banana Archives - Ari's Menu

Banana Bread Smoothie

April 26, 2015 · by Ari · 9 Comments

This thick and creamy banana bread smoothie tastes like a milkshake, but it’s naturally light, vegan and gluten-free.

Summer is coming. I know those of you that don’t live in Arizona are super excited that it’s finally Spring but, here in Phoenix, it’s been Spring since about November and the summer temps are taunting us. In fact, next week it’s already supposed to hit 100 degrees. Wahhhhh.

This will be the first summer in a long time that I’m not training for a marathon (I trained for the New York marathon 3 years in a row and finally crossed the finish line last year!), but it will also be the first summer in an even longer time that I am staying in Phoenix almost the entire summer. I’m kind of terrified. And even though I’m not training for a marathon, I do have to keep training for the Bourbon Chase which means 90 degree runs at 4am and plenty of ice cold smoothies immediately to follow.

I have a confession: I know I’ve mentioned this before, but I’m not into protein powder. I know most of the healthy living community likes to put protein powder in their smoothies, but I just prefer to get my protein from foods that already contain it. The cup of Silk soy milk I used in this recipe has 8 grams of plant based protein, and often times I’ll beef that up with some nonfat plain Greek yogurt, but this recipe is so smooth and creamy without it, plus I wanted to keep it vegan and dairy free.

You can get an extra protein boost from lots of soy products–tofu, edamame and more will bulk up the protein in your diet. And this smoothie? You will fall in love with how creamy, dreamy and delicious it is. The oats and frozen banana give it the flavor of freshly baked banana bread, and the dates add a little extra sweetness naturally.

5.0 from 1 reviews

Banana Bread Smoothie

Author: Ari Ziskin

Recipe type: Breakfast

Prep time: 5 mins

Total time: 5 mins

Serves: 1

This thick and creamy banana bread smoothie tastes like a milkshake, but it's naturally light, vegan and gluten-free.

Ingredients

1 cup Silk soy milk (I used light vanilla)
2 dates, pitted
1 banana, peeled and frozen
¼ cup oats (use certified gluten-free if necessary)
1 cup ice
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

Instructions

Soak dates in soy milk covered in your refrigerator for 30-60 minutes. Blend all ingredients in a high quality blender until smooth. If smoothie is too thick, add a little more soy milk. Drink immediately.

Make sure to check out Silk’s website to get a coupon and fall back in love with soy yourself!

This conversation is sponsored by Silk. The opinions and text are all mine.

Pumpkin Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

October 21, 2013 · by Ari · 21 Comments

Vegan and gluten-free ultra soft pumpkin banana muffins overflowing with melty dark chocolate chips. The perfect treat for a crisp fall morning.

Good morning! Is it morning where you are? It’s totally not here, but these muffins make me feel like morning. That probably sounds weird. Not just because they’re muffins. Muffins are more an afternoon snack than breakfast for me. They just make me feel like morning. Like cool, crisp autumn morning on the porch. I wish I had a table and chairs on my porch. A table and chairs just for muffins.

Perfectly imperfect muffins. Not at all smooth like your normally think of, but with a little character and personality, and a whole lot of flavor. You see pumpkin and banana are known for making perfectly *gross word*, soft, and tender baked goods. Put them together, and it only gets better. Add some melty dark chocolate, and you’ve got the stuff dreams are made of.

The muffins practically melt in your mouth. No dry, cakey-ness (Okay, serious how do you spell that word?? I get a red squiggly line every time with no suggestion. Rude.) that you would expect from a health(ier) muffin. Sometimes I don’t like pumpkin in cookies because it makes them taste like, well, muffins–which is why pumpkin muffins are just perfect!

These are super simple and easy to make, and a perfect fall treat to have around on Thanksgiving or any get together. That is if you don’t eat them all before your family and friends arrive. 😉

Pumpkin Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes

Yield: 1 dozen

Serving Size: 1 muffin

Pumpkin Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

Vegan and gluten-free ultra soft pumpkin banana muffins overflowing with melty dark chocolate chips. The perfect treat for a crisp fall morning.

