Risa's Chocolate Banana Bread

As long as I'm at it...These are heavenly! Yum. Yum!

1. Cream together:
    1 C Soft Butter
    2 C Sugar
    4 Eggs

2. Mix in:
    6 bananas, mashed
    2 t Vanilla

3. Sift, then add to batter and mix well:
    3 C Flour
    2 t Baking Soda
    1/8 C Unsweetened Cocoa

4. Stir in:
    1 C Sour Cream
    1 C Chocolate Chips
    1/4 Bag of mini Chocolate Chips

Place in 2 greased and floured (bottom only - yes, yes the 4H way!) 9 x 5 loaf pans.  Bake at 350 Degrees for 60 to 75 minutes.

Chocolate Zucchini Bread

I thought I would add this as well. This is from Shelley's BYUI cookbook.

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

Ingredients:
3 Eggs
1 C vegetable Oil
2 C Brown Sugar
1 t Vanilla
2 Unsweetened Chocolate Squares, melted
3 C Zucchini, grated
4 C Flour
1 t Baking Soda
1 t Cinnamon
1/2 C Nuts, chopped (optional)
1 t Salt
1/4 t Baking Powder

Beat 3 eggs. Add oil and sugar. Beat well and add vanilla, chocolate, and zucchini. Mix together and add the remaining ingredients and then place in a greased and floured (again bottom only) baking pan. (My notes say it will make 4 small loaves or one regular size loaf (8.5" x 4.5" x 2.5"). Bake 45 to 60 minutes.

Cool in pan for 10 minutes. Turn out onto a cooling rack.

Zucchini Bread

Here you go Rachel! I knew I would forget to get this on when I got home, but, hey, at least it's only been a couple of days instead of weeks...or months...or years....

Heat oven to 325 degrees.

Ingredients:
3 Eggs
1 C Sugar
1 C Brown Sugar
1 C Vegetable oil (I use Canola)
2 C Zucchini squash (grated)
2 t Vanilla
1 t Salt
1 t Baking Soda
1/4 t Baking Powder
3 t Cinnamon
3 C Flour

Combine sugars, eggs and oil. Beat until well blended.

Add zucchini and vanilla. Mix until blended.

Mix flour baking soda, BP, salt and cinnamon. Add to mixture.

Again this is the chocolate lover speaking...add 1/4 to 1/3 cup of mini chocolate chips. This tastes good if you pour a little batter in first, add a level of chocolate chips, then add the rest of the batter.

Place in two greased and floured loaf pans (greased and floured on the bottom only).

Bake one hour at 325 degrees.

Chocolate Wonder

Ingredients:

1 C Flour
1 1/2 C Powdered Sugar
1/2 C Butter (salted)
8 Ounce Cream Cheese (softened)
12.5 Ounce Cool Whip (I use the name brand. I can't find a 12 ounce tub any more so I usually buy 2 8 ounce tubs - they are usually on sale and cheaper than the 16 ounce - and measure.)
2 Small Packages Chocolate Instant Pudding
3 C Milk (2% or whole)
Mini Chocolate chips (optional)

1st Layer

Mix flour, 1/2 C powdered sugar and butter until crumbly. Press lightly into the bottom of a 9" x 13" pan. Bake 25 minutes at 300 degrees. Cool.

2nd Layer

Mix 1 cup powdered sugar, cream cheese and 6 ounces of Cool Whip. Spread on first layer.

3rd Layer

Mix the pudding with the milk until just set and pour over the 2nd layer. Cool in the refrigerator until completely set.

4th Layer

Spread 6 ounces of Cool Whip over 3rd layer and sprinkle with min chocolate chips.

Monkey Bread

Saw this and thought I'd add it while I was adding the other posts. This is a fairly new recipe for me. I made it for a breakfast get together and it turned out great. It's easy to make but it takes time to cut the biscuits and to make sure they are all coated in sugar and cinnamon.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

3 Cans Buttermilk Biscuits (non-flaky kind)
1 C Sugar
2-3 t Cinnamon
2 Sticks of Butter (1 C)
1/2 C Brown Sugar

Cut each biscuit into 4ths. Put sugar and cinnamon in a gallon ziploc bag, then add biscuit pieces, close and shake. After they are all coated, put them into a greased Bundt Pan.

Melt butter and put the brown sugar in and cook until they are combined. (You'll notice that the butter and brown sugar separate, so you heat them until they don't separate any more.) I don't remember how long this takes, but you need to stand there and stir until it does so the sugar doesn't burn or get too hard. Pour this over the biscuits in the Bundt Pan.

