bananas Archives - Ari's Menu

Paleo Banana Bread

February 25, 2015 · by Ari · 1 Comment

Perfectly soft and tender paleo banana bread sweetened with maple syrup and made with wholesome ingredients, but it tastes just like the classic treat!

How do you like your bananas? I used to love mine when they got the perfectly speckled with little brown dots–you know soft and sweet, but not mushy? Not a hint of green on them. Then when I started eating them before running, something changed and as soon as they got the slightest bit of brown I was done for, and I had to wait for them to get even more ripe and make them into banana bread. That’s when I started making a lot of banana bread.

And somehow I still always end up with unused bananas, so like once a week I end up telling myself I’m going to make banana bread. Usually I forget until the bananas are too far gone, but this batch was so freaking easy to whip up, and it might be the softest banana bread, like, ever.

My friend Lisa was coming over for dinner, and she told me she was eating paleo, so when she arrived I told her I made her a paleo dessert, which I don’t think she even knew could exist because she was like “HOW????” I am pretty set against following specific diets for myself, but I love experimenting with all sorts, and I really do believe that no matter how you’re eating, you can still enjoy delicious treats. Although I have to admit I did get real tired of ricotta cheese with splenda during those awful South Beach days…

Anyway, this banana bread is nothing like that. It is sweetened with maple syrup (which makes everything better, IMO), and it’s made with almond meal. If you haven’t used almond meal for baking yet, you haaaaave to try it. Everything turns out so soft and tender–it’s AWESOME! Between the bananas and the almond meal, it doesn’t need a drop of oil or butter. Just a handful of ingredients you probably already have on hand and you’re good to go!

Paleo Banana Bread

Author: Ari Ziskin

Recipe type: Dessert

Prep time: 10 mins

Cook time: 30 mins

Total time: 40 mins

Serves: 12

Perfectly soft and tender paleo banana bread sweetened with maple syrup and made with wholesome ingredients, but it tastes just like the classic treat!

Ingredients

3 very ripe bananas
2 cups almond meal
2 eggs, lightly beaten
⅓ cup pure maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
dash salt

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350. Spray a 9x5" loaf pan with nonstick spray. Set aside.
In a large bowl mash bananas. Stir in all remaining ingredients, stirring until smooth and combined. Pour into prepared loaf pan and bake until edges are lightly browned and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with just a few crumbs, about 30-40 minutes.
Cool completely on a wire rack. Slice and serve. Leftovers may be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for 5-7 days.

Cookie Butter Streusel Banana Bread

April 10, 2013 · by Ari · 17 Comments

Soft and tender vegan banana bread swirled with creamy cookie butter and topped with a crumbly cookie butter & oat streusel.

You know when there is a trendy clothing item that everyone starts wearing? First, you judge it (well…I do). Then, it starts to grow on you, and eventually curiosity gets the best of you, and you find yourself in a fitting room not even 100% sure why you’re trying this on, but then once it’s on your body you fall in so much love, and everything makes sense in the world?

That’s how I feel about banana bread. One day, I opened my reader, and almost all of the food blogs I follow posted banana bread. I’ve never been one to think “OMG, I really want to make some banana bread!’, but that day all the cool kids were doing it, and I totally wanted to fit into their crowd.

PS: I was NOT a cool kid in school. I was that awkward kid that fit into absolutely no social groups, and didn’t really have any friends until high school. Somehow awkward clothing choices, bad jokes, and an obsession for musical theatre don’t equal popularity? It’s a total mystery. But I mean, let’s be honest…those things still pretty much apply…

Anyway, I was on a mission to make banana bread, but it couldn’t just be regular banana bread. That’s not the way I work. So I filled it with melted cookie butter, and topped it with what might be my favorite thing ever–cookie butter streusel.

You guys. First of all, I made streusel with no butter. I didn’t think it was possible to achieve the right texture, but I did. Not only that, I made streusel with no flour, and, this streusel is…so….good. I wish I could give you a better description–I mean, it’s crumbly and it tastes buttery (magic), but words can’t describe how amazing it is, so we’ll stick with “….so….good.”

And the banana bread? It’s so soft and that m word that I really hate. I really wanted the cookie butter to stand out, so I didn’t want to just mix it into the batter where the flavors get muted–that’s my biggest pet peeve about cookie butter (and Nutella for that matter) in baked goods. I wanted to sink my teeth in and get slapped in the face with cookie butter flavor. Can you think of anything better?