Ingredients

2 cups gluten free baking blend
1 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 tbsp cornstarch
1 tbsp baking powder
dash salt
2 extra ripe bananas, mashed
2/3 cup pumpkin puree
2/3 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1 cup dark chocolate chips (I a combination of mini and full size)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 425. Line muffin tins with paper liners and spray liners with nonstick spray. Do not skip this step--lower fat items will stick if you don't use spray.
In a medium bowl, whisk together baking blend, pumpkin pie spice, cornstarch, baking powder and salt.
In a large bowl mix together banana, pumpkin, brown sugar and vanilla until combined. Stir in dry ingredients until just combined. Do not overmix. Gently fold in chocolate chips.
Evenly divide batter between prepared muffin tins. Bake for 5 minutes, then lower heat to 350. Continue baking until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out mostly clean with just a few crumbs, about 12-15 minutes. Let stand for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

http://www.arismenu.com/pumpkin-banana-chocolate-chip-muffins/

Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Shake

September 8, 2013 · by Ari · 13 Comments

I know, I know….It’s September and we’re supposed to be talking about crockpots, pumpkin, and cinnamon. And this weekend, I can’t even complain about the temperatures here. We’ve had highs in the 90s, and yesterday we even got rain! I mean, being rained on for a good 3 hours of my bike ride was not ideal, but I will never complain about rain in this city!

And honestly, I don’t care if it’s 100 degrees or 50, I still always want ice cream. My friends think I’m crazy when I crave fro-yo in the winter, but it just is, and always will be, my favorite dessert. Cookies are a close second.

The other day, my little sister (in-law–ps I hate the term “in-law”) was over after just having her braces tightened and was having trouble chewing on any solid food. I am of strong belief that any mouth or throat pain means ice cream is a necessity. If you’re going to be miserable, there should at least be ice cream.

I decided to use up the last of my chocolate fro-yo, throw in a banana, and of course I had to add in peanut butter. I tasted a sip, and it was dangerously good. I knew I wanted to remake it at least a tiny bit healthier for myself, so I put some extra ripe bananas in the freezer for a day when I would need a little pick-me-up.

I love milkshakes because they literally require 3 minutes of your time (and then an other 30 as you stress out trying to photograph them before they turn into a melty puddle of mess), and they are a total comfort dessert for me! I ended up using a combination of chocolate peanut butter and chocolate chips to get the chocolate flavor in there, and the blended up chips added just the right amount of texture.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Shake

Prep Time: 3 minutes

Total Time: 3 minutes

Yield: 2 servings

Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Shake

This chocolate peanut butter banana milkshake is ridiculously simple and comes together in minutes.

Ingredients

3 bananas, sliced and frozen
2 tbsp chocolate peanut butter
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
1 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup unsweetened almond milk
whipped cream or whipped coconut cream and sprinkles for serving, optional

Instructions

Combine bananas, peanut butter, chocolate chips, vanilla and 1/2 cup of your almond milk in a high-quality blender. Blend until smooth (you will likely need to stop and stir--it will be very thick). Slowly, add more milk until milkshake has reached your desired consistency. Serve immediately. Top with whipped cream/whipped coconut cream and sprinkles if desired.

http://www.arismenu.com/chocolate-peanut-butter-banana-shake/

Banana Cream Pie Shake

July 21, 2013 · by Ari · 14 Comments

Do you guys remember the banana cream pie shake at Sonic?? OMG, I was obsessssssed with it. I would go through the Sonic drive through multiple times a week for that little gem. Creamy banana shake with crushed graham cracker? That is speaking my language. Although I always thought their whipped cream tasted a little weird. Anyone else? I am a whipped cream lover, but theirs always tasted slightly like plastic to me.

Anyway, I was obsessed with the shake, and lately my girl Sally has been making a bunch of frozen banana shake recipes. I’d been dying to try the banana soft serve craze anyway, and I was inspired to try my own so I jumped on board to recreate one of my favorite treats.

