The Perfect Banana Bread

To find a good banana bread recipe is like finding a diamond in a hay stack. It takes a lot of experimenting to find the perfect one. This is by far the best banana bread I have ever made.

For me banana bread is a summer thing. I would eat it a lot when my family would go to our cottage in the summer and in the morning we would have this for breakfast. But I think that banana bread should be a year round thing. Especially after I tried this recipe! 

Yields: 1 loaf

Prep time: 8 minutes

Total time: 1 hour

Ingredients

1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs, beaten
4 bananas crushed
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350F and spray a loaf pan with cooking spray and then line with parchment paper.  

2. Cream together butter and sugar with your electric mixer. Use a blender to mash the banana if it isn't fully ripe yet. Add eggs, vanilla and banana. Mix until combined.

3. In separate bowl combine flour, baking soda and salt. Turn mixer to low and gradually mix in dry ingredients. Try not to over mix or it will make the loaf tough.

4. Pour into lined loaf pan and bake for 70 minutes or until a knife or skewer comes out dry. Cool completely and serve.  

Originally from food.com 

Peanut Butter Cookies

If you are looking for a fast cookie that never fails to impress then you have found it. Peanut butter cookies can sometimes be too hard but these ones are just right! 

 This weekend I didn't have as much homework as I usually do, so I planned to meet up with two friends to go to the art gallery! I woke up late and only had an hour to get ready, but I still really wanted to bake something to take along for the drive. Since I only had an hour before they came to pick me up, I decided to try these cookies out. They were super fast and both of my friends ended up asking me for the recipe because they both liked them so much. I am not sure which was better, the cookies or the art show. 

Yields: 4 dozen

Prep time: 10 minutes

Total time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup peanut butter
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt 
• 1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375F and line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.

2. Put the peanut butter and butter in the bowl of your electric mixer. Beat until smooth on medium for about 1 Minute. Stop and scrape bowl. Add the sugars, egg and vanilla. Reduce the mixer speed to medium-low and mix for 1 minute. Stop and scrap bowl.

3. Turn the mixer on to stir and add the rest of the dry ingredients into the mixture. Turn back to medium-low and mix for 30 seconds.

4. Roll the cookie dough into 1-inch balls. Place 12 balls on a sheet at a time. Press down the cookies with your thumb or a fork. (I used a fork.)

5. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until the cookies are golden brown. Remove the cookies from the sheet immediately and let them cool.

This recipe is originally from the KitchenAid Best-Loved Recipes cookbook.

Chocolate Salted Almonds

These sweet chocolate covered almonds are a great ice cream topper or a treat on their own. They make a great gift and that kick of salt make them hard to forget.

 I made this dessert out of pure creativity and some leftover chocolate sauce from a macaroon recipe. I had extras on a chocolate drizzle and decided to put it to good use. I was craving some chocolate covered almonds and figured i would make some! I felt like a real chocolatier when i was making these, even though they were super duper simple!

Yields: 2 dozen
Prep time: 5 minutes
Total time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 tablespoon of canola or vegetable oil
• Cracked sea salt 
• Your favourite vanilla ice cream

Note: If you want to make more or less of the sauce you can adjust the ratios of the chocolate chips and oil to fit the amount of sauce that you need.

Directions

1. Combine the chocolate chips and oil in a microwave safe bowl
microwave for 3 sets of 20 second intervals. Stirring in between intervals.

2. Take the almonds and roll them in the bowl. Take out and rest on a sheet of wax paper on a plate.

3. Crack a small amount of sea salt on the tops of the chocolate covered almond.

4. Refrigerate for 15 minutes then store in a cool place.

5. Get a scoop of your favourite vanilla ice cream and top it with these delicious treats.

Coconut Macaroons

These sweet and chewy morsels are great from entertaining, or if you are at home looking for a sweet indulgence. These macaroons are just the yummiest things ever.

Great with a nice chocolate drizzle!

I made these one day when my family and I had been invited to a dinner party, everybody loved them and were so shocked when I told them how easy they were. Let's just say these didn't last very long!

Yields: 2 dozen 
Prep time: 10 minutes
Total time: 1 hour 20 minutes (with chocolate sauce)
            40 minutes (without chocolate sauce)

Ingredients

• 1 (14 oz.) package of sweetened coconut flakes
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 6 tablespoon flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 4 egg whites
• 1 teaspoon almond extract

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325F and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

2. Combine coconut, sugar, flour and salt in a large bowl and set aside.

3. In a separate bowl, use an electric mixture to beat the egg whites until white and fluffy (about 3 minutes) the whites should look foamy and be stiff enough to stay on the whisk when help upside down.

4. Gently fold in the egg whites to the dry ingredients  Be very careful when mixing so you won't deflate the egg whites. Mix in a folding motion.

5. Drop mounds of the coconut mixture onto the cookie sheet (about 5 cm in diameter). 

6. Bake for 25-30 minutes.

7. While the coconut macaroons are cooking you can prepare the chocolate drizzle. take 1/2 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips and 1/2 tbsp. of canola oil and mix together in a microwave safe bowl. heat in intervals of 20 seconds 3 times for a total of 60 seconds. stir in between intervals.(The chocolate sauce is optional)

8. When the macaroons come out of the oven, immediately lift off of the sheet and onto a cooling rack. wait about 30 minutes until cool. 

9. When the macaroons are fully cooled you can drizzle the chocolate sauce on them. 

Tip: To keep the chocolate sauce warm, let it stay in the microwave until the macaroons are ready. This will preserve the heat.

10. Refrigerate for 30 minutes, then store in a cool place and enjoy.  

Note: Don't just throw out that extra chocolate sauce! Check out this simple recipe for chocolate salted almonds!! 

Inspiration: 

http://www.kraftrecipes.com/recipes/bakers-one-bowl-coconut-52586.aspx

Welcome to the kiss cookbook blog

some of my favourite cookbooks.

Some people like to eat dessert, some people like to make desserts, some people like to make and eat their desserts. I happen to fall under the last category and if you’re like me then you will love this cookbook blog. I’m not embarrassed to consider myself a beginner when it comes to baking. Now that I have reached an age where I can be more independent in the kitchen, I have developed a sweet tooth and a love for baking.

As I have learned, when you can find a recipe that tastes great and happens to be simple too, you have found the perfect recipe. This blog is all about the marriage of simple recipes and that have a great taste. That's right. Welcome to desserts central.

 There is a natural attraction to doing things that are simple. Simplicity is easier when you are a beginner and for desserts, if it tastes good and it's simple then you have a winner. This cookbook blog is made for people who love to bake but don’t necessarily have the time to go crazy, or to go shopping for unusual ingredients. If there is one thing I have learned when it comes to making desserts, it is this: the simpler the better.

The reason for my title "kiss" is because of the well-known acronym; Keep It Simple Stupid. However, in my case, I like to see it as "keeping it super simple". I have always admired this acronym and while I was coming up with a name I realized that KISS applies to baking almost as much as it applies to life itself. Over my past years of experience with baking, this is one of the most important lessons I have learned. When you try to get all fancy and ambitious with recipes, things can get messy. So I thought it would be fantastic if I could make a cookbook with recipes that are easy, and taste good too!

A painting I did a while ago.