Glazed Chocolate Banana Muffins

Pin It I had some bananas in my freezer and they kept falling out every time I opened the door.  I decided it was time to use them up.  I started browsing Pinterest and stumbled upon some chocolate donut muffins that didn't have any bananas in them, but looked amazing.  So then I found some chocolate banana muffins that I thought would be great with glaze on top.  I tweaked both recipes and this scrumptious breakfast treat was born.  The muffins themselves are relatively healthy.  The glaze kinf of ruins that, but you could definitely enjoy these without the glaze.  This is a fabulous way to use up those brown bananas!

Shared at Weekend Potluck, Sweet Confessions and Strut Your Stuff Saturday.

Glazed Chocolate Banana Muffins
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 5.3 oz container plain or honey Greek yogurt (or about 1/2 cup)
1 egg
4 Tbsp melted butter
3 medium over-ripe bananas, mashed
1 tsp vanilla
3 Tbsp vanilla almond milk (or regular milk)
1 cup chocolate chips **optional

Glaze
2 Tbsp melted butter
1 cup powdered sugar
2-3 Tbsp hot water

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Place paper liners in 12 muffin cups.
2. Sift together flour, sugar, cocoa, salt, baking soda and baking powder and set aside.
3. In a large mixing bowl combine bananas, yogurt, egg, butter, milk and bananas.
4. Slowly add flour mixture and mix until just moist.  Do not over mix or your muffins will be dense.
5. Fold in chocolate chips.
6. Fill muffin cups 2/3 of the way full.  Bake 18-24 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.
7. Let muffins cool for about 10 minutes before glazing or it will just soak in.
8. Whisk together all ingredients for the glaze.  Dip muffin tops in the glaze and allow to dry before serving.  If desired let glaze dry and dip in the glaze again for double glazed muffins. (That's what is pictured)

Chunky Monkey Cookies

Pin It I'm always looking for healthy desserts because I have a sweet tooth.  I found these cookies on Pinterest and was a little leery about them being too "healthy" to satisfy my sweets craving.  I made a small batch just to try them out and I was pleasantly surprised.  I did add some agave syrup for a little sweetness and some chocolate chips, which makes them not quite as healthy, but still better than a regular cookie.  These cookies are sweet, moist and chocolatey.  Definitely a winner!

Chunky Monkey Cookies
* makes 12 large cookies
Adapted from Six Sisters' Stuff
2 ripe bananas, mashed
2 Tbsp creamy peanut butter
2 Tbsp cocoa powder
1 Tbsp agave syrup (or sugar)
1 cup oats
1 tsp vanilla
2 Tbsp chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Mash bananas in a bowl.  Add peanut butter, cocoa, vanilla and agave.  Stir to combine.
3. Stir in oats and chocolate chips.
4. Allow batter to rest for about 20 minutes to soften the oats.
5. Spoon heaping tablespoons of batter on a parchment lined baking sheet.
6. Bake 10-12 minutes or until the bottoms are golden when you lift them up.

Whole Wheat Banana Nut Bread

Pin It I once again had over ripe bananas on my counter and this time Albert actually came to the rescue with a use for them.  He had to go into work early and told his coworkers that I would make them breakfast.  He specifically requested banana nut bread because he knew a few of the guys really liked it.  Luckily he wasn't home when I actually made this loaf because I made a healthy version.  The real test was if the guys noticed anything was amiss and I'm happy to report that I got several rave reviews from the men  and no mention of it tasting healthy.

Whole Wheat Banana Nut Bread
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour**
1/2 cup whole wheat flour **note-you can up the amount of wheat flour, just make sure you have 2 cups of flour total
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup applesauce
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup egg substitute (or 2 eggs)
3 ripe bananas, mashed
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 Tbsp skim milk
1/2 cup pecans

pecans and brown sugar for topping (optional)

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Sift flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.  Set aside.
2. In a mixing bowl beat sugar, applesauce and oil.  Add egg substitute and mix to combine.  Add mashed bananas and vanilla and mix until well combined.
3. Add flour mixture, alternating with milk, starting and ending with dry mixture.  Mix until just combined.  Stir in pecans.
4. Pour ino a greased 9 x 5 loaf pan.  Sprinkle brown sugar an pecans on top, pressing down gently.
5. Bake 50-60 minutes or until a toothpick comes out almost clean. 
6.  Allow to cool in pan for about 10 minutes, then let cool on a wire rack completely before cutting and serving.

**Hint- If you plan on having this for breakfast, make the loaf right before you go to bed and let it cool overnight.  You will have a delicious treat waiting for you in the morning :)

Faux Ice Cream

Pin It I LOVE ice cream.  I could eat it multiple times a day if my waistline would allow me.  I stumbled upon this gem on Pinterest and then my sister-in-law made some and raved about it so I decided to give it a try.  The main ingredient of this creamy delight: BANANAS!  I have a strong dislike for bananas.  It is a texture issue.  I usually make some sort of muffin or cake out of my over ripe bananas.  However, this "ice cream" has only a mild banana flavor, especially if you mix in extras like peanut butter and cocoa.  You don't need a fancy ice cream maker either.  The only appliance you need is a food processor.  A blender would probably do the trick as well.  While this won't be completely replacing my trips to the local custard stand, this is a good substitute that I don't have to feel guilty about enjoying.

