Banana Bread – Round 2

5 Feb

Interviews are almost over! Wahoo! I’m down to my final week of interviews and I am excited for them to be over. It is not fun to feel like your fate lies in a 15 minute conversation…which means you got to shine! And by shine, I do NOT mean saying the name of the wrong school during your interview. I swear…that did NOT happen. *cough*

What I did realize throughout this interview process is that the more nervous I am, the more I smile and laugh. Which is a good thing in these situations, because there are moments (like above) that can make you either want to cry, or in my case, laugh hysterically. Which brings me to my final point of this incredible random post that ends in an incredible recipe. At the end of this interview month, I cannot wait to just eat a cake. A cake…not a slice…but A CAKE. Specifically this cake – banana bread with cream cheese icing. I am a sucker for a good icing. It is definitely better than the first banana bread recipe I posted.

Banana Bread with cream cheese Frosting

Ingredients:

Banana Bread:

3 very ripe bananas, mashed
¾ cup granulated sugar
½ cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
½ cup vegetable oil
2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
½ cup sour cream
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Grated zest of 1/2 an orange
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon kosher salt
½ cup coarsely chopped walnuts (optional)
Cream Cheese Frosting (recipe follows)
Walnut halves, for decorating (optional)

Cream cheese frosting:

6 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
6 tablespoons (¾ stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2½ cups sifted confectioners’ sugar (½ pound)

Recipe from Barefoot Contessa

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Categories Dessert, Recipes
Author Jennie

Lemon Crinkle Cookies

23 Dec

Yesterday the snow was falling heavily outside, and I watched 90210 (the original) reruns all day in my lounge pants. It was a wonderful day.

Sometimes I just need a day to do absolutely nothing. Catch up on some emails, my fave blogs, and brainless TV while being cozy up on the couch with a hot cup of tea, a fuzzy blanket and some good cookies. It’s kind of like hitting pause on the stressors of life, and recuperating the life force that’s needed to get through it all.

Yes. It was that kind of week, requiring that kind of day. Requiring a lot of cookies.

These lemon cookies are light, and yummy and go perfectly with a cup of tea. They are also really elegant looking (can you call cookies elegant? I’m going with yes), and they are a nice addition to any dessert table or as a gift to a host/hostess.

Lemon Crinkle Cookies

Ingredients:

½ cups butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
½ teaspoons vanilla extract
1 whole egg
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice
¼ teaspoons salt
¼ teaspoons baking powder
⅛ teaspoons baking soda
1-½ cup all-purpose flour
½ cups powdered sugar

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Whip in vanilla, egg, lemon zest, and juice.
Stir in all dry ingredients slowly until just combined, except the powdered sugar. Scrape sides of bowl and mix again briefly.
Pour powdered sugar onto a large plate. Roll a heaping teaspoon of dough into a ball and roll in powdered sugar. Place on baking sheet and repeat with remaining dough.
Bake for 9-11 minutes or until bottoms begin to barely brown and cookies look matte.
Remove from oven and cool cookies about 3 minutes before transferring to cooling rack.

Source: Lauren’s Latest

Hope you enjoy these!

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Categories Dessert, Recipes, Snack
Author Jennie

Cookies n’ Cream Rice Krispie Treats

16 Dec

It’s holiday time! That means lots of good family dinners, brunches, lunches…so I get to bake! Or not.

Desserts that require minimal to no baking are ideal when you have no time to make elaborate desserts. Last weekend I was busy studying for my surgery exam, but I also had a holiday brunch. A gal like me doesn’t want to go to a party empty handed, but I couldn’t spend my study day in the kitchen. Enter rice krispie treats.

While rice krispie treats sound a bit juvenile, when given a tweak they can be a fantastic addition to a dessert table. I’ve made cake batter rice krispie treats in the past that were a hit, and this time around I made a different style of them – gangnam style! woohoooo!

I mean…

Gosh darn it – I just like to dance.

And these cookies and cream rice krispie treats just make me wanna d-a-n-c-e…while shoving my mouth with marshmallows.

No one judges in my kitchen. Even if you’re my boyfriend, sitting on the couch in our loft, playing assassins creed and oblivious to anything around him. No one judges.

Cookies and Cream Rice Krispie Treats

Ingredients:

Squares:

1/4 cup salted butter
1 (10.5) oz bag mini marshmallows + an additional cup of marshmallows.
6 cups Rice Krispies cereal
10 oreos, chopped into bits

Topping:

1 1/3 cups white chocolate chips
6 oreos, chopped into bits

Directions:

Butter or spray a 13 x 9 pan, set aside.
Melt butter in a large non-stick saucepan over medium low heat, swirling butter up along edges of the pan (this helps the marshmallows stick much less). Stir in marshmallows and stir constantly until melted.
Remove from heat and gently stir in Rice Krispies cereal until evenly coated. Fold in 10 chopped Oreos.
Pour mixture into buttered dish and gently press mixture evenly into dish, set aside.
In a microwave safe bowl, melt white chocolate chips on in 30-45 second intervals, stirring after each interval until melted and smooth.
Spread melted chocolate evenly over Rice Krispie treats and immediately (before chocolate hardens) sprinkle with the 6 chopped Oreos. Gently press the Oreo pieces down with your hands.
Cover and refrigerate about 10 minutes, or alternately let rest on counter until chocolate hardens.

