Peanut Butter and Julie

"Heart-y" Baked Banana Bread Doughnuts with Coconut Glaze

 

I messed up.

Like most people, I usually make a few New Year's resolutions, which inevitably are broken or, as I like to say, become more "loosely interpreted" by the end of January.  "Broken" is such a negative way of putting it, don't you think?

For 2012, I resolved to not make any New Year's resolutions.  Part of my decision was based on the fact that people generally expect resolutions to be broken, so they never really have a fighting chance.  I also couldn't settle on just one or two items.  I had too many ideas running around in my head for things that I wanted to accomplish this year.  Oh yeah, I have big plans for 2012.

So, I did what any slightly nerdy and super Type-A person would do.  I put together a Power Point presentation entitled "My Goals for 2012."  Yes, really.

I'll give you a moment to snicker.

 

 

Here was my reasoning:  If I had simply scrawled a goal list on one of my 139 legal pads, it would be neither be organized nor legible.  It would just be a mess of random phrases with lots of !!!'s and ***'s. Plus, I would likely lose the list or spill red Crystal Lite all over it.  So that method was out.  By arranging my goals neatly by category on PowerPoint slides (i.e. "Granola", "Fitness", "Writing", "Home Improvement"), they seemed much easier to tackle, and they were easier to prioritize.

By presenting my slides to an audience of Eric and my dogs (and yes, I actually did this--do you need more time to snicker?), I upped my level of commitment to the goals.  Plus, who can't afford to brush up on the ol' presentation skills?  Apparently I could be a bit more engaging.  The dogs are a tough crowd.  One fell asleep while the other chewed on his foot. 

Also, PowerPoints are kind of fun to put together.  Did I just type that?  Wow, I am a nerd.

 

 

So back to the "mess up."  I've been doing pretty well with my PowerPoint of goals, crossing off at least a few items every week.  One of my ongoing goals is to start eliminating the clutter from our house.  While we are by no means hoarders, we have somehow managed to accumulate unnecessary "stuff", and lots of it.  For example, it might be time to cut the cord and get rid of our impressive VHS tape collection, especially since we have not had a VHS player for close to a decade.  Just a thought.

Anyhow, this de-cluttering most certainly applies to my kitchen as well.  Like many of you, I'm sure, my cabinets are jam-packed with oddly shaped bakeware, super-specialized tools, and items that I don't recall ever seeing before. 

NO MORE!  I am going to get this kitchen tidy, cleaned out, and organized, and I am not going to buy any new stuff (unless of course I really need it.)

 

Then I went to Target on Monday.  Target is my kryptonite.  (Shakes fist) Darn you Target and your reasonably priced, adorably themed holiday displays!!  This is all your fault!!

Long story short, I bought a heart-shaped doughnut pan.

 

 

In my defense, it was only $7.99, and it's pretty slim, so it won't take up much room.  Plus, it was just too cute to pass up.  There must be some sort of cuteness clause that makes this a viable purchase, right?

Well, time to make the doughnuts :)

This was my first attempt at making increasingly popular "healthier" baked doughnuts, and I was a bit skeptical of how they would turn out.  The flavor choice was dictated by ingredients that I had on hand, specifically, ripened bananas.  I've always liked cardamom in my banana bread, so I added it to the doughnut batter, along with toasted pecans, cinnamon, and nutmeg.  I opted for oil instead of butter in the batter, as I thought that it would help to keep the doughnuts moist.  Overall, I was very happy with the results -- nice banana-y flavor and cake-like texture.  In my opinion, the sweet glaze is a non-negotiable.  Even if you don't want to do a coconut glaze, do some sort of glaze (vanilla, chocolate, maple, etc.) 

Glaze, for lack of a better word, is good.

 

Here are some extra tips for making these healthier banana bites:

• I like to puree my bananas in a food processor when adding them to batters, but you can simply mash them in a bowl or squeeze them in a sealed zip-top bag.  The only difference is that you might have a few larger banana pieces in your doughnuts.
• If you don't want to glaze the doughnuts, you can roll them in confectioner's sugar or in a mixture of cinnamon and sugar while they are still warm.  I do suggest coating them with something though.
• These doughnuts are best eaten the day that they are baked.

 

 

Baked Banana Bread Doughnuts with Coconut Glaze

Printable Recipe

Makes 18-20

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground cardamom

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

2/3 cup golden brown sugar, packed

3 tablespoons canola or safflower oil

2 large eggs

1 1/4 cups banana puree

1/4 cup buttermilk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup finely chopped toasted pecans

For the Glaze

2 cups confectioner's sugar

2-3 tablespoons coconut milk (or whole milk)

1/2 teaspoon coconut extract

Toasted shredded coconut, sprinkles, additional confectioner's sugar (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350F degrees.  Spray a doughnut pan with nonstick baking spray.  In a large bowl, whisk together both flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, cardamom, and nutmeg.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the brown sugar with the oil and the eggs at medium speed for 2 minutes.  Mix in the banana puree, the buttermilk, and the vanilla.

