Cooking Classy

Have you ever tried banana bread in cookie form with a thick fluffy layer of frosting sandwiched between two of them? With these cookies now is your chance. They taste just like banana bread with an added bonus, a luscious layer of vanilla bean frosting. Lightly said, these cookies are amazing! I saw the Banana Whoopie Pies over at Martha Stewart and new I just had to try them. Lucky for me I keep a stock of overripe bananas in the freezer for emergencies such as this, where I need an overripe banana in it's prime but don't want to wait 7 more days for it to hit its peak ripeness. I used to question whether or not freezing bananas was a good idea until I tried if for myself a few months ago. It actually works great. You simply just leave them unpeeled and pop them into the freezer when they are nice and spotty. Then when you are ready to use them, thaw the frozen banana out (to room temperature, sometimes I cheat and even thaw them in the microwave) then peel and prepare them ...

What do you get when you combine banana bread with cinnamon rolls? These incredible Banana Bread Cinnamon Rolls! A cinnamon roll and banana bread in one, how could these not be good? Then when they are slathered generously with cream cheese frosting and finished off with toasted nuts, all I can say is wow yum! This is breakfast done right. Enjoy and be sure to eat them warm.  Banana Bread Cinnamon Rolls Yields 1 dozen Ingredients: 3 medium overripe bananas 1 tsp lemon juice 2/3 cup milk (I used whole) 3 Tbsp butter, diced 2 Tbsp vegetable oil 2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast 1/4 cup granulated sugar 1/2 tsp salt 1 large egg yolk 3 3/4 cups bread flour, divided  1 Tbsp cornstarch 3/4 tsp baking powder 3/4 cup packed light-brown sugar 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon 1/8 tsp nutmeg 6 Tbsp butter, melted 1 recipe Cream Cheese Frosting, recipe follows toasted walnuts or pecans, chopped (optional) Directions: Puree bananas in a food processor along with 1 tsp lemon juice until mixture is smooth and no...

A healthy breakfast smoothie that tastes like dessert, I will take one of each flavor please. I'm a firm believer that healthy foods don't need to taste like cardboard, indeed they can be just as delicious as their unhealthy competitors. I don't know if I've mentioned before but I always like to have a healthy, low calorie breakfast and lunch, then at dinner I splurge a little and always have dessert. I exercise 6 days a week because I think it's a good balance for me. I watch Food Network while I run on the treadmill, it always keeps me going =). For breakfast I try to keep it around 300-400 calories 6 days a week (every Sunday I make a big brunch and splurge), so I like to have banana oatmeal, whole grain cream of wheat, whole grain cereal with almond milk or these smoothies with almond milk. Yes, I've made the change over to almond milk. I didn't believe it when I heard some random fact of how many people prefer the taste of almond milk to milk until I tr...

Ice Cream so healthy it can be called a nutritious (and so delicious) breakfast! Yes indeed. Officially this is Frozen Yogurt but I'd say it's good enough to be called and compared to Ice Cream. I was amazed with how well this turned out considering I didn't add any cane sugar (other than that of the sugars in the Greek yogurt) and also considering how incredibly simple it was to make. I've mentioned before I like to have dessert every day, so I've decided maybe I should start making some of them a bit healthier (just once in a while =) and more figure friendly. In my opinion this does make an amazing breakfast, I honestly felt great about serving it to my kids for breakfast. After one bite my three year old said "Mom, I need  two  Ice Creams." One just wasn't going to cut it. This is definitely kid approved. I wish I always had these ingredients on hand so I could have this for breakfast or dessert everyday. Enjoy!   I made the swirls using a chop sti...

Hello Summer! Nothing welcomes summer like an ice cold, refreshing beverage does such as this Brazilian Limeade. This drink is simply incredible! I got inspiration for this drink from a Brazilian "Lemonade" recipe I've been making for a few years that came from  Sunset Magazine . Yes, indeed that recipe was good, but I always felt like it could use something more. So, here is my version of Brazilian Limeade and why would I call it Brazilian Limeade you may ask? Because the ingredients it uses are Brazilian colors of course =). It also uses the flavors of Brazil.  Send yourself on a mini vacation by lounging out in the sunshine and enjoying a tall glass of this amazingly refreshing Brazilian Lemonade. It may just become a new summertime favorite! Feel free to adjust this drink to suite your personal taste. Add more or less sugar to reach desired sweetness (1/2 cup was perfect for me). You could even add more lime juice if you want it a bit more tart. I think one of these t...

I admit it I'm pancake crazy =). I should start a food blog dedicated to pancakes. That's just how much I love pancakes. There are endless flavor possibilities and who doesn't love a warm fluffy pancake smothered in syrup to wake up to first thing in the morning? The great thing about this version is that they have all the flavors of banana bread but they are ready to eat in less than half the time. Plus you get this amazing Cinnamon Cream Cheese Syrup generously smothered over them which you don't get on banana bread. This pancake recipe will very likely keep you coming back for more. You can now have another use for the overripe bananas in your home, so move over banana bread you aren't the best thing for speckled bananas anymore.  Banana Bread Pancakes Yields about 1 dozen  Ingredients: 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 2 Tbsp granulated sugar 2 tsp baking powder 1/2 tsp baking soda 1/4 tsp cinnamon 1/8 tsp nutmeg 1/4 tsp salt 1 cup buttermilk 1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp milk 1 ...

Here is a recipe that is my proud result of many trial and error loaves of banana bread in an effort to achieve the perfect loaf. I've tried many other banana bread recipes and experimented several times to create my own recipe. Let's just say baking is an art, it's quite  temperamental  the measurements need to right on. It's easier to create a recipe for an entree rather creating a recipe for a baked good. So, after several loaves of experimenting I've finally found the perfect measurements and ingredients to create what I call The Perfect Loaf of Banana Bread. Just how good? Good enough that it doesn't even need a slathering of butter! It's so good I've made it two days in a row. It's amazingly moist, perfectly sweet, slightly rich, loaded with banana flavor and my favorite part - the topping. Be sure not to leave it off or use  substitutions . It compliments the banana bread perfectly. I wanted a topping that enhanced the bread, you know made it ...