Banana Bread

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 4 bananas (very ripe)
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 2 eggs
• 1tsp. vanilla
• 1 3/4 cups flour
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. salt

Preheat the oven to 350.

Cream together butter and sugar. Mix in the bananas, eggs, sour cream, and vanilla. Mix together the flour, salt and baking soda and add them slowly to the mixer and mix until just combined. 

Bake in a greased, floured loaf pan for 55-65 minutes. 

Chocolate Therapy Cookies

• 1.5cups butter, softened
• 1.25 cups granulated sugar
• 1.25 cups packed brown sugar
• 1 Tb vanilla
• 2 eggs
• 2..5 cups flour
• 1.5 cups cocoa
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• 2 cups dried cranberries
• 1 cup chopped pistachios

Heat oven to 350. In a large bowl, beat butter, sugars, vanilla, and eggs on medium speed until light and fluffy. Stir in flour, baking soda, and salt. Stir in chips, cranberries, and nuts.
On ungreased cookie sheets (I use silicone mats) drop dough by tablespoonfuls or #40 cookie/ice cream scoop, 2 inches apart. Flatten slightly. Bake about 10 minutes. The centers will be soft. Cool 1-2 minutes, remove to a cooling rack.

You can double the recipe and freeze cookie dough balls to make any time.

Apple crisp

                    6 apples (preferably granny smiths)

·                     Teaspoon each of cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger

·                     2-4 Tbsp sugar (depends on sweetness of apples)

·                     ½ cup butter

·                     2/3 cup sugar

·                     ¾ cup flour

Peel and slice the apples into small pieces and mix with the spices and a few tablespoons of sugar (less if you use pink/red apples). Place in a greased round oven safe dish.

Melt the butter and mix in the flour and sugar, Add more flour until the mixture is dry and crumbly. Top the apples with the crumb mixture.

Bake at 350 until the top starts to brown (30-40 minutes).

Chocoflan AKA Impossible Cake

This cake is a favorite in our house. It has a dense chocolate cake and a lovely flan (egg creme custard with caramel). After many attempts, this recipe has come with the most success. 

Cake Recipe:

10 Tbs. Butter

1 Cup Sugar

1 Egg

1¾ Cup flour

¾ tsp each baking powder and baking soda

1/3 cup plus 1 TBS of cocoa powder

9 oz Buttermilk (about 1 1/8 cup)

1 tsp. vanilla extract

Flan recipe:

1/3 cup sugar

2 large eggs

1 cup heavy cream

1 cup evaporated milk

2 tsp. vanilla extract

Also needed:

 ¼ cup flour for Bundt pan

1/3 – ½ cup Caramel sauce

Bundt pan

Large roasting pan that will fit the Bundt pan inside it for a water bath.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare a regular size Bundt pan by lightly greasing it then coating it with flour and dumping out the excess flour. Then pour the caramel sauce into the bottom of the pan all around the ring. Use more caramel if you really enjoy caramel sauce.

In a mixer, prepare the cake mix by beating the butter and sugar together until it lightens in color. Then beat in the eggs. Alternate adding the remaining wet and dry ingredients and then when all ingredients have been added, mix for 1 minute on medium speed and pour mixture into the Bundt pan.

Finally, mix all the flan ingredients together until the eggs are well mixed into the cream mixture. Carefully and slowly pour this over the top of the cake mixture. If you really like flan, half again the recipe and it should just fit into a standard size Bundt pan.

Pull the rack partly out of the oven and set the roasting pan on it. Then place the Bundt pan in the roasting pan and carefully pour water around it until the water reaches about 1-2 inches.

Bake for 55-60 minutes. During baking, the cake and flan will change places so the flan ends up on the bottom of the pan. The cake should start cracking slightly and a knife inserted should come out mostly clean. Take the cake out of the water bath  and let it cool to room temp. This is important, if you try to take the cake out early it falls apart and becomes a big mess. Once the cake is cool, place a plate or platter over the top of the pan and quickly invert it and remove the Bundt pan. You should now have a beautiful dense chocolate cake with a layer of flan custard baked right on top. Serve with a freshly whipped cream and extra caramel sauce.