One of those nights

Sometimes you just need a night of a mini Law & Order marathon and a glass or two of a nice pinot noir... or is that just me? I was having one of those utterly relaxing evenings this week, and knew that I had to whip something up to round out the lineup of indulgence.

I feel like I might have been behind on this realization, but ripe bananas freeze really well. No more carefully timed baking here - just wait for the bananas to get super ripe, peel them and freeze them in an airtight container. Now you can use them for baking whenever the mood strikes! I overzealously froze a half dozen a few weeks ago, so banana bread was the clear answer to my cravings. It's been a long time since I've baked anything because I've been so busy, and I especially haven't made banana bread in AGES. Not quite knowing where to turn, I searched the internet for recipes that would make the cut. Leave it to Food & Wine magazine's "Perfect Banana Bread Every Time" to blow away the competition.

I decided to sweeten things up and add some Heath toffee bits to the batter, and was very happy with the result. It's not identifiably "toffee" flavored, but there's an extra dimension that won the hearts of all who tried it. Another important lesson: EVERYTHING tastes better with butter. Forget all those banana breads you used to make with vegetable oil. There's just no substitute - nothing will have the same cakey texture, perfect crust and solid body without good old butter. Use it :)

Toffee Banana Bread
Adapted from foodandwine.com

4 bananas, very ripe
1/2 C granulated sugar
1/2 C packed brown sugar
1 stick unsalted butter, melted
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 C whole wheat pastry flour
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 C toffee bits (optional)

Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees and prepare 9"x5" loaf pan with nonstick spray.


Blend together bananas and sugar, then add butter. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Slowly add in dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Pour into loaf pan and bake for 50-60 min, until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool completely.

DIY

I'll concede to the fact that when you're in the grocery store and hungry for a cold treat (RIGHT. NOW.) the aisles of pre-made ice cream sandwiches are pretty darn appealing - and practical. But if you're willing to delay gratification a teensy bit, this upcoming recipe and method for making your very own ice cream sandwiches is well worth the wait and extra effort!

A note about the method: It's easy to just slap some ice cream between two cookies, but taking the extra step to make ice cream "pucks" will ensure an even distribution of ice cream throughout the cookie, a neater outside edge and reduce the tragic breakage of cookies from pressing down too hard.

I've become enamored with the combination of chocolate, toffee and coffee, and this treat really solidifies it for me. Rich chocolate gets a sweet kick from toffee and depth from coffee, and the contrast of textures is really spectacular. While I advocate this particular combination, feel free to experiment with any kind of mix-ins or exchange the chocolate cookie for a regular butter flavor. You won't be disappointed! Wrap them tightly in plastic wrap and then in a baggie or plastic container and they'll keep for a long time. Or as long as it takes for you to devour them...

Chocolate Toffee Coffee Ice Cream Sandwiches
Cookie recipe slightly adapted from Bon Appetit Desserts by Barbara Fairchild

1/2 C (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 C plus 2 Tbsp sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 C all-purpose flour (I used whole wheat pastry flour)
1/2 C unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 C dark chocolate chips
1/2 C toffee chips or crushed toffee bars

Coffee ice cream (I used Lucerne's Coffee Caramel Swirl from Safeway - it's local and delicious!)

Directions: In an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Add egg and vanilla and beat until well blended. Sift flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt together, then add gradually to butter mixture until well blended (careful not to over-mix). Mix in toffee and chocolate chips. Chill dough until firm. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and prepare baking sheet with parchment while you're waiting.

Roll dough into rounded tablespoonfuls (bigger if you'd like bigger sandwiches). Bake until they puff and crack on top but are still soft, about 11 minutes. Let them cool on baking sheet for 1 minute and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.


While the cookies are baking and cooling, take your ice cream out to soften slightly. Spoon into muffin tins and make a (relatively) smooth and even "puck" that's about 1 inch thick. Put tray in freezer for about a half an hour. When the pucks are re-frozen, remove from muffin tins by running a knife around the outside edge. Place puck in the center of two (fully cooled) cookies - enjoy now or wrap tightly and freeze for the next hot day!

There's nothing better on a sunny Fourth of July afternoon!

Peanut Butter Toffee Bites

 Sometimes experiments go horribly wrong, sometimes they're perfect, and sometimes they're not what you planned just as delicious! These cookies definitely fall into the latter category. I was trying to modify the traditional Chocolate Crinkle cookie recipe to work with new flavors, but adding peanut butter soaked up the powdered sugar and eliminated the "crinkle" part of the cookie! Not to worry, the final product was like a little crunchy, gooey, sweet peanut butter ball.

The texture was definitely not what I expected, but the flavors of toffee and peanut butter are a killer combination and the end result was met with much nodding and thumbs up while chewing. I'm sure you could make these crispier if you prefer, but why would you want to miss out on the chewy goodness of slightly under-baked peanut butter?


Peanut Butter Toffee Bites
Makes about 20 cookies


2 eggs
1/2 C granulated sugar
1/4 C peanut butter (crunchy or smooth, you know which one you like!)
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 C all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
~1/2 C chopped Heath toffee bar (about 3 bars)
~1/2 C powdered sugar

Directions: Beat eggs and sugar together in an electric mixer until thick, pale and fluffy. Then beat in vanilla extract and peanut butter until completely combined. Whisk together flour, salt and baking powder in a separate bowl, then stir into peanut butter mixture until just combined, adding toffee bits just before it's done. Refrigerate dough for about 1 hour until firm enough to shape into balls. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 325 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment.
Roll a small amount of chilled dough into balls about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Roll in powdered sugar until thoroughly coated, then place on baking sheet. Bake for about 10 minutes or until dough is solidly set (they taste great a little bit under-baked).

Sick day = cookie day!

One late night out and I'm toast - I'm getting too old for these kind of shenanigans! Let's just say I had a long Thursday night... and spent this weekend housebound with a pounding headache and sore throat. When handed 48 hours of absolute boredom, what does one do? Bake cookies, have Peep wars and watch New Moon. Duh.

Let the battle begin...

I found Heath toffee chips, white chocolate chips and a dark chocolate bar in the cabinet (most of which I stole from home over spring break), and decided to just chop them up and throw it all in. I love cookies made with whole wheat flour, so that was a given. YUM. This may be one of the simplest and most wonderful combinations yet!


Good For Everything Cookie Dough
Makes about 4 dozen
Originally from the back of the Guittard chocolate chip bag


1 C (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened 
1 C packed brown sugar
3/4 C granulated sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla

2 C flour (all-purpose or whole wheat)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
2 C of mix-ins (chocolate chips, heath bar, whatever your heart desires)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cream butter and sugar, then add egg and vanilla and beat well. Add dry ingredients in gradually and beat to combine. Stir in mix-ins. Refrigerate dough until stiff. Roll into balls about 1 inch in diameter and place on parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until just set.