You see, I secretly thought it would never be as good as everyone says. Bananas as ice cream? The ice cream lover in me wanted to be stubborn, and I thought it was like when everyone said mashed cauliflower was like mashed potatoes. I still don’t get that one…

But the thing is, this EXCEEDED all of my expectations! In fact, it was so thick at first that I had to use that little stick for my Vitamix to press the banana pieces down and even get it to blend, and the results were so rich and creamy that I added way more milk than I originally planned. Also, I used 3 bananas because I thought I would need that many for one photo. Ummm, nope! It definitely made 3 servings that were nearly impossible to not eat all at once in one sitting (I know bananas are good for me, but somehow I believe 3 at once may be what they call “too much of a good thing”). Then if this dreamy shake wasn’t enough, the combo of the crushed graham cracker and the honey…uuugggghhhh… You guys, I just wanted to put honey and graham cracker crumbs on a huge spoon and eat it along side my shake. I loved it so much that after the first time I made it, I made it about 3 more times that week. It’s so quick, easy and will totally cure your sweet tooth!

Banana Cream Pie Shake

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Total Time: 5 minutes

Yield: 2

Serving Size: About 1 cup

Banana Cream Pie Shake

Ingredients

2 large ripe bananas, chopped and frozen
2/3-1 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
1 tsp vanilla bean paste or pure vanilla extract

Optional for topping:

Honey or agave for lining the glass
3-4 tbsp crushed graham cracker crumbs (use vegan and/or gluten-free graham crackers if desired)
Light whipped cream or whipped coconut cream

Instructions

In a high quality blender, blend bananas, 2/3 cup almond milk, and vanilla. If desired, add more milk until milkshake has reached your desired creaminess. This will depend on the size of your bananas and how thick you want your shake.
To prepare the glass, drizzle honey or agave on a small plate. Place graham cracker crumbs on a separate small plate. Roll the top of your glass to just coat it in honey/agave then graham cracker crumbs. Add prepared milkshake, then top with whipped cream or whipped coconut cream if desired. Serve immediately.

http://www.arismenu.com/banana-cream-pie-shake/

Banana Cream Cupcakes

May 15, 2013 · by Ari · 14 Comments

You guys you guys you guys you guys!!!!! I have the best house guest in the whole world right now!

So I’m going to keep this short so we can commence with cooking, baking, wine drinking, and goat cheese eating. I made banana cupcakes. Then I stuffed them with cream cheese frosting. Then I topped them with salted caramel. I mean, how could that even possibly be bad?

Did I mention that my “little” brother turned 16? He is also over 6′ tall, and has this deep man voice. When he calls me he just says “Yooooooooo” in this grumbly, ridiculously low-pitched man voice. Like, what IS that? I remember him being born. HOW CAN HE BE A MAN NOW????

I try to imitate the “Yo” voice, but ummm, I have a high-pitched little girl voice, so it doesn’t work. At all. Everyone laughs at me. So I just let him stick to the man voice, and I stick to what I’m good at, like making him perfect birthday cupcakes. And they are. The banana makes the cupcakes ridiculously soft, and they are totally stuffed with the cream cheese filling, and that salted caramel is just the icing on the cake. Literally.

Banana Cream Cupcakes

Ingredients

For the cupcakes:

2 cups white whole wheat flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 dash salt
2 medium ripe bananas, mashed
1/2 unsweetened apple sauce
1 1/3 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup reduced fat buttermilk
fleur de sel caramel for topping, optional

For the filling:

8oz reduced fat cream cheese, softened
1 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions

To make the cupcakes, preheat the oven to 375. Line 2 muffin tins with 18 paper liners. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Set aside. In a large bowl, beat together apples, apple sauce and sugar. Slowly, beat in eggs one at a time, followed by vanilla. Slowly beat in half the dry ingredients, then buttermilk, followed by the last of the dry ingredients.
Evenly divide batter between 18 muffin tins. Bake until golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean with just a few crumbs, about 20-25 minutes. Cool completely.
To make the filling, beat cream cheese, powdered sugar and vanilla together until well combined. Transfer to a pastry bag fitted with a large tip. Insert tip into the center of cooled cupcakes and gently squeeze out 1-2 tbsp of filling.
Drizzle with caramel if desired immediately before serving. Cupcakes are best the same day, but can be stored refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 5 days.

http://www.arismenu.com/banana-cream-cupcakes/

3 Ingredient Roasted Banana Coconut Milk Ice Cream

May 12, 2013 · by Ari · 33 Comments

Of course I would need the most complicated title ever to describe the simplest recipe. In fact, it’s probably more difficult to say the title out loud than it is to make it. It’s that chronic over-sharing thing I do. I just can’t help it.

