made by Rachel

My husband absolutely loves the Banana Nut Bran Muffins that Mandy gave me the recipe to a while back.  But in an effort to get rid of some buttermilk I had in the fridge I looked around for a new banana bran muffin recipe that required buttermilk and here is what I came up with.  They are different than the last banana muffin recipe and still really good, especially when grilled or toasted and the chocolate chips get all gooey and melted - yum!

You will need:
2 eggs
2/3 cup brown sugar
2 ripe bananas, smashed
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup wheat bran
1/4 cup canola oil
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup wheat flour
3/4 cup flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup chocolate chips

To make:

Pre-heat your oven to 400F and line your muffin tin with paper/tin cups.

Mix eggs and sugar in a bowl, and then add bananas, buttermilk, oil, vanilla and then bran.

In a separate bowl, mix the flours, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt.  Slowly add the wet ingredients mixture to the dry and fold until just combined.
Next, stir in the chocolate chips, being careful to not over-mix so you don't get rubbery muffins.  
Bake the muffins at 400 until the tops are golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean, about 20 minutes.  Let the muffins cool in the pan for 5 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.  Store in an airtight container for up to a week (not-so-fresh muffins still taste awesome when toasted or grilled!). 
 

made by Miranda

I finally found a banana bread recipe that I love!  And it is made with wheat flour - even better!  I don't know why, but I always have had trouble with banana bread.  It gets too dark on top and still mushy in the middle, or its too dry, or too bland.  This recipe is exactly how I like it.  It's full of flavor, perfectly sweet, and  (I hate the word, but i have to use it...) moist!!  The recipe comes from King Arthur Flour.  

This recipe calls for 1 cup white flour and 1 cup whole wheat flour, but instead I used 2 cups of white whole wheat, which is a little milder than whole wheat flour.

You will need:
2 cups very ripe bananas (4-5) mashed
1/2 cup veg oil
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
3 Tbsp milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup whole wheat flour
1cup white flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

To make:
Preheat oven to 350F and grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan.  Mash bananas in a large bowl.  Add oil, sugar, eggs, milk and vanilla and stir well.  Add salt, powder and soda and stir to combine then add flours and walnuts and stir just until flour is incorporated, scraping sides and bottom of bowl.  Try not to overmix.  

Pour into prepared pan and bake about 1 hr.  Halfway through, I put a sheet of foil over the top of my pan to prevent overbrowning of the top and it worked perfectly.  Cool in pan for 10 minutes then tip bread out onto a cooling rack and cool completely before cutting (otherwise steam escapes and your bread might dry out).  

Yum!! 
 

By Miranda

I saw an ad for banana cream pie and then I craved it for 2 days after that...so I had to get rid of the craving.  I decided to make it with a graham cracker crust rather than the typical pie crust (but the filling would work with a regular baked pie crust as well).  This turned out great and my husband who normally doesn't care for bananas liked it!
This recipe has been adapted from Small Batch-Baking by Debby Maugans Nakos

Graham Cracker Crust:
1 and 1/3 cups graham cracker crumbs (approx 10  whole crackers)
6 Tbs butter, melted
1/4 cup  sugar

Filling:
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup   flour
pinch of salt
4 large egg yolks
1 1/2 cup milk
2 Tbs banana flavored liqueur (optional)
2 tsp vanilla
2 - 2 1/2 bananas

Whipped Cream:
1 cup whipping cream or heavy cream
1/4 cup confectioners sugar
1  tsp vanilla

Mix crust ingredients together and press into sides and bottom of standard size pie dish.
Bake at 325F for about 10 minutes or until slightly browned.   Allow to cool while making filling.   
Place sugar, flour, salt in a small saucepan and whisk to blend.  Add egg yolks and milk and whisk until smooth.  Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly until the custard thickens and just begins to boil, about  5-10 minutes.  Remove from heat and whisk in liqueur (if using) and vanilla.  Let mixture cool to lukewarm, whisking it occasionally.  

Cut banana into thin slivers.  Line bottom of pie crust with half of bananas.  Spread half of custard mixture over bananas.  Continue layering the rest of bananas over the custard and then top with 2nd half of custard mixture.  
Cover pie and refrigerate about 2 hrs or until chilled. When ready to serve, whip cream in mixer with confectioners sugar and vanilla on high speed until thickens and peaks form.  
Top pie with whipped cream and serve!

Note: Cream whips a lot quicker if mixer bowl and whisk attachment are placed in freezer
to chill prior to whipping.  
 

Recipe by Miranda, photos by Rachel

These muffins are so hearty and delicious, pretty healthy, yet really sweet.  Miranda gave me this recipe about a year ago and I have made them SO many times since.  One time she made them and accidentally doubled the sugar, finding out that 1 full cup of brown sugar actually makes the muffins super chewy and even more delicious!


You will need:
1 cup flour
1 cup wheat bran
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
1 cup mashed bananas (2 bananas)
1/2 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
1/2-1 cups packed brown sugar (1/2 is the original recipe but we prefer 3/4 or 1 full cup)
1 egg

Pre-heat oven to 375F.  Grease or line muffin tin with muffin cups.  

Mix the dry ingredients and nuts in a large bowl.  
In an electric mixer, mix your bananas and butter.  Add sugar and egg and beat until well combined.  
Make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients and pour the wet into the dry.  Fold in until just incorporated (I was taught once that over mixing/stirring muffin batter makes muffins less fluffy and more dense).

Use an ice cream scoop, if you have one, to fill your cupcake tins.  
Bake for about 20 minutes or until golden brown and toothpick comes out clean.


Note: Remember you can freeze any uneaten muffins for grilling/toasting later!