My Best Banana Bread

I’ve tried a lot of different banana bread recipes over the years, and this one is about as close to my grandmother’s version as I can get. I cannot remember when or where I found this recipe, but I’ve been using it for some time now. I don’t usually put walnuts in, because I find more people prefer the bread without them. However, you can add in about 1/2 cup of chopped walnuts if you want to.

Ingredients:

• 2 c flour
• 2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1 c butter
• 2 c light or dark brown sugar
• 2 c mashed, over-ripe bananas
• 4 eggs, beaten

Directions:

• In a large mixing bowl, blend together flour, salt, baking soda, nutmeg and cinnamon.
• In a separate bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until smooth. Stir in the eggs and bananas and mix well.
• Mix into dry ingredients and stir until just blended.
• Pour into lightly greased pans.
• Bake at 350°F for 60 – 70 minutes in regular sized bread pans, or 30 – 40 minutes in small loaf pans.
• Cool about 10 minutes, then turn out onto cooling rack.
• Wrap and refrigerate once completely cooled.

Peppermint Patty Cheesecake

Making this RIGHT NOW for tomorrow’s Thanksgiving dinner!

Adapted from a similar recipe, but with some changes I felt were necessary to improve the taste and visual appeal!

• 6-one ounce peppermint patties, snack size (or 6 ounces total)
• 3-8 oz. packages cream cheese, softened
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Graham cracker or chocolate crumb crust for a 9″ spring form pan*

Place peppermint patties in freezer. Prepare crust according to package directions. (or use ready-prepared graham crust) Preheat oven to 350°F. With electric mixer or in food processor, combine cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in vanilla. Spread a thick layer into the crust. Chop cold peppermint patties and sprinkle over batter in the crust. Spread the remaining batter over the top, smoothing it out as you go. Bake 40 to 45 minutes or until just set. Cool on wire rack, then chill several hours or overnight. Makes about 8 servings. If desired, cut a few more peppermint patties into halves, and use to decorate the top after it is cooled.

*Can use 9-inch round cake pan, if you prefer, but do not try to remove from pan except to serve; the crust may crumble! Or you can use a chocolate graham pie crust, but I would suggest using 2 store-bought crusts as the filling may be too much for one.

Chocolate Mud Pie

INGREDIENTS:

• 22 vanilla wafer cookies, crushed (about 3/4 cup)*
• 1/2 cup finely chopped pecans* (optional-if omitting, add 1/2 cup MORE of crushed cookies)
• 2 Tbsp. butter, melted*
  {{MAY USE STORE-BOUGHT GRAHAM OR COOKIE CRUST INSTEAD OF ABOVE INGREDIENTS}}
• 1 pkg. (8 oz.) brick cream cheese, softened
• 3/4 cup powdered sugar
• 2  cups thawed frozen Whipped Topping, divided (like Cool Whip)
• 1 pkg. (5.9 oz.) chocolate instant pudding mix
• 2-3/4 cups cold milk
• 1/4 to 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS:

• PREHEAT  oven to 375°F.
• MIX  wafer crumbs, nuts and butter; press onto bottom and up side of 9-inch pie plate.
• Bake 10 min.; cool.
  {{OMIT ABOVE STEPS IF USING STORE BOUGHT CRUMB CRUST}}

• BEAT  cream cheese and sugar in medium bowl with mixer until well blended. Gently stir in 1 cup frozen whipped topping; spread onto bottom of crust. Sprinkle more of the mini chocolate chips over this layer.
• Beat pudding mix and milk with whisk 2 min.; set aside approximately 3/4 cup of the prepared pudding. Spoon the rest of the pudding over cream cheese  and mini chocolate chips layers.  Set in freezer to begin chilling.
• Whip together the reserved pudding and the remaining whipped topping. Place in freezer until slightly thickened. When it has thickened, spread this mixture over the pudding layer of the pie. Sprinkle with mini chocolate chips.
• REFRIGERATE  or freeze for several hours or until firm. Top with additional frozen whipped topping or real whipped cream topping just before serving.

Hazelnut Brittle

Holiday Recipes
Desserts – Candy
Difficulty Rating – 2
Source Unknown

1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup water
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/3 cup dark corn syrup
2 1/2 cups coarsely chopped toasted hazelnuts
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda

Line a heavy large baking sheet with parchment paper. Stir the sugar, water, light corn syrup, and dark corn syrup in a heavy large saucepan over medium heat until the sugar dissolves. Increase the heat to high and boil without stirring until a candy thermometer registers 260°F, about 20 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium-low. Mix in the hazelnuts, butter, and salt (the mixture will be thick and nutty), and cook until the thermometer registers 295°F, stirring constantly, about 15 minutes. Quickly stir in the baking soda. Immediately pour the caramel onto the prepared baking sheet, spreading it as thinly as possible. Let stand until hard.  Drop baking sheet on counter top to break up.  If necessary or desired, break into smaller pieces by hand.

Ginger Cookies

Desserts
Holiday Recipes
Difficulty Rating – 3
Source Unknown

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon ground mustard
1/2 teaspoon fine salt
5 cracks freshly ground black pepper
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup sugar, plus more for rolling the cookies
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
1 large egg yolk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup unsulphured molasses
2 tablespoons ginger preserves

Whisk the flour, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, allspice, mustard, salt and black pepper together in a medium bowl.

Beat the butter and the sugars with a hand mixer or electric mixer on medium-high until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the egg yolk and vanilla and beat on medium speed until just incorporated, about 20 seconds. Add the molasses and ginger preserves and continue beating until the batter is an even light brown color, 30 seconds more.

Add the dry ingredients all at once, beating slowly to make a soft, smooth dough. Use a rubber spatula to make sure all ingredients are combined. Then beat again for 20 seconds. Cover the bowl with plastic and refrigerate the dough until firm, about 25 minutes.

Put about 1/2 cup sugar in a small bowl. With a cookie scoop or a small ice cream scoop, portion the dough into a slightly heaping tablespoon for each cookie. Roll the dough, by hand, into balls. Roll the tops of the balls in the sugar, and space them 2 inches apart on a nonstick or lightly oiled cookie sheet. Refrigerate until firm, about 25 minutes. (The chilling is what gives this cookie a beautiful, crackly crunch on top, and a soft, chewy center.)

Preheat oven to 375°F.

Bake until the top is crackly, and the insides peeking out are dark and moist but not raw, about 15 to 20 minutes. Briefly cool the cookies on the baking sheets, then transfer to racks to cool completely.

Serve or store in a tightly sealed container for up to 3 weeks.