Tag Archive | holiday recipes

My Best Banana Bread

Oct14

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.

Heavenly Chocolate Pie

Oct14

Desserts
Difficulty Rating – 3
Source Unknown

2 egg whites
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup sugar
1 (6 oz.) pkg. chocolate chips
2 egg yolks
1/4 cup water
1 cup whipping cream
1/4 cup sugar

Beat egg whites, vinegar, and salt until stiff.  Gradually add sugar and beat very stiff. Spread over bottom of baked crust and bake 15 to 18 minutes.  Let cool. Melt chocolate chips over hot water, blend in egg yolks and water and stir until smooth. Spread 3 tablespoons over cooled meringue.  Chill the rest until it begins to thicken.

Beat whipping cream, 1/4 cup sugar until thick. Spread 3/4 over chocolate layer in pie shell.  Fold chilled chocolate mixture into remaining whipping cream.  Spread on top.  Chill for 4 hours.

Hazelnut Brittle

Jul18

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

Jul18

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.