Banana Bread Bars with Brown Butter Frosting

Banana Bread Bars with Brown Butter Frosting

Gluten-free

From The Girl Who Ate Everything

1 ½ cup sugar

1 ½ cup greek yogurt

½ cup butter, softened

2 eggs

3-4 ripe bananas, mashed

2 tsp vanilla extract

2 cup Better Batter

1 tsp baking soda

¾ tsp salt

½ cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Brown Butter Frosting:

½ cup butter

4 cup powdered sugar

1 ½ tsp vanilla extract

3 tbl milk

Heat oven to 375F. Line 15x10-inch jelly roll pan with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, beat together sugar, greek yogurt, butter, and eggs until creamy. Blend in bananas and vanilla extract. Add Better Batter, baking soda, salt, and blend for 1 minute. Stir in walnuts, if desired.

Spread batter evenly into pan. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown.

Meanwhile, for frosting, heat butter in a large saucepan over medium heat until boiling. Let the butter turn a delicate brown and remove from heat immediately.

Add powdered sugar, vanilla extract and milk. Whisk together until smooth (it should be thicker than a glaze but thinner than frosting). Using a spatula, spread the brown butter frosting over the warm bars (the frosting will be easier to spread while the bars are still warm).

Yield: 2 dozen large bars

This recipe turned out very good.  Moist, soft, chewy.

Swedish Chocolate Cake - De-gluten-ized - first attempt

Swedish Chocolate Cake

15 tbl salted butter

½ cup cocoa powder

1 ¾ cup sugar

2 tsp vanilla

1 cup Better Batter

3 eggs

Preheat you oven to 350F. Butter and flour a 6-8" cake pan, it needs to be quite deep.

Melt the butter. Stir in the rest of the ingredients. Pour into the cake pan, and bake

30-35 minutes for 8" pan

35-40 minutes for 7" pan

40-45 minutes for 6" pan

Let the cake cool completely in it's pan, then run a dull knife around the inside edge of the pan to loosen the cake. Turn the cake out onto a plate. Dust with powdered sugar.

I just saw this recipe on Google+ via Bridget Davis - The Internet Chef - and I gave it a try and de-gluten-ize it in the process.  For this attempt, I used Better Batter and upped the butter by 50% (according to the instructions on the Better Batter box).

The result is between a brownie and a cake.  Not quite as dense as a brownie, but not as fluffy as a cake.  The one slice was quite satisfying - for both my chocolate hunger as well as normal hunger.

Analyzing the recipe, it seems that most of the structural integrity comes from the eggs - not the gluten.  So using something like rice flour or oat flour should be possible.  When I get some time, I'll do a second attempt.  I'm thinking of oat flour, reducing the butter back to 10 tbl and adding 1 more egg (actually, I usually use egg substitutes)

Deep Dark Chocolate Fudge Cookies - Gluten Free

This was the first recipe I de-gluten-ized.  The eggs create enough structural integrity and you don't need the gluten protein.  In my opinion, the change to brown rice flour made the texture better.

In the picture above, the two in front were made with the creme-de-menthe chips.  The two in the back with the dark chocolate chips.

Deep Dark Chocolate Fudge Cookies

Gluten-free

8 oz Semi-sweet chocolate - broken into 1/2 oz pieces

4 oz Unsweetened chocolate - broken into 1/2 oz pieces

1 1/2 cup All purpose flour or gluten-free rice flour

1/2 cup Unsweetened cocoa

1 tsp Baking Soda

1 tsp Salt

1 1/2 cup Tightly packed light brown sugar

12 tbl Unsalted butter

3 eggs

1 tsp Pure Vanilla extract

2 cup Semi-sweet chocolate chips

or

10 oz bag of Andes Crème De Menthe baking chips

Start melting chocolate in double boiler.

Sift all dry ingredients together and set aside.

Cream butter with light brown sugar, then add eggs and vanilla to this mixture. Add the melted chocolate next and after that is completely mixed, add the dry ingredients. Mix well and add chocolate chips (or mint chips).

Chill.

I've found that using a #50 disher (a small ice cream scoop with the number 50 on the "paddle" inside it) makes a very nice sized cookie. Not too big and not too small. If you don't want to use the disher, just use a heaping tablespoon to measure each cookie. Or if you are really lazy... er... pressed for time, just put the batter in a 10x15 pan and bake them like brownies.

Bake 18-22 minutes in preheated 325F oven.

Source: "Death By Chocolate" TV show on the Learning Channel

Notes:

• I use Ghirardelli 60% chocolate chips to give it more chocolate power.
• Hershey's Special Dark cocoa powder also works better for a more chocolately flavor.

Tiramisu Jello Cake

I some coffee jelly (i.e. Jell-O) on J-List and couldn't resist trying it out.

