids' friends asking when the donuts will be ready....and this year one of the friends said "wow, your mom makes HOMEMADE donuts?  She must be a SUPERMOM!"  Hehe...
I am definitely not Supermom, but I do love a good challenge and that's how this tradition began... I wondered if I could do it.  Many years the donuts have not been good (I will explain my mistakes later) but I have finally got it down.  They aren't hard, but they are time consuming.  The kids wish I would make them more often, but there are a couple problems with that--first, we don't NEED 6 dozen donuts sitting around the house and second, I don't want to devote an entire day to making anything more often than once a year.  But this is definitely a tradition worth keeping... 

SPUDNUTS
1 1/2 cup sugar
1 cup shortening
2 Tablespoons yeast
1 Tablespoon nutmeg
1 Tablespoon salt
2 cups mashed potatoes (you can use instant and I don't think it makes a difference)
4 eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
4 cups milk
15-16 cups flour
1 1/2 quarts oil for frying

Cream sugar and shortening.  Add yeast, nutmeg and salt.  Put the milk in the microwave for about 1 1/2 minutes on high.  Add the mashed potatoes and mix well (especially if they are hot) before adding the eggs one at a time.  Add a cup of flour and the vanilla before adding the hot milk (you don't want to cook the eggs).  Add the milk slowly, stirring as you go.  

Add about 5 cups of flour and mix well, then add one cup of flour at a time until you get a good dough--it should be almost sticky in consistency (and will resemble a stiff cookie dough, not a smooth bread dough)  The flour measurement is a rough amount--if you are using a mixer you will need more than if you are mixing by hand.  Cover the dough tightly and let it rise for one hour, then punch it down.
At this point, you can choose to roll them out and cut them or put the dough in the fridge and wait a day.  I have found that the dough is easier to work with when it sits overnight.  Get it out of the fridge about an hour before you want to roll them out.

Roll out the dough on a floured surface to about 1/2 to 3/4 inch thickness and cut your donuts out.  If you don't have a donut cutter, use some other circle cutters or lids.  Place them on a buttered baking sheet to rise again. Notice mine do NOT look perfect by any means--it just doesn't matter.  Let them rise for about another hour or until double in size but don't let them go too long!

Heat oil in a fryer, electric skillet or dutch oven to 350-375 degrees.  Use a candy thermometer to watch the temperature.  When the oil is hot enough it's time to fry them.  Only fry about three at a time (if you fill the fryer the temp will drop and the donuts will end up grease soaked--yuck!)  These fry REALLY FAST so don't walk away from them--only about 30 seconds per side.  When they're done, drain them on a paper towel then move them to a wire rack.

I like to glaze them all before I frost them.  Why have just one layer of sugar when you can have two?  Mix 2 pounds of powdered sugar, 1 Tablespoon vanilla, and enough milk to make the glaze a good runny consistency and dip the donuts in, then put them back on the wire rack to drain.  (I put a baking sheet under them so I can scrape up the glaze and dip more donuts--otherwise you will waste a lot of it)
 

Don't forget the holes... You can roll these babies in glaze and pop them right in your mouth while frosting the rest and eat a good dozen in under 15 minutes.   

Then it's time to frost and decorate them!  

FROSTING
2 lbs. powdered sugar
1 cube butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
3-4 tablespoons milk
I like to make the frosting a little bit runny so it goes on smooth and runs down into the hole and coats the sides.  I divided the frosting into three different bowls and colored it orange, green and purple.

Don't forget to make some chocolate ones...

CHOCOLATE FROSTING
1-2 lbs. powdered sugar
8 oz. baking chocolate
1/3 cup evaporated milk
2 Tablespoons butter
1 tsp. vanilla
Melt the chocolate and butter, then add half the sugar and vanilla, stirring and adding sugar until the consistency is right.




