Whole Grain Banana Bread

This banana bread has been brought to you by the King Arthur Whole Grain Cookbook.  It is moist and delicious and hearty without too much sugar.

Whole wheat flour has a party with honey and brown sugar and my substitute of greek yogurt for half of the butter only brings more health to the game.  Plus its banana bread - healthy already, right?

I really do think I enjoy banana bread made with whole wheat flour better than those with the white variety.  There is something about the ruggedness of the grain that pairs well with the strength of the banana.  

I love a slice in the afternoon spread with Greek yogurt and a touch of honey. 

Whole Wheat Banana Bread (King Arthur) 

1/4 cup (4 ounces) unsalted butter
1/4 cup (4 ounces) greek yogurt
1/2 cup (3 3/4 ounces) packed brown sugar
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 ½ cups (12 ounces) mashed ripe banana (3-4 medium to large bananas)
¼ cup (3 ounces) honey
2 large eggs
2 cups (8 ounces) whole wheat flour, traditional or white whole wheat

Preheat oven to 350 F degrees. Lightly grease a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan.

Beat together the butter, sugar, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla in a medium bowl until smooth. Add the banana, honey and eggs, beating until smooth. Add the flour and nuts, stirring until smooth. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and let it rest at room temperature, uncovered for 10 minutes.

Bake the bread for 50 minutes. Lay a piece of foil gently across the top and bake until a cake tester (like a toothpick) inserted into the center comes out clean, 10 to 15 minutes more. Remove the bread from the oven and allow it to cool for 10 minutes before turning it out of the pan onto a rack to cool completely.

Double Chocolate and Espresso Cookies

OMG these could have the word chocolate in there two more times and yet not accurately describe the level of dark goodness.

Be warned.  Unlike other recipes where the coffee only serves to enhance its friend the chocolate, the coffee has full billing here so if you dont like coffee these may not be for you.

The only change I made was to use dark chocolate the whole way instead of the semi sweet called for.  Also I find the directions as written to be cumbersome, so I have re-written them the way I did it.

Chocolate-Espresso Cookies (Inspired by Giada DeLaurentiis)

• 6 ounces dark chocolate, chopped into 1/2-inch pieces (I used Ghirardelli)
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1/3 cup dark chocolate-covered espresso beans
• 1 cup flour
• 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 eggs, at room temperature
• 2 tablespoons water
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup dark chocolate chips (again, I used Ghirardelli)

Place an oven rack in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats. Set aside.

In the bowl of a food processor, finely chop the chocolate covered espresso beans. In a medium bowl, whisk together the chopped espresso beans, flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt.

In another medium bowl, whisk together the sugar, eggs, water, and vanilla extract. Gradually add the dry ingredients and stir until thick and smooth.

In a small bowl, combine the chocolate and butter. Place the bowl over a pan of barely simmering water and stir occasionally until the chocolate has melted and the mixture is smooth.

Fold in the melted chocolate. Stir in the chocolate chips. Using a cookie or ice cream scoop, scoop level 1/4 cupfuls of the batter onto the prepared baking sheets. Bake until slightly puffed and the tops begin to crack, 18 to 20 minutes. Allow the cookies to cool completely on the baking sheets and serve.

Chipotle Corn Bread

If you love cornbread the way I love cornbread, well then you don't make it very often.  After all, something this good is gobbled up a bit too quickly, calories stacking up end on end... well lets just say I don't make it often so when I do, if needs to really count!

For this I pulled out Breads of the Southwest by Beth Hensperger.  Beth wrote the book on bread baking (or least one of them).  It is The Bread Bible and is a necessary reference if you love to bake.

But I digress.  This is, after all, about the cornbread.  The tender, chewy, slightly moist piece of heaven served to you.  This one didn't disappoint.  Chipotle peppers add a nice level of heat that mingled well with the bits of corn.  I left the cheese out and to tell the truth, I didn't miss it.  For me, this bread was the perfect level of moist and dry. 
 

And of course, if you don't want the heat, leave out the chiles.  The recipe will still be perfect.

Chipotle Corn Bread (Breads of the Southwest)

1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour

1 1/4 cups coarse-grind yellow cornmeal 

1 T sugar

1 1/2 t baking powder

1/2 t salt

1 1/4 cups buttermilk

2 eggs

1/3 cup corn oil

2 canned whole chipotles in adobo

1 cup shredded Monterey jack (I left this out)

1. Preheat the oven to 400.  Grease a cast-iron skillet and place it in the oven, or grease a 10-inch springform pan and set aside.

2. In a large bowl, combine the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder and salt.  In a food processor or blender, combine the buttermilk, eggs, oil and chipotles.  Blend until the chipotles are finely chopped.  Add the buttermilk mixture and the cheese to the dry ingredients and stir with a spoon until just blended,  Take care not to overmix.  Pour the batter into the skillet or pan.

3. Bake 20-25 minutes or until golden around the edges,  Let stand for 15 minutes before cutting into wedges to serve.