Source: Stylish Cuisine

Enjoy these “no bake” desserts!

- Jennie

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Categories Dessert, Recipes, Snack
Author Jennie

Funfetti Sprinkle Cookies

30 Aug

The sprinkles are back in full force. You know what that means – I feel old again and need to make something silly and fun to feel like my young self again.

This time, my aging was felt when I walked across campus with my fresh fruit and veggies, excited to go home for a night of cooking and studying. As I cheerfully walked along doing bicep curls with my groceries (gotta get that workout in!), I group of youngins rolled into my bicep curling space. They were sporting neon color shirts, backwards caps, and a glazed over look.

Welcome to frosh week! Yee-Haw!

This month I’m working in the Emergency Room – and the froshers are flocking in! As I stitch their wounds and get questions about STI’s, should I nonchalantly warn them that soon enough they will feel old and tired in the real world? Or is having me awkwardly stitch/smile/giggle enough?

Obvious choice there – medicine now and awkward old lady grumblings later.

Note: recipe calls for almond extract – you can find it right next to he vanilla extract in your grocery store, it’s an easy find.

Funfetti Sprinkle Cookies:

Ingredients:

1 cup Butter, Room Temperature
1-¼ cup Sugar
2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
1 teaspoon Almond Extract
1 whole Egg
2-½ cups Flour
¼ cups Cornstarch
¾ teaspoons Baking Soda
½ teaspoons Salt
½ cups Rainbow Jimmie Sprinkles
2 Tablespoons Nonpareil Sprinkles

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375ºF.
Cream the butter and sugar in your stand mixer/hand mixer for about 2 minutes, until fluffy. Add the vanilla, almond, and egg. Beat until well combined.
In a separate bowl, sift in the flour, cornstarch, soda, and salt. Slowly add the flour mixture to the butter mixture, and continue on low speed until it’s all added and combined. Mix in all the sprinkles (don’t overmix or the sprinkles will start to bleed into the dough).
Scoop cookie dough onto cookie sheets, about 1 1/2 inches apart. Bake for about 15 minutes. (Note: Only bake until they very slightly start to turn light golden brown just on the edges and baking time will vary on the size of cookie you make. Check them around 10 minutes, then 12, and so on.)
Cool on a wire rack. Store in an airtight container up to 4 days.

Recipe from Two Peas and Their Pod

Hope you enjoy these fun cookies and enjoy the start of a new school year! Just know – if you hurt yourself you may come face-to-face with me…and my new stitching skills. Muahah.

- Jennie

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Categories Dessert, Recipes, Snack
Author Jennie

Rhubarb Berry Muffins

3 Jul

Happy (delayed) Canada Day weekend! I hope everyone enjoyed the 3 day weekend in the great white north, and those down south are soon to celebrate 4th of July. I’m sure many people had parties or bbq’s during this holiday, and probably ate a lot of good food! I know I did.

OH CANADA!

Yesterday, I got to go to my brother in laws country house. There is just something so special about leaving the city, smelling the country air, swimming in a fresh lake and spending time with friends and family. It was one of the nicest days I’ve had in a while.

I obviously couldn’t go empty handed, so I whipped together muffins that took no time at all to make.

Muffins were the obvious choice to bring with me – they are easy to bake and even easier to transport. The type of muffin can vary – you can make apple cinnamon, chocolate chip, and my favorite mixed berry. I find berry muffins visually pleasing (especially with raspberries thrown in), and so tasty between the sweetness and tartness of different berries.

Pretty, Eh?

They were quite a hit at the country house and it was just a small token of appreciation for such a nice day in the country air.

Rhubarb Berry Muffins

Ingredients:

1 cup diced rhubarb (small pieces)
1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Pinch of ground ginger
1 cup non-fat vanilla yogurt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup berries (strawberries, blueberries, raspberries or a mix)

For topping

1/3 cup brown sugar
Pinch of ground cinnamon

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Line 12 cup muffin tin with liners and set aside.
Chop rhubarb stalks (or use food processor if you got one!)
In a large mixing bowl combine flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and ground ginger. Still just until ingredients are combined.
Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and add yogurt, melted butter, egg, vanilla extract and stir with flour mixture just until combined, don’t over mix.
Fold shredded rhubarb and berries in batter just until combined.
Spoon batter into prepared muffin pan about 3/4 full.
Sprinkle top with additional brown sugar and cinnamon.
Bake in preheated oven for 20-25 minutes until tester (ex: toothpick) inserted into the center of muffins comes out clean and tops are golden brown.
Place on wire rack to cool.

Slightly Adapted from mother thyme

Hope you enjoy these muffins! They are a seriously good go-to “thank you” kind of baked good!

- Jennie