THINGS I'VE LEARNED THAT MAKE THIS EASIER:

1. Make the dough the night before and leave it overnight in the fridge.  Trying to do it all in one day is overwhelming.
2. Don't overdo it on the flour.  Because you're thinking "dough" you envision firm, smooth and non-sticky.  Actually, the dough should be almost sticky and messy looking.  Don't go overboard on the flour when you roll them out either, but add enough that you aren't fighting with it.  Sprinkle a little flour on the top to make it easier to roll.  It should roll easily and not attach to the rolling pin.
3. Butter the baking sheets (or use cooking spray)!  I have tried parchment paper, wax paper, and foil and the dough sticks to everything and makes your donuts weird shapes when you take them off to fry them.
4. A dutch oven is really the best fryer for maintaining heat.  I never had to wait for the oil to heat back up like I've had to do with a fryer and a skillet.
5. Keep a washcloth handy dedicated to grease wipe-ups.  I hate all the oil that drips as I move the donuts in and out of the oil.  Maybe it's just me, but I'm a little anal that way.
6. Change out the paper towels you're draining your donuts on every couple of batches or the donuts don't drain properly (and probably soak up some of that oil too)
7. Wait until all the donuts are fried before trying to glaze.  It's too stressful to try and do it all at once because the donuts cook too fast.
8. NO matter how big of a hurry you're in, DON'T cook more than a few at a time--it actually isn't faster because the donuts cook slower and get soggy with oil.  It will ruin them.

This may sound hard, or like it's too much work, but it's SO WORTH IT!  And just a note...you can cut the recipe in half, but you'll be sorry if you do.  Everyone will love them and soon people will show up (including friends of your kids, waiting out on the sidewalk for an invitation to come in and eat them) and they will be gone before you know it.  I say, if you're going to all the work, GO BIG!

A Cookie Boo Boo

I never professed to be a professional baker, but I do tend to do okay most of the time.  Unfortunately today was one of those "doh!" moments when I was making mistake after mistake.  I think someone was telling me I wasn't supposed to be making or eating cookies.

Here's the dough...

Here's the balls of dough waiting to be baked...

To look at them, you might not guess there is anything wrong, but you're just going to have to trust me that this is NOT the way they are supposed to be.  First of all, these are NOT chocolate chip cookies, even though it looks that way.  Secondly, that dough is supposed to be dark brown...as in, chocolate.  So what did I do wrong, you ask?
Well... it all started innocently with me wanting to make some of my FAVORITE COOKIES EVER...cookies that I haven't made in a long time.  The recipe calls for a whole cup of cocoa, which I didn't have...but I did have baker's chocolate.  So I substituted it.  It was a great idea until I added the melted chocolate to the nice, cold, dough and it all set up before getting mixed in properly.  Hence the look of chocolate chips... But by then the dough was made so I figured I might as well continue and see how they turned out. By the way, after all was said and done I realized I left out the HOT water completely...which might have made all the difference... *sigh*
The cookies seemed to bake okay, but they weren't fluffy like they were supposed to be.  Then, when I tried to remove them from the pan they were all sticking.  That's when I looked back at my measurements and realized I had only put in half as much shortening and baking soda as I was supposed to.  Oops.  So for the next batch I sprayed the pan.  Not a good plan...as that batch spread all over the baking sheet and turned into thin, crispy biscuits.  Ugh.  But the fun was still not over...
Next came the filling....and SURPRISE!  I didn't have enough butter OR shortening to make a full batch, so I had to cut it in half.  I guess this was just as well, since the cookies had become thin little disks anyway.
So, when all was said and done, they are still good.  They look weird, but they taste okay.  They should be poofy little cakes filled with delicious creamy goodness. (Technically, they are supposed to look and taste a little like a Suzy Q (only a TON better) and instead they look a little more like bakery rejects.)  I'm putting the actual correct recipe on here... and you're just going to have to trust me that they're delicious because normally they are.  I'm including the picture of my finished cookies...just ignore it and know if they look like this then you, too, have screwed them up! Someday when I make them again I will come back and add a better picture.

WHOOPIE PIES
2 cups sugar
1 cup shortening
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 cup cocoa
1 cup HOT water
2 eggs
1 cup milk
4 cups flour
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons baking soda

Cream sugar and shortening.  Add eggs, milk and vanilla and mix well.  Stir together flour, cocoa, salt and baking soda.  Add to mixture.  Mix in hot water.  Drop by heaping teaspoonful onto an ungreased baking sheet.  Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes.

FILLING
1/2 cup butter
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 cup shortening
6 cups powdered sugar
6-7 Tablespoons milk

Cream butter and shortening, then add vanilla and sugar and beat vigorously.  Add milk one tablespoon at a time until frosting has a creamy consistency.  Frost cookies generously and sandwich them.
 

