Kitchen Phoenix: Banana Bread

It's still pouring rain here. Steady, heavy rain all day long added more to the already soaked ground and high rivers. Many of the smaller rivers here are in flood warning, and we learned that our friends' house has a couple feet of water underneath it (again).

Life is exciting, isn't it?

I had a couple of nasty old bananas sitting around, so to combat the dreariness outside, I decided to bake my cares away inside. This is a recipe that I received from my mother-in-law in the form of their hometown's County Cookbook, published in during the county's centennial in 1985. She not only was an involved contributor, but she also saved a copy for each of her future daughters-in-law.

Small-town North Dakota, people. Like straight out of a movie. (There were no murders.)

I love the look on The Husband's face when he comes home and sees (and smells!) banana bread cooling near the stove. He's like a kid on Christmas morning!

Food is totally my love language.

Banana Nut Bread

courtesy of my MIL




Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg
1 cup mashed bananas (two big old nasty ones)
1/2 cup chopped nuts (walnuts or pecans work well)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 330 degrees F. (Not a typo. 350, I've found, is too hot.)

Cream together the butter and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well.

Sift together flour, baking powder, salt, baking soda, and nutmeg.

Mash bananas (if you haven't already).

Add, alternately, flour mixture and mashed bananas to the butter mixture until incorporated. Don't overbeat.

Mix in nuts.

Pour into a well-greased loaf pan. Bake for 60-70 minutes until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from loaf pan and cool on wire rack.

My PMB Post: Christmas Cookies!

I did a little blogging over at Portland Moms Blog today. Head over there to check out my handy mom's guide to Christmas Cookies, which includes links to all my go-to recipes for this time of year. It doesn't matter if you are an experienced baker or don't even own an oven, I've got you covered! (And while you're there, check out some of the posts from other Portland-area moms!)

Eggnog Biscotti

I love this biscotti! It's so perfect for sharing with friends, or savoring by yourself with a hot cup of coffee while the children are distracted with Wild Kratts. These biscotti can be frozen in batches and thawed and served with coffee for last-minute company. Really, you can't go wrong! I got this recipe from my friend Meghann.

Eggnog Biscotti
Wet Ingredients:
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon rum extract

Dry Ingredients:
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Farenheit.

In a big bowl, combine the wet ingredients. In a different bowl, combine the dry ingredients. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until a heavy dough forms.



Divide dough into two pieces. Make each piece into a log that is the same length as your baking sheet, using a bit of flour or powdered sugar so your dough doesn't stick to your hands. Flatten or roll out until the dough is 1/2 inch thick. Bake both "logs" side-by-side on the same baking sheet for 15-20 minutes until it's golden brown.





Remove from the oven and let cool until it's cool enough to handle. Slice the "logs" crosswise into 1/2 inch thick pieces, and put cut side up back onto your baking sheet.



Bake all the pieces 6-10 more minutes until they are golden brown. Flip them over and put them back into the oven, browning the other side for 6-10 minutes. Remove from oven and cool. Store in an airtight container.

Sugar Cookie Frosting

Here's a recipe that my mom has given me for icing sugar cookies. It's great because it's delicious and spreadable like cake frosting, but hardens after a few hours so the cookies are stackable. You'll have to forgive me, since the measurements are so casual, but old recipes are like that.



Ingredients:
Powdered sugar (maybe a bag's worth)
Softened butter (can substitute vegetable shortening if you need it to be white)
A few splashes of milk

Directions:
Fill a bowl with powdered sugar, and put in a half stick of room temperature butter. Add a splash of milk, and mix together until thoroughly combined. It should have about the consistency of store-bought cake frosting. If it is too thick, add some more milk. If it's too thin, add some more sugar. The main thing is to add enough milk that the cookies will harden after drying (straight up butter and sugar won't get you there), but not too much milk that they'll never dry out. Frost your cookies with a butter knife, cake froster, or spatula. Leave out to dry, and after a few hours they should be perfectly stackable.