Hazelnut Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins

Today is World Nutella Day so of course I had to find a new way to experiment with this chocolaty, hazelnut goodness. My kids just LOVE Nutella and a jar really doesn't last very long in our house. They love it on toast, combined with peanut butter on sandwiches or just eaten out of the jar with a spoon.

For today's recipe I mixed the Nutella in with the batter from my Banana Chocolate Chip Bread (which is in my cookbook) since my youngest was craving some banana muffins for breakfast. The Nutella really added another delicious layer of flavor to these muffins and there is nothing better than fresh baked muffins to start your day. ~Enjoy!

Blueberry, Peach & Banana Smoothie

When I first started making these drinks, I was unsure if I should call them juices or smoothies. To me, a smoothie always had the connotation that there was milk or yogurt involved somehow. However, upon some research, a smoothie is anything blended; whereas a juice is also blended, but then the mixture is then separated using a sieve to form a thin liquid removing the pulp. 

Chocolate Hazelnut Pumpkin Banana Bundt Cake

Today is our last day of Thanksgiving Recipe Week so I have to end with dessert. I know, it's a mouthful to say and I have to agree, but this recipe was another wonderful way to use up those bananas. This was a deliciously moist cake with the chocolate, hazelnuts, pumpkin and bananas all wrapped up into one tasty package without being overly sweet. 

Chocolate Hazelnut Pumpkin Banana Bundt Cake
2 c. All-Purpose Flour
1 tsp. Baking Soda
1/2 tsp. Salt
1 tbsp. Cocoa Powder
1/2 c. Granulated Sugar
1 c. Pumpkin Puree
1/4 c. Nutella or other Hazelnut spread
3 Ripe Bananas, blended
1 Egg
2 tbsp. Milk
1/4 c. Hazelnuts, chopped
1/4 c. Mini Chocolate Chips

Directions:
1. In a small bowl combine the flour, baking soda, salt and  cocoa powder. 
2. In a separate larger bowl, combine the sugar, pumpkin, Nutella, bananas, egg and milk. Whisk together until well blended. 
3. Slowly add in the dry ingredients and mix well; then fold in the hazelnuts and chocolate chips. 
4. Grease a bundt pan with cooking spray and pour in the batter. 
5. Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 45 minutes or until the top springs back when touched or a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Makes 16 slices. 


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Enjoy!

*Tip: You can also make these as muffins; however, the cooking time would be different. For muffins, I would start checking them for doneness after 10-12 minutes.

Thanksgiving Tip
The day of, write a list of what items you will be serving and at what time. This will help you determine when to place items into the oven to avoid over crowding and to keep you on some sort of schedule. 

Here is an example:
9:00am Place turkey in the oven
12:30pm Put appetizers in the oven
1:00pm Guests arrive/serve appetizers
2:00pm Heat Soup 
2:30pm Serve Soup
3:00pm Serve Salad
3:00pm Put sides in the oven, rolls and/or cook the potatoes for mashed potatoes
3:15pm Carve Turkey
3:30/4pm Serve main meal and don't forget the cranberry sauce in the refrigerator(I do this every year!)
6:00pm Serve dessert and coffee


Shared at Close To Home 11/15/12

Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Muffins

Did you ever have one of those days (who are we kidding...weeks, months, years!) where you just can't handle the stress of other people putting demands on you and your personal time so you bake...I like to call it "stress baking". Well it's been a little stressful around here since I've come back from vacation. You see, I'm the ultimate planner, list writer, and schedule keeper. I hate to be late and I hate it even more when I make plans that I have to keep canceling or changing because Joe Blow from So and So company can only come on THAT particular day/time. Well isn't that convenient for you...hello, my name is CUSTOMER! Ok, I think I'm done ranting now. 

Almond Banana Bread

I haven't made banana bread in a while and the kids have been asking for it as they like to take mini muffins for breakfast. Lucky for me, I had four rotten bananas that I wanted to use. I altered my original recipe by using bread flour (because I ran out of all-purpose and didn't realize I had), almond meal (which is simply ground up almonds that looks like the consistency of flour), and I added in vanilla and almond extracts. This bread (or muffin) was extremely moist and the addition of the almonds gave it a really nice flavor. Just grab a nice cold, glass of milk and you have the perfect breakfast or midday snack! 