Fall Food

One of the best things about living where the seasons change is getting to change what kind of food you cook.  I love fall the best, because by the time summer is over I am really ready for warm soups and stews... homemade breads and rolls... and just about anything that comes out of the oven.  I've been craving soup...so yesterday seemed like the perfect day to start!  And of course, soup is no good without some kind of bread or roll to go with it.

GLAZED CINNAMON TWISTS

1/4 cup lukewarm water
1 1/2 Tablespoons yeast
1/4 cup butter
3 Tablespoons sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup evaporated milk
4 cups flour
1 cup butter, melted
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar
1 Tablespoon cinnamon

Put yeast in the warm water and sit it aside.  Meanwhile, mix the 1/4 cup butter, 3 Tbsp. sugar, egg and salt.  Heat the milk in the microwave until it's just barely warm (about 30 seconds) and add to the butter mixture and mix well.  Add one cup of flour and mix thoroughly, then add the yeast and water mixture.  Add the flour one cup at a time until mixed well.  The dough doesn't really need to be kneaded, but mix it until the flour is thoroughly incorporated and the dough is soft and smooth.  Spray a large bowl with cooking spray.  Put the dough in the bowl, turning it once so the top is coated with cooking spray too.  Cover tightly with plastic wrap and allow to rise until doubled in size.

Once the dough is doubled, roll it out on a floured surface into a rectangle to about 1/2 inch thickness. It doesn't have to be perfect.

Using a pizza cutter or sharp knife, slice the dough into strips about 1/4 inch wide.

Using three strips at a time, braid the strips of dough.  The dough will stretch as you work with it, so when I'm done braiding I usually cut them in half so each braid was about 5 inches long.  

Place the braids on a greased baking sheet about 1/2-1 inch apart.

Pour or brush the melted butter over all the braids--be very liberal with the butter!  Mix the brown sugar, sugar, and cinnamon and sprinkle on top.  Allow to rise for about an hour.








Bake at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes.  The twists should be good and brown (not lightly golden brown) or they won't be cooked in the middle.  You may want to check the middles before deciding that they're finished.  Pour on the glaze while the twists are still hot.



GLAZE
1 lb. powdered sugar
1 teaspoon real vanilla (add another 1/2 tsp. in you're using imitation)
1/4 cup milk
2 Tablespoons melted butter
pinch of salt

Mix all ingredients together.  The glaze should be thick but you should still be able to pour it.

The BEST brownies EVER!

Unfortunately, I cannot claim this recipe as my own, but it just doesn't matter because I love it all the same. This one comes from the Worldwide Ward Cookbook which I happen to love.  If you don't have it, you really should look into it.  My mom is the one that sort of "discovered" this brownie recipe in there and it is now my favorite.  These are also Colby's favorite dessert of all time, so imagine his disappointment when he came home and saw them and I told him they were leaving to go to a Relief Society meeting (but I took pity on him and left a few rows).  I don't make them very often because the amount of butter in them is truly horrifying...which is also the reason they are so good.  As Paula Deen says "when you think you have enough butter, add some more..."  By the way, these brownies take awhile to make because each layer has to cool or set up before moving on, so plan ahead!

LAYERED MINT CHOCOLATE BROWNIES

Brownies:

1 cup butter, melted

2/3 cup cocoa powder

2 cups sugar

4 eggs

1 1/2 cups flour

Mint Frosting:

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 lb. powdered sugar

1-3 Tablespoons milk

1/2 teaspoon mint extract

green food coloring

Chocolate Topping:

1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup butter

  

Brownies:

Mix butter, cocoa, and sugar; add eggs one at a time.  Stir in flour.  Spread into a greased 9X13 pan and bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.  Let cool completely.

Mint Frosting:

Mix butter and powdered sugar.  Add only enough milk to make a smooth consistency (each time I have used the full 3 Tablespoons).  Add mint extract and enough food coloring for a light green color.  Frosting will be VERY thick.  Spread over brownies and refrigerate until firm.

Chocolate Topping:

Melt chocolate chips and butter in microwave for 2-3 minutes.  Stir well to combine.  Pour over frosted brownies, covering frosting completely.  Refrigerate until topping is set and hardened.  Let brownies sit at room temperature for 10 minutes before cutting.  Cut with a sharp knife.

A Duh Moment

I made a cake the other day for a Relief Society dinner and had one of those DUH moments.  The cake is my absolute favorite and I found a great recipe for chocolate frosting to go on it.  It's SUPER yummy but a little hard to make and there are a few important things to know if you're going to make it.

