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 

Two-Bite Tea Muffins

This sweet treat hits the spot when you are about to settle down for a warm cup of tea. A great addition to your afternoon snack.

When I first made these, they were for a project I was doing on Jamaica. The project covered Jamaican music, but also asked for food from the country to be brought in for the class. I decided to use some foods that come to mind when I thought of Jamaica (which were pineapple and coconut) In the end this simple muffin recipe was a big crowd pleaser and they tasted great. I hope you enjoy making this recipe! 

Yields: about 4 dozen (mini muffin pan)
Prep time: 15 minutes  
Total time: 40 minutes


Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 cups sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 teaspoon salt 
• 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 cup shredded sweetened coconut
• 2 cups flour
• 1 (14 ounce) can pineapple (including the juice)
• some brown sugar and extra coconut to sprinkle on-top 

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350F and line 2 mini muffins pans with paper liners (or spray the pans)

2. In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar until pale and fluffy; add eggs and vanilla, and beat well.

3. Combine salt, baking powder, coconut, and flour.

4. Drain and chop pineapple, reserving juice (about 7 ounces).

5. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture alternately with the reserved juice

6. Fold in pineapple, and fill muffin cups 2/3 full. 

7. Bake for 20-25 minutes.

Note: Sprinkle sugar on top of muffins for crunchy muffin tops.



Inspiration: http://www.evernewrecipes.com/dessert-recipes/pineapple-coconut-muffins-recipe.html