With the mixer on low speed, add the dry ingredients, mixing until incorporated.  Mix in the pecans.

Transfer the batter to a large zip-top bag, and cut off one corner.  Pipe the dough into the doughnut pan, filling each mold about halfway full.  Bake for 8-10 minutes, until the doughnuts spring back when lightly touched.  Carefully remove the doughnuts from the pan and allow them to cool on wire racks.

Prepare the glaze:  In a medium bowl, whisk together the confectioner's sugar, coconut milk (or milk), and extract until smooth.  You can add a bit more of the extract if the flavor is not "coconutty" enough for you.

Dip the cooled doughnuts in the glaze and decorate with toasted coconut, sprinkles, or your topping of choice!

Cherry-Almond Quinoa Breakfast Cookies

 

Cookies for breakfast???   Wheeeee!!!!

Well, sort of.  Read on. (But first, another cookie shot.)

 

 

It all started with Costco....

I have a love-hate relationship with Costco.  Like everyone, I love being able to buy certain items in bulk, like say, 52 pounds of dog food,  42 rolls of Charmin, or necessities like pillow-sized bags of Stacy's Pita Chips (if you've tried Stacy's Pita Chips, then you will concur that they are indeed a necessity.)

A trip to Costco is an event in my house, since all of our locations are inconveniently located across town in different directions.  It's as if the VP of Costco Business Development used my house as a starting point on a map, stuck in a thumbtack, and drew three straight lines to the opposite edges of the Las Vegas Valley, thinking "Aha--perfect! These will be our store sites." (Cue evil laugh.) 

 

Before each trip to Costco, it's imperative that I take thorough inventory of my pantry and household supplies and make a list of what I need.  IM-PER-A-TIVE. I need a list, and I need a plan.  Said list serves as my personal suit of armor, ensuring that I will purchase only, well mostly only, the items that I need and not get swept up in the cleverly marketed displays and constant supply of new items that make Costco Costco.

I hate it when I forget my list.

10 pounds of Jolly Ranchers!!  I loooooooove Jolly Ranchers!  Well, all but the grape ones, but that's just one flavor.  Sold! 

 Eric apparently doesn't like grape Jolly Ranchers either.  We now have 2 pounds of them, if anyone wants 'em.

Another inevitable result of leaving my list at home is that I toss some item into my cart because I am pretty certain that it was on my list or that it would have been on my list if I had made one......only to go home and discover that we haven't even made a dent in the supply that we already have.  Happens every. single. time.

Enter world's largest bag of quinoa.

 

 

Now, I don't recall ever purchasing a big bag 'o quinoa from Costco in the past, but apparently I had.  I don't know, perhaps I blacked out due to Costco eureka! euphoria, which is why I had forgotten that there was already one of these huge, unopened bags sitting in my pantry.  And now I have two.  Lucky me.

Don't get me wrong.  I loooooooove my quinoa like I loooooooooove my non-grape Jolly Ranchers.  In the past few years, quinoa has become the Emma Stone of the ancient grains.  The "it" girl, if you will.  You can see it in all of the hottest food publications and included in recipes from the trendiest chefs.  My prediction is that within the next 6 months, it will also be on an InStyle cover, land a Revlon contract and start dating Ryan Gosling.  That's how HOT quinoa is right now.

So, I should have no lack of resources in which I can find recipe inspiration for my two lifetime supplies of quinoa, right?  Right.  Today's recipe was inspired by an idea that I have seen a few times on-line and, most recently, by one that I read in Bon Appetit magazine:  Quinoa Breakfast Cookies.

I'm sorry, did you say "breakfast cookies?"  Why yes, yes I did.

 

 

Sorry, that picture came out a little dark.

Now, before you get too excited, these are not your Keebler Elves' cookies.  So if your mind is saying "Chips Ahoy" when you take a bite, then your taste buds might be a tad bit disappointed.  Make no mistake, (I think) that they are still delicious, but they are also pretty healthy and full of whole grains, dried fruit, and nuts -- not chocolate chips, white sugar, and monoglutopseudohydrotransbrominal.  The texture is fairly cakey, and they are definitely hearty.  These cookies are also not overly sweet.......which is why I couldn't leave well enough alone, and I drizzled them with a little glaze.  Just a little glaze, mind you.  A little glaze never hurt anyone. 