Faux Ice Cream
* 2 large servings
4 ripe (not over ripe) bananas, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch slices
2 heaping Tbsp peanut butter
2 tsp cocoa powder
mix-ins of your choice

1. Freeze banana slices until firm.  I used a ziplock bag and laid flat so the bananas were in a single layer and they froze in about an hour.
2. Place bananas in a food processor.  Mix until it blends into a creamy, smooth mixture.  This may take several minutes and you will have to stop to scrape down the sides as least once.  It will look like banana pebbles for a while, but be patient and it will turn creamy.
3. Mix in peanut butter and cocoa powder.
4. Stir in any extras you wish.
5. Place in the freezer for 10 minutes to firm up.  (Or if you are impatient, enjoy immediately)

Note - This does not freeze extremely well.  I recommend making a fresh batch each time you want some.  I thought it had a weird texture when I saved some until the next day.  But this might just be  my texture issue coming through. 

Banana Pudding

Pin It I have a habit of buying bananas and not eating them.  It is a texture issue.  I usually end up letting them get over ripe and then making banana bread, muffins or cake.  I'm proud to say that this time I actually bought bananas and used them immediately for this delicious dessert.  I am not a huge fan of raw bananas or overly banana flavored things.  And when I said that I was bringing a banana dessert to Sunday dinner I did not get the most enthusiastic reply.  However, this is a winner!  Simple, (sort of) healthy, no baking required and feeds a crowd.  It is also super versatile.  You could substitute your favorite fruit for the bananas and I'm sure it would be delicious.  I ate some of the leftovers with some fresh strawberries and it was pretty tasty.

Banana Pudding
1 box vanilla wafers
3-4 bananas, sliced
1 box instant vanilla pudding
2 cups milk, I used skim
1 package cream cheese, softened (I used reduced fat)
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 container whipped topping

1. Line the bottom of a 9 x 13 dish with vanilla wafers.  Top cookies with a layer of bananas.  Save some for the topping.
2. Combine milk and pudding mix.  Whisk until smooth.
3. In a separate bowl beat cream cheese and sweetened condensed milk until smooth.  Stir in pudding mixture and mix until combined.
4. Fold whipped topping into the pudding mixture.  Pout carefully over the bananas and cookies.
5. Top with cookies and remaining bananas.  Refrigerate until ready to serve.  The longer you refrigerate, the softer the cookies will get.

Banana Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Pin It I have a bad habit of buying a big bunch of bananas and then not eating them before they get brown and mushy.  Because of this I have to use them for baking.  Not a big problem, but I get tired of the same old banana bread and banana muffins so that is how this recipe was born.  I was inspired by a similar recipe that I found on Pinterest.  This cake is moist and dense and would make a great breakfast or brunch item.

Banana Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

2 cups flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

4 Tbsp butter, softened

2 Tbsp oil

3/4 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 egg white

1 tsp vanilla extract

4 ripe bananas, mashed

1/4 cup milk (I used vanilla almond milk, but any variety will do)

1. Preheat oven to 375.  Spray an 8x8 inch pan with cooking spray.

2. Beat butter, oil and sugar until creamed. 

3. Beat in eggs and egg white one at a time.  Stir in vanilla.

4. In a separate bowl, mash bananas with milk and set aside.

5. Gradually add the dry ingredients into the butter mixture, alternating with the banana mixture until all is combined.

6. Pour into pan and bake for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

7. Allow to cool completely before frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting

4 oz cream cheese, softened

1/2 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1/4 cup chopped toasted nuts, optional (I used pecans, feel free to use your favorite)

Cream the cream cheese, vanilla and powdered sugar until well blended and smooth.

To toast the nuts, place on an ungreased baking sheet.  Put in a 375 degree oven for 5-8 minutes or until the nuts become fragrant.  DO NOT OVERBAKE.

Double Chocolate Banana Muffins

Pin It I have a habit  of buying bananas and never eating them.  I know they are healthy, but I really can't handle the texture.  Because of this I always have very ripe bananas at my house and sometimes I just don't want banana bread.  I stumbled upon this recipe at Skinny Taste, my go to website for recipe ideas.  This is a great use for those leftover bananas.  I would describe it more as a dessert than a breakfast muffin, which is why I looked forward to waking up and eating one of these for 3 days in a row.

Double Chocolate Banana Muffins

3  ripe bananas, mashed

1/4 cup apple sauce

1 1/4 cups all purpose flour

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

3/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

2 tbsp butter, softened

1/3 cup sugar

2 large egg whites

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup chocolate chips

1. preheat oven to 325 degrees.
2. Cream butter and sugar.  Add eggs, applesauce, vanilla and bananas.  Mix thoroughly.
3. Slowly add flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt.  Blend at low speed until just combined.  Be careful not to overmix.
4. Stir in chocolate chips.
5. Evenly divide mixture into 12 lined muffin cups.
6. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.