So after an amazing cold front, it is officially into the triple digits for the next 5 months or so with very little hope at dipping back down into anything resembling a reasonable temperature, which means I need ice cream. Not want, need. Have I ever told you that ice cream is my favorite dessert? I rarely make it because I have the hardest time getting the right texture when I make it at home, but coconut milk is pretty much the best ingredient on earth, and when you combine that with sweet, roasted banana, you are looking at a pretty sure thing.

Between the sweetness and creaminess of those two ingredients, I promise you don’t need anything else. You can always add a little pure maple syrup or brown sugar if you prefer something a little sweeter, but believe me when I say that roasting that banana brings out all of it’s rich sweetness, and totally does the trick. You can also add chocolate chips, cinnamon, extra fruit, pretty much any add-ins you’d like. This recipe is more like your base–your starting point, and a great and simple treat for the long summer months coming our way!

3 Ingredient Roasted Banana Coconut Milk Ice Cream

Prep Time: 2 hours, 15 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 2 hours, 30 minutes

3 Ingredient Roasted Banana Coconut Milk Ice Cream

Simple, easy, vegan roasted banana coconut milk ice cream with only 3 ingredients.

Ingredients

1 tbsp coconut oil, melted
3 medium bananas, peeled and sliced
1 can full fat coconut milk

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400. Place banana slice in a rimmed baking dish and drizzle with coconut oil. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until soft and syrupy, tossing half way through.
Transfer cooked bananas to a blender, scraping your pan well to include the syrup that cooked out from them. Add coconut milk and blend until combined.
Chill mixture until cooled throughout, about 4 hours up to overnight.
Freeze according to ice cream maker's instructions. Store in an airtight freezer-safe container for up to 2 weeks.

http://www.arismenu.com/3-ingredient-roasted-banana-coconut-milk-ice-cream/

Skinnified Sunday: Banana Bread Tres Leches Cake

March 17, 2013 · by Ari · 14 Comments

I don’t like to make things I’ve already made. I mean, I make the same thing for breakfast every single day, and I order the same thing every time at my favorite restaurants, but I don’t like to bake things more than once, even if it’s a different recipe. Well, unless it’s cookies. Cookies are my favorite. I will make them over and over and over for no reason at all. Cake on the other hand? Meh, I can take it or leave it. I will always eat a dessert, but cookies and fro yo are my true loves.

Well, that is the case with most cakes anyway, but every once in a while, I come across one I really love. 😉

I’ve already made a regular tres leches cake, and a vegan tres leches cake. I had no desire to make an other one, but when people make birthday requests, I can’t say no.

I wanted to try something new and different, and I immediately remembered this recipe that caught my eye a few weeks ago. I’m pretty sure I’ve said about 5 billion times that Jessica’s blog is my very very favorite. She is my blogspiration–her writing, her recipes, her gorgeeeooouuusss photography….everything is just soooo good. If you haven’t you must go check it out rightthissecond.

And as usual, she doesn’t disappoint! Soft, gooey, milk soaked banana cake? Sign me up. I may even like it better than cookies.

My swaps:

White whole wheat flour for all purpose (+fiber, +protein)
Applesauce for butter (-fat, -calories, -cholesterol)
Less sugar (-sugar…obviously)
Unsweetened almond milk for light coconut milk (-calories)
Sweetened condensed coconut milk for regular condensed milk (-calories)
Regular sliced bananas for caramelized bananas (-fat, -calories, -sugar, -cholesterol)

Skinnified Banana Bread Tres Leches Cake

adapted from How Sweet It Is

2 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour
2 tsp baking powder
pinch cinnamon
pinch salt
1/2 cup unsweetened apple sauce
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar
2 eggs, yolks and whites separated
2 tsp vanilla extract
4 medium bananas, mashed
2/3 cup + 1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk, divided
1/2 cup sweetened condensed coconut milk
1/2 cup fat-free evaporated milk
1 1/2 cups cold heavy whipping cream
1-2 tbsp powdered sugar
2-3 bananas for topping