1 quinoa recipe down......463 to go.

 

 

Here are some extra tips for making these deceptively diet-friendly cookies:

• I decided to use dried cherries in these cookies because I think that they have a more concentrated flavor than cranberries, and cherry pairs nicely with almond.  Plus, dried cherries were on sale at the grocery store :)  Feel free to substitute dried cranberries, raisins, chopped apricots, or a combination of dried fruit.
• I made the simple glaze for the cookies by whisking together confectioner's sugar and freshly squeezed lemon juice.  You could do the same with orange juice, or you could make an almond glaze by whisking confectioner's sugar, water, and a bit of almond extract.
• To make your own variation on these cookies, try adding some shredded coconut, orange or lemon zest, banana puree instead of applesauce, or pure maple syrup in place of the honey.

 

 

Cherry-Almond Quinoa Breakfast Cookies

(Inspired by Bon Appetit magazine)

Printable Recipe

Makes about 28 cookies

Ingredients:

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened

1/2 cup golden brown sugar, packed

3 tablespoons honey

2 large eggs

1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

3/4 teaspoon pure almond extract

1 cup cooked and cooled quinoa

2 cups whole wheat flour

1 cup rolled oats (not quick oats)

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup dried tart cherries

1 cup whole almonds, coarsely chopped

 

Preheat the oven to 375F degrees and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter with the sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, 2-3 minutes.  Beat in the honey and then the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition.  Mix in the applesauce and both extracts.  On low speed, mix in the quinoa until well incorporated.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, and salt.  Gradually add the flour mixture to the batter, mixing on low speed until just combined.  Remove the mixing bowl from the stand and stir in the dried cherries and almonds.

Using a small ice cream scoop or a spoon, drop the dough in generous 2-tablespoon portions onto the prepared baking sheets, spacing 2-inches apart.  Flatten the mounds of dough with the bottom of a glass or with your moistened palm (otherwise the dough might stick to your hand.)

Bake the cookies until they are golden around the edges and on the bottoms, 12-15 minutes.  Allow the cookies to cool on the pans for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.  If desired, drizzle the cookies with a simple glaze (either confectioner's sugar mixed with lemon juice or confectioner's sugar mixed with water and almond extract.)

Approximately 140 calories and 6 grams of fat per cookie.

Meyer Lemon and Blackberry Olive Oil Polenta Cake

20 Random Things That You Never Wanted To Know About Me

Now that I have my new Facebook page up and running (thanks to all who joined!), I thought that it would be fun to occasionally post 20 random facts about myself on my blog.  This will allow new readers to get to know me, and long-time readers to learn some more things about me (which hopefully won't scare either group off.)  If random facts don't interest you, then by all means skip down to the recipe at the bottom of the page.  These are all fairly short and, in case you didn't catch it, also quite random.

1.  I was a contestant on Wheel of Fortune when I was 17.  I won, but I've either hidden or burned all of the photographic evidence because I was wearing a hideous Laura Ashley number, which should never have been allowed on national T.V.

2.  Fast food: I've never eaten a Big Mac, and I've never been to Taco Bell.  I love Wendy's Frosties.  Oh, and that freaky Burger King mascot in their commercials gives me nightmares.

3.  When I was little, I was afraid of the windshield wipers on our car.  I also thought that the Empire State Building was called the "Vampire" State Building.  Looks like I wasn't alone:

 

4. I once got my arm stuck in a pool table.  That was embarrassing.

5. I also once locked myself in a dumpster.  That was even more embarrassing.

6. I'm really good at shooting pool (providing I don't get my arm stuck in the table, which takes my skill level down a few notches.)

7. My brother Jay is the single most interesting person I know.  You should take him out for a beer sometime.  He has some great stories to tell, my favorite of which includes the dog from There's Something About Mary and a very unfortunate chicken.

8. I can say the Pledge of Allegiance in french which, now that I think about it, makes no sense whatsoever.

9. I absolutely hate mayonnaise.  It's pretty much a mayo-phobia.  That goes for aioli too.  You chefs aren't tricking me with your fancy french terms (see #8.)

10.  I'm left-handed.  So is my husband, Eric.   We figured that there aren't very many of us in the world, so we might as well get married.

11. One of my pet peeves is when people over age 16 use terms like "preggers", "vacay", and "adorbs!" to shorten words that really weren't that long to begin with.  Scratch that -- it bugs me when anyone uses those terms.

12.  I once had a 5-minute conversation with Tom Brady at a party.  Unfortunately, I did not know who Tom Brady was at the time.  I've been kicking myself ever since.