So I picked up a Betty Crocker SuperMoist French Vanilla cake mix.  The mix calls for 1 cup of water.  I replaced that with 1 cup of strong coffee and baked the cake in a 9x13 inch pan.

Baked and cooled according to the directions on the mix.

Then, like other Jell-O cakes, I punched holes in the top of the cake.

I made the coffee jello according to the directions (I had to guess a bit because I can't really read Japanese - but, seriously, how hard is it to make Jell-O?) and poured it over top of the holey cake.

Then I put it in the fridge.

After a while (an hour or so), I topped it with 1 small container of Cool Whip.

The result was a light tasting, vanilla-coffee cake.  Very yummy (and a nice break from all the chocolate that I was using today)

Cinnamon Sugar Squares

Cinnamon Sugar Squares

½ cup unsalted butter, softened

2 cups sugar

½ cup vegetable oil

2 eggs

½ cup milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

3 cups all-purpose flour

¼ cup sugar

4 tsp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350F. Line a 9"x13" baking pan with parchment paper, ensuring there is an overhang.

In a large bowl, beat the butter, sugar, oil, eggs, milk and extract until thoroughly combined.

Continue beating and add salt, baking soda and flour. Mix until just combined.

Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan and spread evenly using a spatula.

Mix ¼ cup sugar with cinnamon.

Sprinkle the cinnamon-sugar evenly over the top of the batter and bake for 25-30 minutes; the edges will be lightly browned.

Cool, then lift the dessert from the pan using the parchment overhang and cut into bite-size squares.

Gluten-free

Use Better Batter (see http://betterbatter.org/) gluten-free flour.

Snickerdoodle Blondies

Snickerdoodle Blondies

Original recipe from Dozen Flours

2 2/3 cups flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

2 cups packed brown sugar

1 cup butter, at room temperature

2 eggs

1 tbl vanilla

3 tbl white sugar

3 tsp ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9 x 13 inch baking pan with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, beat together the butter, sugar, eggs and vanilla until smooth. Add the flour mixture to the egg mixture and beat until well blended.

Spread the batter evenly in the prepared pan.

In a small bowl, combine the white sugar and cinnamon.

Sprinkle the mixture evenly over the batter in the baking pan.

Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the surface springs back when gently pressed. Remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack. When cool, cut into squares with a sharp knife.

Gluten-free:

Use 2 2/3 cup4cup (See http://cup4cup.com/) flour or Better Batter (see http://betterbatter.org/) gluten-free flour.

Add ½ cup applesauce.

Increase baking time to 35 minutes.

More Banana Ice Cream

More combinations:
4 frozen bananas.
2 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa
Splenda (to taste)
Chocolately, but you can still taste the banana.

4 frozen bananas
1 cup blueberries
Wonderful!  You really can't taste the bananas, but you CAN taste the blueberries.

Banana Ice Cream Experiments

Start with 4 ripe bananas.  Peel them and place them in a baggie in the freezer for a while (like a day or 2).  I usually put the bananas that are too ripe to travel or are getting too soft to eat in a bag.  When I get to 4 I make ice cream.

Break them up and put them in your food processor.  Let them sit for a bit.  You actually have to let them thaw a bit or they'll get stuck.

Now, think about your additions.  So far, we've experiments with:

1. Peanut Butter.  About 1.5-2 tablespoons per 4 bananas.
2. Cinnamon.  1/2 tablespoon per 4 bananas.  I tried 1 tablespoon, but the cinnamon was overpowering.  I used the Chinese cinnamon from Penzeys since that pairs well with fruit.
3. Honey Ginger.  1 tablespoon honey.  1 tsp of ground ginger.  Sweet with a hot after taste.
4. Orange.  2 tablespoons dried orange peel from Penzey's plus 1 tsp orange extract.  It was OK, but I think I'll do it differently next time.
5. Cocoa.  1 tsp was not enough.  The next time it will be 2.  More on this later.

I've 2 batches staged in the freezer.  One will be the new cocoa attempt.  I haven't decided on the other one yet.  Maybe banana/blueberry this time...  Hmm...

Applesauce Bars - Gluten-free

Applesauce Bars

Gluten-free

¼ cup butter or margarine, softened

2/3 cup brown sugar

1 egg

1 cup unsweetened applesauce

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

½ tsp salt

1 tsp pumpkin pie spice

1 can frosting

Gluten-free: Gluten-free Cup4Cup flour can be used here.

Preheat the oven to 350F. Grease or parchment-line a 9x13 inch baking pan.

In a medium bowl, mix together the butter, brown sugar and egg until smooth. Stir in applesauce. Combine the flour, baking soda, salt and pumpkin pie spice; stir into the applesauce mixture until well blended. Spread evenly into the prepared pan.