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350. Spray a 9×13 baking dish with nonstick spray.
In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Set aside.
In an other small bowl, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. Set aside.
In a large bowl or stand mixer, beat together egg yolks, applesauce and sugars until creamy. Add vanilla and mashed bananas and beat until well combined. Add half of the flour mixture, followed by 2/3 cup almond milk, then the remaining flour mixture. Mix until just combined. Fold in egg whites.
Transfer batter to prepared baking dish, and bake until golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with just a few moist crumbs, about 25 minutes. Cool completely
In a medium bowl, whisk together 1/2 cup almond milk, sweetened condensed coconut milk and evaporated milk. Pour the milk mixture over the cake in 3 small batches, brushing with a pastry brush in between each time. Cover and let cake sit in refrigerator for at least 1 hour (overnight is preferable).
To make the whipped cream topping, in a large bowl, beat whipping cream on high until stiff peaks form. Add powdered sugar slowly to reach desired sweetness mixing on medium speed. Spread evenly over cake.
Top with freshly sliced banana just before serving.

White Chocolate & Cinnamon Chip Banana Cake

February 22, 2013 · by Ari · 10 Comments

I want to tell you about one of my favorite nights ever in life.

I was training for my first half marathon, Steve and I invited Kara, Charlie and Hermano over for dinner to celebrate Long Run Day. It’s a real holiday when you’re training. Trust me.

We went to Whole Foods and each picked out our meat of choice, and I made a sweet potato hash on the side. We ate a delicious dinner paired with lots of dark, sweet beer (my favorite), and then we watched the Muppets Christmas Carol. It was December, and that is pretty much my favorite holiday movie.

Around the middle of the movie, we all started to want dessert. I was maybe, kind of, a little…tipsy. I usually at least follow a base recipe for an idea of liquid/flour/leavening agent ratio, but I didn’t measure a single thing. I flew by the seat of my pants, and hoped for the best.

Well, Hermano has been obsessed ever since. He calls it his favorite dessert I’ve ever made. Although, like my husband, I feel like he says that a lot. 😉 Anyway, he’s been asking me to recreate for the last year, and I kept telling him I didn’t know how.

Last weekend, he performed in the southwest regionals concert. He got second chair as a sophomore! He was also asked to play with the choir. I was feeling like a super proud sister, so Steve and I surprised him with a steak from Whole Foods, and I told him I could make him whatever he wanted for dessert. He, again, requested “that one thing….with the banana…” He has a way with words.

So again, I decided to wing it. This time I measured, but I just made it up as I went, and hoped for the best. I had no intentions of photographing it, or blogging about it, but after one bite, I knew it was too good not to share. Hermano immediately confirmed that this was the dessert he wanted. I know I changed it up a little, but the idea was similar, and the cream cheese frosting just took it to the next level.

Sweet, tender, soft and gooey banana cake filled with white chocolate and cinnamon chips, and topped with rich cream cheese frosting. I don’t know how I ever doubted the success of this dessert! Whenever I make things up as I go, I almost always have a moment where I decide I’ve “ruined it”, or it’s a total flop, but usually it’s just my silly anxieties. Now I know I had absolutely nothing to worry about here!

White Chocolate & Cinnamon Chip Banana Cake

yield 16 servings

3/4 cup white whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking soda
dash salt
2 very ripe large medium bananas
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp butter extract (optional)
1/2 cup white chocolate chips
1/2 cup cinnamon chips

Cream cheese frosting:

4 oz reduced fat cream cheese
1 tbsp light whipped butter
1 1/4 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350. Line an 8×8 pan with foil and spray with nonstick spray. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside. In a large bowl, beat together bananas, sugar, egg and extracts. Mix in dry ingredients until just combined. Fold in white chocolate and cinnamon chips.
Transfer mixture to prepared baking dish and bake until golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 20-25 minutes. Cool completely on wire rack.
Meanwhile in a large bowl, beat cream cheese and butter until fluffy. Slowly, 1/4 cup at a time, beat in powdered sugar, scraping down the sides of the bowl when necessary. Beat in vanilla.
Remove completely cooled cake from baking dish and top with cream cheese frosting. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

Elvis Smoothie

January 18, 2013 · by Ari · 12 Comments

Okay, I promise I’m not crazy. Elvis did it. He put bacon on his peanut butter sandwich. If Elvis can put bacon on his sandwich, I can put bacon on my smoothie.