Almond Banana Bread
2 Eggs
1/2 tsp. Vanilla Extract
1/2 tsp. Almond Extract
3 tbsp. 2% Milk
3/4 c. Canola Oil
4 Over Ripe Bananas, mashed
2 c. Bread Flour
1 c. Almond Meal (I used Trader Joe's brand)
1 1/2 c. Granulated Sugar
1 1/2 tsp. Baking Soda
3/4 tsp. Salt
1/4 c. Almonds, chopped
Cooking Spray


In a bowl, mix together the eggs, vanilla and almond extracts, milk, canola oil and bananas until well blended. Next, add in the flour, almond meal, sugar, baking soda, and salt and mix well then add in the nuts. Spray your baking pans with cooking spray and bake at 350 degrees for the desired method. 


Mini Muffin Pans-Bake for 20 minutes or until top springs back when touched; Yield 36 Muffins
Loaf Pans-Bake for 1 hour or until top springs back when touched; Yield 2 Loaves


Enjoy! 

White Chocolate Oatmeal Banana Cookies

I don't even know why I buy bananas. Half of the time I buy them, and I wind up with 3-4 rotten ones a week. I even tried buying a smaller bunch. But then when I don't buy them guess what happens? Murphy's Law of course..the family complains that "Yes, we have no bananas!" Sorry, little joke there, but in all honesty, as much as they love my banana bread, how many times can I make it? So with this weeks rotten bananas, I wanted to make some cookies and my husband's favorite is oatmeal. I figured I'd just throw in some mashed bananas, but when I started making them, I realized I didn't have any vanilla extract left (what a surprise, I have to go to the store...again!) so I used almond extract instead. I didn't have any almonds so I chopped up some white chocolate pieces I had left from when I made the football chocolate lollipops last month but you could use the white chocolate chips instead. I also use salted butter in my baking for several reasons. 1. I don't bake cookies often, really just around the holidays. 2. I can't tell the difference in a baked product one way or the other.  And 3.  If you're going to add salt to the mixture after using non-salted butter, it just doesn't make sense to me. Ok, all of you bakers can comment...NOW!! :) These cookies were so tasty and "puffy" more like a cake than a cookie. The kids devoured them, well at least the ones I left out for them to eat. (Shh...I hid some in my freezer downstairs for the holidays!).

White Chocolate Oatmeal Banana Cookies

1/2 c. Salted Butter, softened

3/4 c. Light Brown Sugar

1/4 c. Granulated Sugar

2 Eggs

1 tsp. Almond Extract

4 Overripe Bananas, mashed

2 1/4 c. All-Purpose Flour

1 tsp. Baking Soda

3 c. Old Fashioned Oats (I use Quaker®)

1/2 c. White Chocolate, chopped

In a bowl, cream together the butter and sugar with an electric mixer. Add the eggs, almond extract and bananas and mix together. Add in the flour, baking soda and oats and mix together using a spoon. Then, fold in the chocolate. Using a kitchen teaspoon, drop cookie dough onto a greased baking sheet about 1" apart. Bake at 350 degrees for 13-15 minutes. Remove from oven, let cool on a rack. Makes 4 dz.

Points+=3 per cookie

Enjoy!

Eggnog Banana Muffin Tops

This time of year, when strolling through the supermarket isles, you will find that eggnog has already graced the shelves. I'm the only one in my house that likes eggnog and it has to be ice cold when I drink it. I love the creaminess of it, which is odd because I don't even drink milk by itself...but I digress. I usually buy myself a small container, have my one small glass (and by small I literally mean 4oz) and then I'm done until the next year. Craving gone. I was about to make some banana muffins when I decided to add some of the eggnog to the batter so it wouldn't go to waste.  I also tried to "lighten" it up a bit by using applesauce and agave syrup in place of oil and the extra sugar. It worked and they were super moist. Just put them in a resealable plastic freezer bag and pull out just what you need that morning. In 10 minutes, they're defrosted and you have the perfect breakfast on the go! 

Eggnog Banana Muffin Tops
3 c. All-Purpose Flour
1 tsp. Baking Soda
1/2 tsp. Salt
1/4 c. Granulated Sugar
1/4 tsp. Cinnamon
4 Overripe Bananas
1 c. Eggnog
1/2 c. Applesauce
1 Egg
1/4 c. Agave Syrup
Canola Oil Cooking Spray


In a bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda, salt, sugar and cinnamon. Add bananas and eggnog to a blender and blend until smooth. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg and add the banana mixture, applesauce and agave syrup until well blended. Add the liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix well. Spray a muffin top pan with cooking spray and fill 3/4 of the way with the batter. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 20-25 minutes or until the top springs back when touched. Makes 16 muffin tops. 


Points+=5


Enjoy!