I don’t think I can. This was one of those recipes that made my dance-around-my-kitchen-giddy, and I had to give it away to my family immediately so that I wouldn’t eat the entire loaf. It was that good.

Cookie Butter Streusel Banana Bread

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour

Total Time: 1 hour, 20 minutes

Yield: 12-16

Serving Size: 1 slice

Cookie Butter Streusel Banana Bread

Soft and tender vegan banana bread swirled with creamy cookie butter and topped with a crumbly cookie butter & oat streusel.

Ingredients

For the banana bread:
2 cups white whole wheat flour
2 tbsp corn starch
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
3/4 cup unsweetened almond milk
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
3 extra ripe medium bananas, mashed
1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
2/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup cookie butter or Biscoff spread, melted
For the cookie butter streusel:
1/4 cup raw oats
3 tbsp brown sugar
1 1/2 tbsp cookie butter or Biscoff spread

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350. Spray a 9x5" loaf pan with nonstick spray. Set aside.
Begin with banana bread. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, baking soda, and baking powder. Set aside. In a small bowl or measuring cup, whisk together almond milk and apple cider vinegar. Let stand.
In a large bowl or stand mixer, beat together mashed bananas, applesauce, sugars and vanilla until well combined. Add half the dry ingredients, followed by almond milk mixture, then remaining dry ingredients. Mix until just combined.
Pour half the batter into prepared loaf pan. Pour 1 cup melted cookie butter on top in an even layer. Top with remaining batter.
To make the streusel, combine oats, brown sugar and 1 1/2 tbsp cookie butter. Mix by hand until ingredients are combined and form a crumbly texture. Sprinkle evenly over batter.
Bake until golden and set, and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out mostly clean, about an hour. Cool completely. Store leftovers in an airtight container for up to 1 week.

http://www.arismenu.com/cookie-butter-streusel-banana-bread/

Vegan Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

June 1, 2012 · by Ari · 12 Comments

This never happens. We eat a lot of bananas in this house, so they never stick around long enough to make banana bread/muffins/etc.

But I guess one day I got overzealous on my banana buying. Or we got sick of them for a while, because all of the sudden I had more over ripe bananas than I knew what to do with.

Okay, that’s a lie. I knew exactly what to do with them!

Note to self: bananas don’t typically stick around too long. Banana muffins don’t make it through the night.

I always talk about how I love experimenting with cooking for different diets. I won’t ever, ever, ever do an other diet with rules again, unless I develop some medical condition in which it is necessary or I’m going to die, and even then I’d still consider my options. Kidding. Mostly. 😉 I do love trying different things, however, and cooking in different ways. I’ve been dying to find some amazing looking recipe to make Diana some candida baked goods! Soon, soon, soon. But for now, amazing people like Jen that can’t have dairy, can eat delicious muffins (and Jen, I promise I am sending your cookies before I leave for camp!).

I could not get over how soft and moist these muffins were! Honestly, what is the point of butter in a muffin? Bananas and applesauce do the same thing and, in my opinion, like a million times better. I mean, don’t get me wrong…I love butter. It’s sick, really, how much I love butter, but well…now I feel slightly embarrassed because about my last statement, so let’s get back to these muffins which don’t fill my love of butter, but fill my bigger love of baked goods and chocolate. And now I am reminded of how sad I am that there are no longer any left in my house. First world problems people. This means you should make them, and enjoy them for me!

Like, perhaps, while lounging by the pool. 😉

Vegan Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

yield 1 dozen

2 1/3 cup white whole wheat flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
dash salt
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
3 extra-ripe bananas, mashed
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
3/4 cup turbinado sugar + more for sprinkling
1/3 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
1/2 cup non dairy dark chocolate chips (I recommend using the mini size)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350. Line muffin tin with paper liners, and spray lightly with nonstick spray.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and pumpkin pie spice. Set aside.
In a large bowl, beat together bananas, vanilla, applesauce, 3/4 cup sugar, and almond milk, until well combined. Slowly, beat in dry ingredients, then fold in chocolate chips.
Evenly divide batter between the 12 muffin tins. Sprinkle an extra pinch of turbinado sugar on the top of each muffin (optional), and bake for 25-30 minutes until golden, and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Transfer immediately to wire racks to cool.

Paleo Banana Bread

Vegan Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

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