Cookie Swap Cookies, 2012!

I am a terrible person, so I waited until the last minute this year to make my cookies before sending them out. I'm also super picky about my bananas (I won't eat them unless they're a little green), so I always end up with oodles of bananas in my freezer, waiting for cookies, or bread, or some kind of baked deliciousness.

That prompted my Banana Chocolate Chip Oatmeal cookies this year.

1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1 scant c. sugar
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
generous 1/4 tsp. allspice
1/2 c. butter, softened
1 egg
3 bananas, mashed
2 c. quick oats
lots and lots of chocolate chips!


Preheat the oven to 375. Mix your dry ingredients, then fold in butter until mixture is a little crumbly. Add egg, bananas, and oats. Mix it all up again. Finish with lots of chocolate chips! Spoon onto a greased cookie sheet and bake for 13 minutes.

Then take pictures with a better camera than my phone.

Enjoy! These are super moist cookies - best enjoyed within a few days, but will keep for about a week.

Another big thanks to the three ladies who sent me delicious cookies this year, as well as the organizers for putting in all the hard work required behind the scenes!

xo

7+ layer bars

Compulsive-grocery shoppers need to never go to the store unsupervised. Especially when knocked-up.

I love seven-layer bars. I don't recall ever having them as a kid, but somehow I've conned my adult mind into believing they are a necessity to growing up. Therefore, since I still have a lot of growing up to do, I require a lot of them.

Well what seven-layer bars require a lot of are butterscotch chips. At least when I make them. And butterscotch chips are usually more expensive than regular store-brand chocolate chips. So one can only imagine the look on my face the day I walked into Fresh & Easy and saw they had butterscotch chips on clearance, for $1.25/bag.

I may or may not have walked away with 14 bags.

It's been a few months, and I surprisingly have some left. (Ok; I did until this past week. Don't judge me.) This is my favorite thing to do with them.

1 sleeve cinnamon graham crackers
6 Tbsp. unsalted butter
1 - 12 oz. bag semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 - 12 oz. bag butterscotch chips
4 oz. sliced almonds
6 oz. chopped hazelnuts
4 oz. chopped pecans
1 bag sweetened coconut flakes
1 can sweetened condensed milk (the little ones. I think they're 10.5 oz.)


Grease a baking pan (at least 8"x8"). Melt the butter and crush your graham crackers into itty bitty crumbs. Mix the butter and graham crackers together and press into the bottom of the pan. Top that with a layer of chocolate chips. Dump the bag of butterscotch chips on top. If you're like me, put some more chocolate chips on top of those. Pour your nuts in there - the more the better! These are super sweet and the nuts help cut that a little. Top with coconut and a can of condensed milk. Bake at 350* for 20 - 25 minutes, until coconut on top is toasted.


A few notes:

• If your pan is 8"x8" or smaller, don't use the whole can of condensed milk. It makes your graham cracker layer soggy. 
• Make sure you wait at least half an hour for these to cool before cutting them and taking them out of the pan. You'll be disappointed and end up with a gooey mess if you don't. 
• If you double this, still only use one can of milk! (I routinely make this in a 11"x17" pan with only one can of milk. Trust me.)
• If you're making these for an event, make them a day ahead. They are always better on the second day. 

As always, enjoy, and don't eat them all at once!! 

A-mazing lemon blueberry bread

Yeah, I said it. This bread is one of the most delicious things I've ever made. (And I've made a lot of delicious things.)

For my juice cleanse, I bought close to 20 pints of blueberries. Annnnnnd definitely didn't use them all. I got a ridiculous craving for something sweet this evening, and decided a lemon blueberry bread would do the trick! I chose this recipe because I didn't want to wait for dough to rise.

It was reluctant to come out and I didn't want to ruin the loaf before I could take a picture, so sorry. This is all you get.

The Most Delicious Lemon-Blueberry Bread Ever.

adapted from Eat Yourself Skinny!

6 Tbsp. butter, softened (not melted!)

3/4 c. sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

zest from 1 large lemon

1/2 c. nonfat milk

1 1/2 c. whole wheat flour

1 tsp. baking powder 

dash of salt

2 pints blueberries

Glaze:

juice from 1 large lemon

3/4 c. confectioner's sugar

Preheat oven to 350* F. Cream butter. Add sugar, eggs, vanilla, and lemon zest. In a separate bowl, combine your dry ingredients, and then mix into wet mixture. Add milk. When everything is combined, gently fold in blueberries. 

Grease/spray a loaf pan, and toss your bread mixture in! Bake for 55 - 60 minutes (until toothpick comes out clean). 

Allow your bread to cool for about ten minutes. While you're waiting, whip up the lemon glaze! Remove the bread from the pan and drizzle glaze on top. Enjoy!