Bake for 25 minutes in the preheated oven, or until edges are golden. Cool in the pan over a wire rack.

Spread frosting over cooled bars before cutting into squares.

Original recipe here.

Oatmeal Cakes

We adjusted the gluten-free Oatmeal Cake recipe this weekend.

For this experiment we changed:
1. Replaced the butterscotch chips with dried fruit (blueberries and raspberries).
2. Instead of a 9x13 pan, we used 2 muffin pans.  It made about 18 "cakes".  I should have used a smaller disher and did a full 24 cakes.  But they turned out well.

Baking the cakes in a muffin pan made the gluten-free version more stable.  Dawn and I decided that the frosting was redundant and you can safely eliminate it.  The cakes were moist, chewy and sweet.  The addition of the frosting really didn't do much.

Oatmeal Cakes

Gluten-free

1 ¼ cup water, boiling

1 cup oatmeal, old fashioned, uncooked

½ cup butter

1 cup sugar

1 cup packed brown sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

¾ cup gluten-free oat flour

¾ cup coconut flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp cinnamon

½ tsp salt

1 cup dried fruit of your choice. Blueberries or raspberries work well.

Preheat oven at 350F.

Pour boiling water over oatmeal and set aside for 20 minutes.

Cream butter and sugars. Add eggs. Beat well. Add vanilla and oatmeal mixture. Add flours, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Mix well. Stir in fruit.

Put in greased muffin pans (makes about 20 cakes). Bake for 30 minutes.

Notes:

• I used the extra fancy cinnamon for a stronger cinnamon flavor.

Oatmeal Cake

Oatmeal Cake

Gluten-free

Based on this recipe.

1 ¼ cup water, boiling

1 cup oatmeal, old fashioned, uncooked

½ cup butter

1 cup sugar

1 cup packed brown sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

1 ½ cup all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp cinnamon

½ tsp salt

1 cup butterscotch chips (about ½ a bag)

Gluten-free:

Substitute ¾ cup gluten-free oat flour and ¾ cup coconut flour for the 1 ½ cup all-purpose flour.

And make sure that you use gluten-free oatmeal.

Preheat oven at 350F.

Pour boiling water over oatmeal and set aside for 20 minutes.

Cream butter and sugars. Add eggs. Beat well. Add vanilla and oatmeal mixture. Add flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Mix well. Stir in butterscotch chips.

Put in greased 9x13 inch pan. Bake at for 30 minutes.

Notes:

• I used the extra fancy cinnamon for a stronger cinnamon flavor.
• I used parchment paper to line my pan to make it easier to remove the cake. When you de-gluten-ize a recipe, some structural integrity is lost and it's harder to get the cake out of the pan.

Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies with Cherries

Gluten-free

Makes about 40 cookies. Adapted from Cooks Illustrated.

1 ¼ cups old-fashioned rolled oats

8 oz dried sour cherries, chopped coarse

11 oz dark chocolate chips

1 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (or gluten-free oat flour)

¼ cup whole wheat pastry flour (or gluten-free coconut flour)

¾ tsp baking powder

½ tsp baking soda

½ tsp salt

12 tbl unsalted butter, softened but still cool

1 ½ cups packed dark brown sugar

1 extra large egg or ¼ cup egg substitute

1 tsp vanilla extract

In a food processor, chop the cherries so that they are a little smaller. About the size of raisins. You might want to coat them in a light dusting of the flour to keep them from sticking. In a bowl combine the oats, dried cherries and chocolate.

In another bowl, sift together the flours, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer or with a whisk and a strong arm, cream together the butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Slowly add the egg and vanilla, and beat until incorporated.

Gently sift, or with the mixer down to low, add the flour mixture to the bowl. Stir until just combined. Finally incorporate the oats, fruit and chocolate.

If using the oat flour, let dough rest for about an hour. Oats absorb moisture very slowly. Letting the dough rest will result in fluffier cookies.

Preheat oven to 350F, with rack in the middle of the oven. Use parchment paper to line several standard baking sheets and set aside.

Using a #50 disher made nice sized cookies. Place the scoops on each baking sheet, spaced evenly. Bake the cookies, in a preheated oven for 13 minutes or until the cookies are uniformly golden, but still wet in the middle. They should appear slightly undercooked.

Variation:

For a reduced calorie version, or one that contains no nut products: Eliminate the coconut flour. Reduce the butter to 8 tbl and the brown sugar to 1 cup. Mix and bake as normal.

Notes:

• I use Ghiradelli 60% chips for the chocolate chips.
• I use one 8 oz tub of Shoreline Meijer Dried Cherries.
• Some oats are processed in the same machines that process wheat, contaminating the oat product. Make sure that the oat products are gluten-free.