Lovin' From the Oven

Chunky Monkey Bars & Winner

by 4 Comments

IMG_5744

IMG_5755

IMG_5743

IMG_5766

IMG_5749

Before we get to the bars, I’m sure you guys are all wondering who the winner of the Shabby Apple giveaway is! Well, with some help from random.org, the winner is….

Tree! Congratulations! Keep an eye out for an email from me so I can get your contact information and size for the dress. 🙂

I was craving Ben & Jerry’s “chunky monkey” one night and didn’t want to drive all the way to the grocery store at one o’clock in the morning. Since I had the three main ingredients on hand, I decided to whip something up (not to mention my family somehow has a never ending amount of ripe bananas). Of course these aren’t as good as the real thing, but paired with vanilla ice cream, they’d give them a run for their money. This recipe does make quite a bit, so cut it in half if you’re not feeding a family of twenty.

These bars are very light– they’d make a great breakfast or brunch snack to take on the go. The walnuts can be omitted, and the chocolate can be changed to white or milk… whatever floats your boat.

  • 2 cups AP flour
  • 1 cup oats
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • pinch of salt
  • 1 cup softened butter
  • 1 cups granulated sugar
  • 1 1/2 cups packed light brown sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 4 very ripe, mashed bananas
  • 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
  • 8 oz chopped dark chocolate
  • 1 cup chopped walnuts
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 
  2. Grease a rimmed cookie sheet with butter or oil.
  3. Cream together the butter and both sugars. 
  4. Mix in the eggs, bananas, and vanilla until well blended.
  5. Mix in the flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda, and salt until incorporated.
  6. Stir in chocolate and walnuts. Spread into prepared cookie sheet and bake for 35-40 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean.

Cookie Dough Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookies

by 7 Comments

DSC_1983

DSC_1991

DSC_1973

DSC_1977

DSC_2012

I’m back from SF! And very glad to be back, might I add. No matter what, I will always be a SoCal girl. I’m just not made for cold weather… which is kind of ironic, because it looks like I’ll be moving up north this summer. I went with my DB for admitted students weekend at Berkeley, and he really fell in love with Boalt. We did our fair share of eating, walking, and mingling, but darn, it feels good to be home. Foodie pictures to come!
While home, I pop cookie dough bites like there’s not tomorrow. So when I saw this recipe from Visions of Sugar Plum, it was a given that I had to make them. You can buy the cookie dough bites candy from Target, the movie theatre, or even Dollar Tree!
These cookies are perfect. Hearty, soft, and chewy.. the trifecta of cookies. Give them a go, cookie dough lovers!
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter
  • 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
  • 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
  • 1/4 cup oil
  • 1 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 3/4 cup finely chopped walnuts, toasted
  • 1 cup chocolate chunks
  • 2 (4 ounce) packages chocolate covered cookie dough bites
  1. Sift together flour, baking soda, and sea salt.
  2. In a separate bowl, beat oil, brown sugar, granulated sugar, eggs and vanilla. Cream in softened butter until mixed.
  3. Reduce mixer speed to low and beat in dry ingredients until incorporated.
  4. Stir in walnuts, chocolate chunks, and cookie dough candy until combined.
  5. Chill cookie dough in the freezer for at least an hour.
  6. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
  7. Roll the dough into balls and place on cookie sheet. Bake 10-12 minutes or until light golden brown on top.

Makes 2 dozen cookies

Simply Banana Bread

by 10 Comments

DSC_4087

DSC_4080

DSC_4095

DSC_4096

Everyone once in a while I get into a rut. I type and backspace more times than I can count and end up with a blog post full of pictures, but no words. Well, today is one of those days. Usually, I’ll be driving and think of something to blog about, so I quickly grab my pen and jot it down on a post it note before I forget (at a red light, of course). That post-it note is empty for this week and I’ve got nothing to blog about at 2AM in the morning. My apologies!

So to go with my semi-boring post, here’s yet another banana bread. Yes. I can’t get enough. There are so many bananas in a bunch that some are bound to be made into bread! The bread and streusel did not disappoint, but then again, does streusel ever disappoint? The recipe is from simply scratch, although I didn’t toast the banana beforehand and I added a splash of vanilla extract.
I also made three mini loaves instead of one huge one. The amount of streusel topping was quite overwhelming, which I loved! If you’re not a fan of eating spoonfuls of streusel, just halve the topping recipe. Now go bake away!
For the Bread:

  • 3 whole bananas
  • 1 tablespoon milk
  • 2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/8 teaspoon fresh grated nutmeg
  • 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon salt

Streusel Topping:

  • 1/3 cup all purpose flour
  • 1/3 cup dark brown sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 4 tablespoons cold unsalted butter
  • A pinch of salt
  • 1/3 cup Walnuts, Chopped
  1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
  2. Butter a 9 x 5 x 3 inch loaf pan.
  3. Cream together the butter and sugar until well mixed. Add the eggs and vanilla, mix well.
  4. In a separate bowl, mash the bananas, cinnamon and nutmeg with a fork. Mix in the milk.
  5. Add the prepared banana mixture to the creamed butter/sugar mixture and mix until combined. Add in the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt) until incorporated.
  6. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake 40-45 minutes. With ten minutes remaining, prepare the streusel topping by combining the butter, flour, and dark brown sugar until well mixed. Add the cinnamon, pinch of salt and the chopped walnuts. After the 40 minutes remove and sprinkle on topping evenly and bake for an additional 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Set aside to cool on a rack for at least 15 minutes.

Categories