Banana Cookies: Foods Made for Family and Friends

If things are going as they are supposed to, I should be back to visiting your blogs today. Surgery Monday; in bed Tuesday; able to sit for a while Wednesday. That is my plan. If you are still not hearing from me, assume that I am fine but not quite ready to sit up yet. (Since it is Saturday, you will surmise that things did not go quite as I planned - today is my first day sitting up. I will spare you the blood and guts of it, but it was not a pretty week. Thank you so much for your thoughts and prayers.)

These cookies were made for a friend who was just out of the hospital. I love to make these because they have the same flavor of a good banana bread without the v e r y l o n g cooking time, and they come in nice, portioned servings.

Banana Cookies
3/4 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp nutmeg
3/4 tsp cinnamon
1 cup mashed bananas
1 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1. Cream butter and sugar in a large bowl. Add egg and vanilla, blend well.
2. Sift together flour, baking soda, salt, and spices. Stir into sugar mixture. Add mashed bananas, nuts, and oats. Stir just until blended.
3. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto stone or greased cookie sheet and bake at 400F for about 12 minutes. Cook on rack.

Banana Nut Muffins - 7 points

Notice my completely unevenly sized muffins? That is because I was making them hastily. I spotted my father-in-law, who was trying to be sneaky, mowing my lawn. I thought he needed a thank you, so I whipped up a batch of muffins for him to enjoy when he was finished with the yard. Even - no. Delicious - yes.


Banana Nut Muffins adapted from The All New Good Housekeeping Cook Book
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
1 tbsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
6 tbsp cold butter, cut into pieces
1 cup walnuts, chopped
3 overripe bananas, chopped
1/3 cup milk
1/2 cup apple sauce
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1. In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Use a hand held mixer on low speed to combine the ingredients until the mixture resembles large crumbs.  Stir in walnuts.
2. In a medium bowl, combine bananas, milk, apple sauce, and vanilla. Use hand held mixer to blend until smooth.
3. Add banana mixture to flour mixture, stirring just until combined.
4. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups; bake 25-30 minutes at 400F. Immediately remove from tins after baking; place on a wire rack to cool.
5. Yields 12, 7 point servings

I enjoyed this muffin guilt free, since I went for an hour long bike ride this morning. My father brought me a bike a year ago, and I finally got it in riding condition. I hadn't ridden one in years; I remembered how much fun it was but I had forgotten how much exercise it is. I am not ashamed to admit that there were a couple of hills that almost defeated me. The fun still outweighs the pain, and burning enough calories to earn a muffin is a big plus.

Banana Cardamom Bread - 4 points

I had two bananas that were turning a lovely shade of black, so I decided they were begging to be baked into some sort of yummy bread. I have been making this bread, based on one from The Ultimate Healthy Eating Cook Book, for years and find it delightful.

I decided that the bread wanted to be shaped like a turtle (Simon saw bread shaped like a turtle in Family Fun magazine not too long ago and thought it was wonderful).

Banana Cardamom Bread
2/3 cup warm water
1 pkt active dried yeast
1 tsp brown sugar
2 tsp ground cardamom
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
2 cups all purpose flour
2 tbsp rum
2 ripe, mashed bananas
1 tbsp sesame seeds

1. Dissolve the sugar in the warm water. Gently mix in yeast. Let the mixture sit for 10 minutes to activate the yeast.
2. Sift the flour and salt into a medium bowl. Make a well in the middle of the flour and pour in the yeast mixture, bananas, rum, and cardamom. Stir until all ingredients are incorporated.
3. On a lightly floured surface, knead the bread for 5 minutes until smooth. Form dough into a ball and place in a glass bowl. Cover the bowl and allow the dough to sit for 2 hours.
4. Shape the dough as desired (the book suggests braiding or leaving in a loaf.) Place on a greased baking sheet or stone. Leave to rise 1/2 hour.
5. Brush the top of the dough with water. Sprinkle on sesame seeds.
6. Bake the bread at 425F for 10 minutes. Lower the heat to 400F and bake an additional 15 minutes. Cool on a wire rack before slicing.
7. Yields 10, 4 point servings

Look how cute!

I did use raisins for the face. I will admit a dirty little secret - I love burned raisins. They are a guilty pleasure. In this case, though, I did allow Simon to eat all of them. Apparently, they are one of his guilty pleasures as well.

Much love to one of my favorite bloggers, The Food Hound, for bestowing the Stylish Blogger Award on me. Please check out her amazing blog. She is not only a great cook; she is a fantastic writer.

Frozen Banana Bliss - 0 points

I have been trying to play catch up for the last couple of days, getting all of my recipes from the week blogged. I have finally come to my last one. It is a good one!

Earlier today I came across this fabulous idea for making a frozen banana treat. I tried it, and it turned out well. If I was a devotee of raw food, I would have stopped there and been very happy. I, however, eat everything. So, I thought maybe I could make it a little sweeter and a little creamier.  Here is my recipe.

Frozen Banana Bliss
1 banana, cut into 1 inch pieces and frozen
2 tbsp fat free Cool Whip
2 tbsp Splenda

1. Puree frozen banana in food processor until light and fluffy. Mix in Cool Whip and Splenda.
2. Return the mixture to the freezer for 1 hour, or until desired consistency is reached.
3. Enjoy your 0 point treat!

Please forgive the lack of aesthetics in this picture. First, I had already taken a couple of bites. Second, I was too impatient to eat to take the time to set up a good picture.