Bake for 30-40 minutes.

Chocolate Filler

This recipe was given to me by a friend from college, so I've been making this for a long time!

Preheat oven to 325 degrees

Ingredients:

3/4 C Soft Butter
3/4 C Sugar
1/2 t Salt
2 C Flour
1 1/3 C Sweetened Condensed Milk (15 oz can)
1 C Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips

Combine butter, sugar, salt and flour with a pastry blender or mixer until particles are fine (not a batter). Press 2/3 of the mixture firmly into the bottom of an ungreased 9" x 13" pan. Heat condensed milk in a saucepan until warm or in the microwave for one minute. Stir the chocolate chips into the milk and stir until they are melted. Pour over the mixture in the pan. Sprinkle the remaining crumbs on top. Press down lightly. Bake for 30 minutes or until light, golden brown.

Hot Fudge Pudding Cake

Hot Fudge Pudding Cake

My "magic" recipe because the pudding just appears from nothing!

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a mixing bowl mix: (a wire whip works well for this)

1 C Flour
3/4 C Sugar
2 T Cocoa
2 t Baking Powder
1/4 t Salt

Stir in:

1/2 C Milk
2 T Melted Shortening (I've never tried it, but I don't see why butter wouldn't work.)
1 C chopped nuts (optional)

Pour batter into an ungreased baking pan (9" square).

Stir together: (a wire whip works well for this, too)

1 C Brown Sugar (packed)
1/4 C Cocoa

Sprinkle over batter in pan.
Pour 1 3/4 C hot water over it all.

Bake 45 minutes.

Serve with vanilla ice cream. (You could use other kinds, but vanilla keeps the pure, chocolate taste!)

(Shelley's) Magic Cookie Bars

Magic Cookie Bars call for a graham cracker crust, and I never have graham crackers on hand when I want to make it. So. I combined this recipe with the crust of Carmelitas and VOILÀ! Shelley's Magic Cookie Bars were born. They taste delish (if I do say so myself). If you're not a fan of coconut, they actually still taste really good--you can barely taste it, and it adds a nice flavor (just try it, and you'll see what I mean).

Ingredients

Crust:
1 1/2 sticks butter (room temp)
3/4 c Brown Sugar
1 c Oatmeal
1 c Flour
1/8 t. Salt
1/2 t. Baking Soda

Mix all ingredients together (I use a pastry blender, but you can use a beater, too) until well mixed. Press into bottom of a greased 9x13 pan. Bake for 10 minutes at 350.

Cookie Goodness:
14 oz can sweetened condensed milk
1 1/3 c Sweetened coconut
1 c Chocolate chips
1 c Butterscotch chips

Pour sweetened condensed milk onto baked crust, then layer the coconut, chocolate chips, and butterscotch chips how you want. Press into condensed milk. Put back in the oven and bake for another 20 minutes at 350. You can either refrigerate, or let it sit out, but try and resist eating it until it sets (though it still tastes good as an ooey-gooey-mess).

Manna from Heaven Brownies

This is from my old roommate, Natalie. My other roommate, Emma, thought these brownies were so yummy that she dubbed them 'Manna from Heaven'. Hence the name.

These brownies are SUPER EASY to whip up when you want dessert in a fix. I've made them every weekend for the past three weeks, and have proceeded to eat at least half the pan. Don't judge.

1 (softened) stick of butter
2 c. Sugar
1/2 c. Cocoa
1 1/2 c. flour
1/2 t. salt
1 t. baking powder
4 eggs

So easy I already have it memorized, I also pour in some chocolate chips (I don't know how much, till it looks good), just because I'm a choco-holic. My only mixing instruction is to put the eggs in last. Bake at 350 for ~25 minutes (or less if you want them more gooey) in a dark 9 x 13 pan  and ~30 minutes (or more if you want them less gooey) in a glass 9 x 13 pan.

I'll post a picture when I make them again (probably soonish).