1. If you boil the butter/cocoa/milk mixture too long or too hard the frosting will be hard and yucky.
2. If you fail to keep the cake properly covered after you frost it the frosting will get hard and crack when you cut it.
3. The frosting sets up REALLY fast (that's a good thing because it keeps it from running off the cake altogether) so you can't use sprinkles or anything like that.  Just frost it and leave it alone.

My DUH moment came when I thought I could toss some sprinkles on there.  After all, it was supposed to look like a birthday cake.  I got the sprinkles all ready to go so as soon as I poured on the frosting I could hurry and toss on some sprinkles.  But it didn't work.  Even Superman couldn't have been fast enough to get those sprinkles on the cake.  As I tossed them, they all bounced off the frosting and flew all over the kitchen...okay...not all of them...about 20 of them stuck to the cake.  DUH!  Oh well, it was delicious anyway.  Here's the recipe... It's kind of hard and I'm still working at perfecting it, but when you get it right it's the best chocolate frosting recipe I've found.

CHOCOLATE FROSTING

1 cube butter

4 Tbsp. cocoa

1/3 cup evaporated milk

4 cups powdered sugar

Melt butter over LOW heat.  Whisk in cocoa and milk.  Bring mixture JUST to a boil over low heat, stirring constantly.  Remove from heat at the first sign of bubbles.  Beat in sugar until thick and smooth.  Pour warm frosting over warm cake for best results. (And it tastes the best when the cake is still warm too...yum!)
NOTE:  I haven't tried this recipe with margarine so I don't know how it might turn out. 

Here is the cake recipe

CINNAMON ROLLS

Cinnamon rolls are one of those foods that bring back childhood memories for me.  I remember coming home from school on cold winter days and the smell of freshly baked cinnamon rolls as I came in the front door.  YUMMO!  To me, a cinnamon roll is not complete unless it's loaded with raisins--it's really the only way I like raisins--after they've plumped up and carmelized.  If you're not a raisin fan, you can always leave them out, but to me that's a crying shame...

CINNAMON ROLLS

2 cups milk

1 cube butter

7-9 cups of flour (I used almost 9)

6 Tablespoons sugar

1 teasoon salt

3 eggs

3 Tablespoons yeast

butter, cinnamon, brown sugar, sugar, and raisins 

Soak yeast in 1/2 cup lukewarm water.  Scald milk; meanwhile, mix butter, sugar, salt and eggs.  Add scalded milk and 3 cups of flour and mix well.  Add yeast.  Continue to add flour 1/2 cup at a time until you have a nice dough--it should not be sticky but it should still be a little soft.  Place in a greased bowl, cover, and let rise about 1 hour, or until doubled.  Roll out to 1/2 inch thick rectangle. Brush with approximately 2/3 cup melted butter, leaving the top 1/2 inch butter free (it should not pool anywhere or you have too much butter), sprinkle lightly with sugar, brown sugar and cinnamon, just enough to lightly cover the entire rectangle.  Spread raisins around--as many as you like (I have to do half without raisins for the non-raisin eaters in my house...)  

Roll up starting on the long side and rolling toward the edge without butter (if you butter the edge it will be hard to seal the rolls).  Rub a wet finger along the top edge and press lightly to seal.  Cut rolls into 1/2-3/4 inch slices (I use thread, sliding it under the roll, then crossing the thread and pulling...this will keep them a nice round shape instead of squishing them flat as you cut.)  Place rolls on a greased pan approximately 2 inches apart (I fit 8 rolls per pan). Cover with a light towel and allow to rise until double in size--aproximately 1 hour. Bake at 350F for 12-15 minutes.  Makes approximately 28 rolls.

CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

1 8-oz. bar cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup butter

2 lb. powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

milk

Beat cream cheese and butter together until smooth.  Add half the powdered sugar and vanilla and beat, adding milk as needed to get desired consistency.  Add powdered sugar and milk and continue mixing.  Frosting should be thick but not stiff.  I prefer to allow my rolls to cool before frosting so that the frosting doesn't just melt all over the pan, but you could frost them while they're still warm if you prefer.

For cold rolls, add a small pat of butter and heat in the microwave for about 15-20 seconds...just until warm and butter is melted.  DELICIOUS!