Munchie Mondays: T's Birthday Banana Muffins with Peanut Butter Chocolate Icing

Yes, I know this is another early Munchie Monday post as it is Friday, however, today is my Darlin Hubby's Birthday! He turns 31 today and except for the increased man-fur, looks pretty much the same as when I first met him nearly 9 years ago. He's out with my brother watching Beowulf in 3-d at the moment. Meanwhile, I've been whipping up a batch of his favorite muffins.

I figured after the movie, T and Jbro will probably want something nice to munch on anyway.



I can't take full credit for the recipe as it is derived from a banana muffin recipe in Betty Crocker's Cookbook, which incidentally was a gift T's Mom gave him ages ago right before he was to head off to college. The intention was to give him a simple guide to cooking to encourage him to acquire good eating habits as a bachelor--ya know, to not consider Ramen, potato chips and peanut butter straight from jar as a full meal. I'm not sure how much use the book he received because by the time we got married (which was some 6 years later after he acquired the text) the spiral bound volume was still pristine. ..however, *I* got a lot of use out of it. The recipes in there work as a perfect base to add/change/tweak into your own dishes which is what I've done here.

The muffins from this book are obscenely easy to make.

T's Birthday Banana Muffins with Peanut Butter Chocolate Icing
makes 12

3 mashed ripe bananas
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla or maple extract
1/3 cup of light brown sugar
3 tbs of vegetable oil
2 cups of Bisquick
1/2 cup of pecans (plus extra for garnish)

Peanut Butter Chocolate Icing
(you will have leftovers)

2 cups of dark chocolate chips
1/2 cup of smooth peanut butter
1/3 cup of whipping cream

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Line muffin tin with muffin paper or grease lightly with shortening (I suggest muffin cups because these muffins are light and fall apart easily).

Whisk bananas, eggs, oil, vanilla extract and brown sugar in a bowl. Gently fold Bisquick flour and pecans into wet mixture until just moistened. Do not overmix. Otherwise, you'll get a heavy batter. Spoon mixture evenly amongst the 12 muffin compartments.

Bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown.

Meanwhile, prepare the icing.
Place chocolate chips and peanut butter in a sturdy bowl (glass or ceramic is best as it conducts heat). Heat whipping cream over stove while whisking to aerate the cream. When steamy got (but not boiling) pour over chocolate chips and peanut butter. Continue to beat mixture with whisk until chocolate is melted and everything is well incorporated. It'll be the consistency of a thick pudding.

When muffins are done, remove from pan and cool on a wire wrack.

Spoon icing over the tops and garnish with pecans (or sprinkles, or coconut flakes...or nothing at all). Ta da! Done!

Munchie Mondays: Cindy's Cashew Banana Bread

I know. It's not Monday. But hey, I've got the munchies and actually managed to go grocery shopping a couple of hours ago, so it's all good in the Cindy Household.

JBro's here, so that means we eat well. :) I was going to hold off until Monday to post this recipe, but it came out so good that I just had to share now. It's lovely Sunday brunch fare to me and the cashew butter makes the bread extra dense.



Be sure to use super ripe bananas. Just throw them into the freezer skin and all when they're about to turn and then defrost overnight when you plan on using them. You barely even need to peel them. They bananas just sort fall out of the skins...ewwww I know, but they, they taste great baked!



Cindy's Cashew Banana Bread:

1 stick of butter (softened = 1/2 cup)
1/3 cup of cashew butter
1 cup of brown sugar
1 tsp maple extract
3 mushy bananas
2 eggs
2 cups of whole wheat flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup of coarsely chopped cashews

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter an 8x8 baking dish.

Cream butters and sugar in large bowl. Beat in eggs. Mix in mashed banana and maple extract. Gently stir in flour, salt and baking soda until just moistened. Mix in chopped nuts. Spread into baking dish and bake for roughly 45 mintues at 350 degrees or until tooth pick inserted in center comes out clean. The top of the bread should dome up slightly and be golden brown in color.



Goes great with chocolate syrup or honey and butter. It's great with a big smathering of Nutella as well. You can definitely substitute peanut butter and peanuts for the cashew parts, but I like the subtle sweetness of cashews! Be sure to store in plastic wrap or an air tight container in the fridge otherwise it'll dry out (due to the whole wheat flour).

Munchie Mondays: Sun Dried Tomato and Basil Artisan Bread

This bread was initially adapted from a recipe for a chocolate and prune loaf by Ursula Ferrigno and Eric Treuille. It was created merely to use up basil that was about to turn. Furthermore, I was having another carb craving and just didn't feel like eating cereal or pasta.

Because it was adapted from a sweet bread, the crumb is delicate and soft. This makes it exceptionally good toasted.



Sun Dried Tomato and Basil Artisan Bread

yields one beautiful loaf

2 1/2 tsp of dry yeast
1 1/2 cups of warm water
3/4 cups of wheat flour
3 cups of white flour (plus additional for dusting)
1 egg lightly beaten
2 tbs of butter melted (can substitute with 3 tbs of olive oil)
1 1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cups of chopped sun dried tomatoes
1 tbs of dried basil (or 2 tbs of fresh basil chopped)
1/4 cup of chopped nuts (pecans, almonds or walnuts)



Sprinkle yeast onto 1/2 cup of the warm water in a small dish. Let dissolve for 5 minutes and then stir to dissolve. Mix flours and salt in large bowl and make a well in the center. Dump yeast liquid in center of well and draw in some of the surround flour to make a paste. Cover and let the yeast do it's thing for 20 mintues until you have a frothy "sponge" inside the well you made earlier.



Once the froth has risen, add the rest of the water, beaten egg and melted butter into the dough and mix thoroughly. Turn out onto a flour dusted work surface and using your hands knead for 10 minutes until dough is elastic. This is a very sticky dough and you may need to add additional flour to make it more workable. Sprinkle flour on the surface and gradually work into dough making sure that the mixture is soft to the touch, pliable but not smearing all over your hands and work surface.

When done kneading, place in a lightly oiled bowl and let rise in a warm spot for about an hour or until the dough has doubled in size.





After rising, punch down dough and then let rest for 10 minutes. Dump sun dried tomatoes, nuts and basil on top and using fingertips gently mush and squeeze the flavoring ingredients into the dough until evenly incorporated. This is much easier than trying to knead the ingredients in on a table top due to how soft the bread mixture is.



Shape into a ball and place on a lightly oiled banking pan. If desired, prior to proofing, dust with sifted flour. Cover and proof for about 30 minutes or until loaf has expanded about 1/3 of it's original size.



Bake in a preheated oven set at 350 degrees Farenheit for 45 mintues or until done (bread is light brown in color sounds hollow when tapped underneath). Immediately transfer onto a wire rack to cool.



I like toasting slices of the bread and eating it with salad. I'm sure with prosciutto, this would be a divine snack. Another serving suggestion is to smear pesto on slices then adding chopped olives and feta on top. Toast until feta is browned and then prior to serving, drizzle olive oil and sprinkle with black pepper. Yummy!