This smoothie is really quite simple. Imagine the components of an Elvis sandwich being blended together to make the perfect breakfast drink. Peanut butter, banana, honey, bacon—what can I say? It just works. The sweet and salty flavors balance out perfectly, and by making it into a smoothie, it’s so easy to grab it, and go on your way out the door. It literally takes 5 minutes, so if you’re one of those people who tries to say you don’t have time for breakfast (I don’t get it…I ALWAYS have time for food!), then I say to you: You have 5 minutes, especially when your breakfast tastes like dessert.

This smoothie may sound indulgent, but it is actually packed with fiber and protein, and filled with nutrients that provide a balanced breakfast that only tastes like dessert.

To help keep the smoothie thick and delicious and the calories low, I used Silk Pure Almond Unsweetened Vanilla. The same smoothie using skim milk would come in at 372 calories—a pretty huge jump! Just the one change of using Silk instead (it is the lowest calorie almondmilk on the market!) saves 50 calories!

Elvis Smoothie

Yield 1 huge smoothie

1 medium banana, frozen
1 cup ice
1 cup Silk Pure Almond Unsweetened Vanilla
1 tbs honey peanut butter (regular peanut butter is fine too)
4 oz nonfat honey Greek yogurt
1 slice center cut bacon, cooked and crumbled
extra peanut butter and graham cracker crumbs for garnish (optional)

Directions:

Place banana, ice, Silk, peanut butter and yogurt in a blender, and blend until well combined, about 2 minutes.
If desired roll the top of your glass in graham cracker crumbs and drizzle some extra melted peanut butter on the inside.
Top with crumbled bacon.

This post is part of a sponsored campaign with Silk and FitFluential, LLC. All opinions are my own. To learn more about Silk Pure Almond Unsweetened on Facebook and Twitter.

Hawaiian Macadamia Butter Cookies

August 29, 2012 · by Ari · 6 Comments

Sometimes you make a cookie that you just don’t want to share with anyone.

Well, if you’re Heather, that is every cookie. I’m sorry Heather, but I will never stop teasing you no matter how good you get at sharing. My friend Heather used to have a sharing problem. She’s worked on it, and recently shared some amazing food with me in Seattle. I was so proud of her. My mom also has a sharing problem. If you ask for a bite of her ice cream, she goes all food aggression and practically growls at you like Clementine. Basically, that was me with these cookies.

Every once in a while, a recipe just turns out so perfect that you can’t wait to make it for every event for the rest of your life, and make double because half of it will never even make it out the front door.

I was really inspired by all of the food in Hawaii. I came home with a full out list. Some people relax on vacation. I wrote lists. And you know what, awesome things came out of it. I like lists.

So let’s discuss these magical cookies, shall we? They have every single food I loved in Hawaii: macadamia nuts, coconut and banana. Also, they have white chocolate, because how could you have those foods and NOT include white chocolate?! That sounds like a terrible idea. When I was little, I used to eat mass amounts of solid white chocolate. It was my favorite. I also don’t ever remember being a single digit size in elementary school. I’m sure there’s no correlation….

Not only are these babies stuffed with all good things that exist in the world, they are the perfect texture. It’s like they were made with real butter! Okay, so I will never stop believing that fat substitutes are awesome for baking, and that baked goods made with applesauce are still seriously delicious. However, they do not taste like butter. These do. I think it’s something about the oil/fat content of the macadamia butter. It works perfectly, and I love it so much more than a peanut butter cookie.

Soft, gooey and perfectly balanced. These are a guaranteed crowd pleaser.

