Showing posts with label Taste of Home. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Taste of Home. Show all posts

Saturday, September 4, 2010

Banana Crumb Snack Cake Will Make Ya Go.....BANANAS!

Banana Crumb Snack Cake
I have a confession- I am a Peeping Tom(ika). Not in a pervy kind of way, really! What I mean is whenever I am out for a walk with my little ones, I always try to get a sly peek at kitchens of the houses we past. Just a quick glance, nothing weird, I promise! I am always interested in what people are cooking up in their kitchen, especially if there are delicious smells coming from their home!

 That's why I love reading food blogs and reading a magazine called Taste of Home. What's similar about both is that there's home chefs writing the history of a meal that either goes back generations or something whipped up on whim. I love looking at the photos, what markets they went to and why they chose the dish. It makes me feel excited about cooking and preparing meals of my own! As I live in Germany, my family and close friends are in the US, so it feels nice to be "apart" of what someone's creating for their family with so much love and passion.

So while planning meal planning, I cracked open one of my older Taste of Home magazines. I came across a recipe for Banana Crumb Snack Cake. It's the perfect fall dish. With the crunchy topping and the moist cake with bits of banana, white chips throughout; added warm cinnamon and fragrant vanilla for a little spice and a touch of me. 
It's easy to prepare and can be made any time of the year. This dish has a Autumn essence to it, so I thought this time of the year would be perfect for this cake. And if you have any banana's turning brown, this is the perfect recipe for them. Also, this dish can be made into cupcakes!  Make a nice cream cheese frosting and top the frosting with toasted slivered almonds! 

Ingredients
2/3 slivered almonds
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
2/3 cup butter, softened
1 cup of sugar
2 eggs, room temperature
3/4 teaspoons almond extract
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon  baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups mashed ripe bananas (about 3 or 4 medium bananas)
1 cup (8oz) sour cream
1 cup vanilla or white chips

Directions
In a small bowl, combine almonds and brown sugar; set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. 
You can use a mixer, but sometimes it's nice work those muscles!

Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition; add extracts.

Combine flour, cinnamon, salt, baking powder, and baking soda

Add to the creamed mixture alternately in thirds with bananas and sour cream. Then fold in chips. PLEASE do not over mix or your result with big brick!

Spread into a greased 13-in, x 9-in x 2-in. baking pan

With help of my daughter aka Curly Sous Chef, I sprinkled on the topping. If you don't have a Curly Haired Sous Chef, any Sous Chef will do. It's easy enough to do yourself ;)

Sous Chefs love rewards!

Now bake at 350F for 35 to 40 or until when toothpick inserted near center comes out clean!

This cake tasted absolutely AMAZING and I hope you try it!


My assistant Sous Chef nearly ate all of the white chips!



Cake





Friday, May 21, 2010

Cream Cheese Finger Cookies


Yummy! Great with coffee or tea after a long day. Or for breakfast if you roll like that. Don't act like you don't! This cookie is covered with powdered sugar, but isn't overly sweet and it melts in your mouth. Recipe from my Taste of Home Cookbook. Great cookbook full of recipes from home cooks. My favorite cooks of course :)

I refrigerated the cookie dough for a about 30 minutes before rolling them. I made my cookies a bit on the midget side as well ;) Add cinnamon for a nice spice-kick!

12 ServingsPrep/Total Time: 30 min.
Ingredients
1/2 cup butter, softened
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
Dash salt
1 cup finely chopped pecans
Confectioners' sugar
Directions
In a small bowl, cream butter and cream cheese until light and fluffy. Beat in vanilla. Combine the flour, sugar and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well. Stir in pecans (dough will be crumbly).
Shape tablespoonfuls into 2-in. logs. Place 2 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 375° for 12-14 minutes or until lightly browned. Carefully roll warm cookies in confectioners' sugar. Cool on wire racks. Yield: 2 dozen.

LinkWithin

Related Posts with Thumbnails