Snacks

Banana Bread Pancakes

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Banana bread is one of my favorite comfort foods. When I smell it baking it immediately reminds me of home. I mean these pancakes take everything you love about banana bread and elevate them to the next level. The velvety smooth glaze over the crispy exterior of the pancake is amazing. Try these out on a Sunday morning; kids and adults will love them.

Pancakes

2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
2/3 cup milk
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
3 large ripe bananas, mashed
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
Cinnamon and Oats to garnish

In a bowl whisk together oil, sugar, vanilla, milk and mashed bananas. In a separate bowl sift flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix to combine. (Yes this will be a thick pancake batter and will resemble that of a banana bread batter…go figure!)

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Vanilla Bean Maple Glaze

1/2 cup confectioners sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 vanilla bean, scraped
2 teaspoon milk
2 tablespoons maple syrup

Whisk all ingredients together until smooth. Feel free to make any flavor glaze you want but make sure you have plenty it goes fast!

Blueberry Blunder

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Trying to find something to do with those seasonal berries in the fridge? Always those lonely blueberries or random fruits that you know wont get eaten in time, but you have NO idea what to do with them.

Solution:

Muffins & Cobbler. Two American Classic desserts that are underrated! They are so versatile and lend themselves easily to a wide variety of fruits. Here are two recipes that are not only easy but delicious. Both recipes use blueberries, however any berry would work perfectly for either recipe.

Berry Cobbler

  • 2 pints berries (I used a mixture of blackberries and blueberries) Dont have fresh? Use frozen, but increase the corn starch to 1/4 cup
  • 1/8 cup cornstarch
  • 1/4 cup white sugar
  • 1 lemon, zested and juiced
  • Pinch of salt
  • Dash of cinnamon and nutmeg (can be omitted)
  • 1 package prepared sugar cookie dough (the kind in the rolled tube) Feel free to make your own cobbler topping but this works out so perfectly with a little help from the supermarket! :-)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Toss together all ingredients except the sugar cookie dough. Pour into a 13×9 greased glass baking pan. Crumble the sugar cookie to evenly across the top of the berry mixture. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until bubbly and the cookie topping is golden brown.

That’s it! It couldn’t be any easier.Take a peek at mine below which I served with vanilla bean whipped cream. Feel free to eat it with ice cream as well!
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Next up…

Blueberry Streusel Muffins

  • 2 cups all purpose flour (feel free to substitute whole wheat flour, but remember texture may vary slightly)
  • 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 cup dark brown sugar (don’t have any? use white or light brown)
  • 6 tablespoons butter, melted
  • 1 egg
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1 cup low-fat vanilla yogurt (Greek yogurt or other flavors would work as well, have fun with this one!)
  • 1 cup blueberries (again, use any fruit! But if it is frozen, toss the blueberries in 1/4 cup of the flour to prevent turning your batter Smurf colored)

Streusel Topping

  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1/2 cup oats
  • 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/4 dark brown sugar
  • 6 tablespoons butter

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease or line your muffin tins. (this recipe makes about 12)

Combine 2 cups flour, baking powder, baking soda, nutmeg, and 1/4 cup sugar in a large bowl. Beat 6 tablespoons butter, egg, yogurt, and vanilla extract in a bowl. Pour yogurt mixture into flour mixture and mix until just combined; fold in blueberries. Scoop batter with an ice cream scoop and divide evenly between the 12 cups. I use the ice cream scoop so the muffins are more or less uniform and not a miss shaped mess!

Whisk together 1/2 cup flour, 1/2 cup oats, 1/4 cup dark brown sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Cut in the 6 tablespoons of butter with a fork or pastry blender until this mixture is coarse and the butter is pea sized. Top each muffin with a generous layer of this crumb topping. (trust me, the more there is the better)

Bake until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. This will take about 20 minutes. Let cool in muffin cups for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack.

*For an added touch drizzle muffins with a lemon glaze. Just whisk some powdered sugar with the juice of one lemon until desired consistency. Drizzle this mixture using a fork or spoon in any manner you want. The lemon will go great with the berries and may cut some of the sweetness.

Check out mine…They were gone in minutes. Literally.
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Copy That: Cheez Its

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One of my favorite snack crackers are Cheez Its. I love the cheesy, salty taste and the crisp bite. Lets be honest, I could eat the entire box in one sitting….don’t judge me. Last year while I was making a pre fixe menu for Harvest restaurant in Cambridge, I created a smoked tomato bisque. I wanted a functional garnish and right away thought cracker……but what kind? Cheez Its! My inspiration was a grilled cheese and tomato soup but more refined. The outcome was a smoky, creamy, salty soup with a crisp cheddar cracker almost identical to the beloved Cheez Its! Give them a try! You will not be disappointed. :-)

 

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup all purpose flour (feel free to use wheat flour for a healthier snack)
  • 1/2 stick cold butter (this needs to be cold to create the flaky crunchy texture you know and love with these tasty crackers)
  • 1 cup of sharp cheddar (use orange to mimic the color as well!)
  • 1/2 tsp. piment d’ espellete (mild spice, feel free to substitute 1/8 tsp. cayenne)
  • Ice Water (this helps bring the dough together…more or less depending on the dough’s consistency)
  • Salt to taste, approximately 1/2 tsp.
  • Smoked Sea Salt for garnish (the smoked salt really makes these special, but feel free to use a salt of your liking)

Step 1:


Combine all ingredients in food processor, except the ice water. Pulse the ingredients until the butter is broken down into pea size balls (Think pie dough) Slowly stream in a little ice water at a time until the dough forms a uniform ball.

Take the ball out of the processor and let chill for 1 hour.

Step 2:

Take out the cracker dough from the fridge and roll out to desired consistency. I used a fluted cutter and also poked a hole in the center of the cracker to really resemble the traditional look of the Cheez It. I sprayed the crackers with a touch of water and sprinkled a touch of smoked salt on top. Bake the snack crackers at 350 degrees until lightly golden brown and puffed up. Let cool and enjoy!

 

***Tip: These crackers are best eaten the day of…..which shouldn’t be a problem considering how delicious they are! Take a peek at mine below.

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