Make these cookies. Make them today. And tomorrow. And next week. Trust me.

Hawaiian Macadamia Butter Cookies

yield approx 1.5 dozen

1 1/4 cups white whole wheat flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
dash salt
1 medium extra ripe banana, mashed
1 cup Roasted Macadamia Butter
3/4 cup turbinado sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup egg substitute
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup white chocolate chips
1/3 cup unsweetened coconut (I found unsweetened low fat, but regular unsweetened is fine too)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper and set aside. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
In a large bowl, beat the banana, macadamia butter and sugars. Beat until smooth. Add the egg substitute and vanilla and mix well. Add the flour mixture and beat thoroughly. Fold in white chocolate chips and coconut.
Using a small cookie scoop, drop dough onto lined cookie sheet. Use an extra piece of sprayed parchment paper to slightly flatten each dough ball.
Bake for 10 to 12 minutes until just golden. Do not overbake. Let cookies stand on sheet for 2-3 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Brulee’d Butterscotch Banana Cream Pie

May 2, 2012 · by Ari · 4 Comments

Can you believe up until a few days ago, I had never actually made a pie? Ever since the holidays, Hermano has been asking me to make pie, and for his birthday he requested a “caramelized banana cream pie”. Quite a request. Not exactly what you’d expect from a teenage boy, but whatev. I was thinking about how I wanted to make this thing happen, when I got the brilliant idea to add something I’ve had my eye on to my kitchen for this creation. Say hello to my new friend!

You see, I’m still living off the Williams Sonoma gift cards/exchanges we received from our wedding. Instead of buying a million things I may not use all at once, I’ve been saving it, and that way any time I do want to add a kitchen gadget, I can just go purchase it without having to feel guilty about my poor bank account. Side note: life in performing arts is not conducive to a Williams Sonoma habit. I know, you’re shocked and appalled.

Here is an other picture of pie to ease the pain of knowing that fun jobs make no money. Such is life, my friends.

Anyway, more about this pie. It’s actually really simple. You may have thought I would find the pudding pie route unacceptable for a special occasion, but I heard several people swear by it, and now I see why! It was ridiculously easy, and the taste was spot on!

You see what my new BFF Torchie is doing there? Yes, I name my tools. Every time I refer to my Garmin as “Garmi”, it is not a typo, it’s a nick name. You can tell all of my nicknames are very original, creative, and intuitively thought out.

LOOK AT THAT!!!! Doesn’t it make you want one??? I am going to brulee so many things, just you wait! I have plans, people. Big plans.

But for now, just enjoy this delicious flavor combination of banana, butterscotch, cinnamon and vanilla, because it is kind of like a piece of heaven.

We were all about the action shots that day! Flying cinnamon chips! They are magical.

Brulee’d Butterscotch Banana Cream Pie

yield 10 servings

1 1/2 cups low fat ‘Nilla Wafers, finely crushed
1/2 extra ripe medium banana, pureed
3 medium bananas
1 package fat free, sugar free butterscotch pudding mix
1 3/4 cup skim milk
dash almond extract
1 cup cinnamon cool whip
1-2 tbs turbinado sugar
1-2 tbs cinnamon or butterscotch chips for topping (optional)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350.
Reserve 1 tbs of crushed ‘Nilla Wafers and set aside. In a medium bowl, combine remaining cookie crumbs with pureed banana. I recommend using your hands.
Press banana/cookie crust into bottom and along the sides of a 10″ pie dish. Bake for 10 minutes, then cool on wire rack.
Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, combine pudding mix with milk, and almond extract, beating for about 2 minutes.
Thinly slice 2 of the 3 bananas on top of cooled crust, spacing evenly. Poor pudding over top of bananas.
Gently spread cool whip over pudding. Wrap dish with plastic wrap and refrigerate 5-6 hours.
When pie is thoroughly cooled, thinly slice remaining banana on top, then sprinkle sugar over banana slices.
Using a brulee torch, heat all coated banana slices until a crisped, dark sugar layer forms on top.
Sprinkle with remaining cookie crumbs and cinnamon or butterscotch chips.
Return to refrigerator and cool for 1-2 hours.

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