My Favorite! Fresh Strawberry Pie

This is my very very favorite dessert EVER! It is SO SO yummy! It's also WAY easier than it looks. The first time it only took me about half an hour. I made this with a vanilla wafer crust, but it calls for a regular pie crust. Either will taste delicious, it really depends on the balance of flavors you want:

Makes 1 (9-inch) pie

Ingredients:
1 lb fresh strawberries, sliced (you could even use a little less, a whole pound is a lot)
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup water
2 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cupstrawberry jello
Red food coloring (optional)
1 (9-inch) piecrust, homemade, or store-bought, baked as directed (you can also use graham crackers or vanilla wafers to make a crust if you want, either will taste good with this pie)
Whipped topping or fresh whipped cream

1. In a medium bowl, toss the strawberries with the powdered sugar. Let sit for a few minutes, then pour off the juice.

2. While the strawberries are sitting, place the granulated sugar, water, cornstarch, and salt in the saucepan; cook, stirring until it is clear and thick (she says about 3 minutes, and she doesn't mention the heat, I would say medium high, and it's ok if it boils). 1/4 cup of the Jell-O powder, and a few drops of red food coloring (I left that out). Stir well and let cool.

3. Place the strawberries in the piecrust and pour the Jell-O mixture over the strawberries.

4. Top with whipped topping and chill to set before serving (I added the whipped topping before serving.)

Easy Eclairs

So I'm not really sure about amounts so I'm not going to tell you how many graham crackers and how much frosting, and I've also experimented with different flavors of pudding and frosting which gives more varieties that taste good too if you want to do that. I got it from Emma, mine and Shelley's old roommate, who I think actually got it from Brittany, our other roommate. It's sooo easy. This is the best combination that I found so far.

Ingredients:

• Whole Graham Crackers
• 2 pkgs of vanilla instant pudding
• 3 Cups of milk
• 1 (8 oz) carton of cool whip
• Chocolate frosting

First mix the pudding, milk, and cool whip in a large mixing bowl.

In bottom of 9"x13" pan, place a single layer of whole graham crackers. Spread half of pudding mixture over crackers. Add another layer of crackers, rest of pudding, ending with another layer of graham crackers.

For the topping just frost the graham crackers, it might make it easier to do that if you heat up the frosting in the microwave a little bit.

When it's ready then refrigerate at least for the next 4-5 hours. The longer you refrigerate then the better (softer)  it will be.

Chocolate Mint Meltaways

How can I add recipes to this blog without a dessert or sweet treat? I thought I grabbed the recipe for Triple Layer Brownies which I made recently and Shelley didn't remember me ever making them. I looked down and realized I had this recipe instead, which is also a real winner! I'll do the Brownies another time. These cookies absolutely melt in your mouth! They taste good made with margarine or butter. I usually use regular semi-sweet chocolate morsels and add mint flavoring after melting. I don't usually have the mint ones on hand like I do the regular ones and it's cheaper this way.


Chocolate Mint Meltaways

Cookie:
1 C Mint-Chocolate morsels, divided (or regular and add mint flavoring after melting)
3/4 C Butter, Softened
1/2 C Sifted Confectioner's Sugar (Yes, be sure to sift it.)
1 Egg Yolk
1 1/4 C Flour

Glaze:
1/2 C Mint-Chocolate morsels (or regular and add mint flavoring after melting)
1 1/2 T Shortening
2 T Chopped toasted almonds (optional - I never add these - you know me, no nuts in my chocolate!)

Cookie:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Melt 1 C Chocolate morsels; stir until smooth (this is when I add 1/2 t mint extract). Set aside. In large bowl, combine butter, confectioners' sugar and egg yolk; beat until creamy. Add melted morsels and flour; beat until well blended. Drop by heaping teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes. Allow to stand 3 minutes before removing from cookie sheets. Cool completely. These should be flat when done.

Glaze:
Melt 1/2 C Chocolate morsels and vegetable shortening together. Stir until morsels are melted and mixture is smooth. (Add 1/4 t mint extract if needed). Drizzle each cookie with 1/2 teaspoon glaze; Sprinkle with almonds if desired. Chill until set. Store in airtight container in refrigerator. (These freeze well, too.) Makes about 4 dozen 1 3/4-inch cookies.

Banana Nut Bread

This is the recipe I grew up with. It was my mother's mother's recipe, so a real family recipe!

Cream:
1 C Sugar
1/2 C Shortening (I use margarine or butter now)

Add 3 Smashed bananas

Mix dry ingredients:
1 t Baking Soda
1 t Salt
2 C Flour

Alternate adding dry mixture and 1/3 C milk to the creamed banana mixture. Then add 1/2 C Crushed Nuts (I usually don't add these, but it is really good with finely crushed walnuts.)

Bake at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes.

Makes 2 bread loaf pans of bread.

*For fun - who doesn't like bananas and chocolate? - I add about 1/3 cup or more of mini semi-sweet chocolate chips.
* This never turns out well when you double the recipe. I used to try to do it and it never turned out and then my mother told me it doesn't work!

Enjoy!