 

13. I like to eat frozen peas.

14. I put Tabasco Chipotle sauce on almost everything (but not frozen peas.)

15.  About 10 years ago, I developed an allergy to scallops, which sucks because I really like scallops.  Why can't I be allergic to mayonnaise?

16. I love to cross-country ski.  Unfortunately, I live in the desert so my opportunities are limited.

17.  Music: I love listening to Hair Nation on Sirius, and I wish that the original members of Guns 'n Roses would get back together (although that could be a disaster.)  I think that Eminem is a brilliant lyricist, although he could afford to ease up just a hair on the profanities.  I think the Dave Matthews Band is completely overrated.  Josh Groban's "O Holy Night" always makes me cry.  I have a Justin Bieber song on my iPod.  Don't judge.  It's good for working out.

 

 

18. I have one blond eyelash and one brown eyelash.  

19. I'm a stickler for punctuality.  We are a dying breed.

20. I don't have much of a green thumb, which I partially attribute to the climate in which I reside.  That said, a few things grow beautifully here, including Meyer lemons.  I have two huge Meyer lemon trees in my backyard, which yield in excess of 500 fat yellow-orange lemons each year.  If you live in the area, let me know.  I'll give you some :)

Which leads me to today's recipe.........

 

 

 

This weekend, it became evident to me that this year's Meyer lemon supply had gotten a bit out of hand.  Branches drooped due to clusters of fat oval-shaped fruit, some of which looked more like oranges.  The ground was dotted with dozens of bruised lemons that my dogs had snatched from the tree and discarded.  It was time to bake something lemony (not using the dog discarded lemons, of course)!

Have you ever tasted an olive oil cake?  It sounds a bit weird, I know.  Most of us are used to enjoying a nice, fruity, extra-virgin olive oil drizzled over something savory, not baked into dessert.  The olive oil cake is very common in Mediterranean baking, and there are countless variations on it.  Olive oil replaces butter as the main source of fat, creating a lovely moist cake that is neither too sweet nor too heavy.  Adding polenta (or cornmeal) to the batter yields a slightly crunchy texture and a crisp crust.  I decided to load up this cake with plenty of Meyer lemon zest and a bit of fresh lemon juice.  Then, at the last minute, I tossed in some blackberries (the cake was just calling out for some fresh berries!)

Overall, I was quite happy with the results.  The cake sunk in the middle a little bit, which I sneakily hid with some extra blackberries, but I know that the sinking was due to my frequent checking for doneness (thus the fluctuation of the oven temperature.)  Try to avoid doing this, tempting as it may be.  See the notes below for a few variations that I will try next time.

 

 

Here are a few additional tips and twists for this citrusy snack cake:

• As you can tell from the photo, some of the blackberries sunk to the bottom of the pan during the baking process.  This is fine, but the next time that I prepare this, I might just sprinkle the top of the batter with the blackberries and allow the cake to bake up around them.  If you try it this way, please let me know what happens!
• The lemon flavor in this cake is definitely evident, but it is by no means strong or overly tart.  If you would like something like that, I would suggest drizzling the cake with a lemony sugar syrup while it is still warm and/or a lemony glaze after it has cooled.  Instructions for both can be found in my Mini Blueberry and Meyer Lemon Pound Cakes recipe.
• This recipe will keep well for 3-4 days in an air-tight container or tightly wrapped.

 

 

Meyer Lemon and Blackberry Olive Oil Polenta Cake

Printable Version

Serves 10-12

Ingredients:

2 1/4 cups flour

3/4 cup instant polenta or yellow cornmeal

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups sugar

4 large eggs

Zest from 3 large Meyer lemons (or 4 large regular lemons)

1 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

8 ounces fresh blackberries

Powdered sugar for dusting

Preheat the oven to 350F degrees.  Spray an 10-inch springform pan with non-stick baking spray  - or - spray a 10-inch round baking pan with baking spray and line it with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, polenta, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the sugar and the eggs on medium-high speed for 4-5 minutes, until the mixture is pale yellow and tripled in volume.   Mix in the lemon zest.

In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil and the lemon juice.  Add this to the egg mixture, alternating with the flour mixture, in two additions each, mixing after each addition until the ingredients are incorporated.  Gently fold the blackberries into the batter.

Transfer the batter to the prepared pan, smoothing the top with a spatula.  Bake the cake until the top springs back when lightly touched, and a cake tested inserted into the center emerges clean, 30-35 minutes.

Cool the cake in the pan set on a wire rack for 10 minutes, then release the sides of the pan and allow the cake to cool completely.

Sprinkle the cake with powdered sugar and garnish with additional fresh blackberries (optional) before serving.