We had some bananas that were perfectly ripe and I had 2 bricks of cream cheese in the fridge for no particular reason, so I decided to do a cross between my Banana Cream Pie Bars, my Cranberry Cheese Squares and my Peppermint Mocha Kahlua Chocolate Chip Cheesecake (man, that was a long, dumb title, but a delicious cheesecake!) These came out bomb... as I knew they would, because all three of those recipes are bomb!
It also helps that we live a block from a corner store... so it's quite easy to run down there and get some of those mini bottles of liqueur!
This song was on in the car the other day. I always feel like I need to smoke a pack of cloves before I attempt to sing it... heheh. Alkaline Trio - Sleepyhead. -jen
BANANA LIQUEUR CHEESECAKE BARS Prep Time: 20 minutes Cook Time: 45 minutes to cook, 1 hour to cool Difficulty: Medium Makes: 18-24 squares
Crust:
3/4 cup old fashioned oats
2/3 cup flour
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup chopped pecans
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
6 tablespoons of butter, softened
Filling:
2 large bananas, sliced into 1/4"-thick rounds
1 pound (two 8oz bricks) cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup sugar
3 eggs, room temp
1 tablespoon vanilla
1/2 cup banana liqueur (or 2 of the small 50ml "airplane" bottles)
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Coat a 9"x13" baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.
In a food processor, combine all of the crust ingredients and pulse several times until all flour is incorporated and mix is lumpy. Spread evenly into prepared baking dish and then press it firmly into the pan and about 1" to 1.5" up the sides with your hand. Bake at 375 degrees F for 15 minutes. Remove and set aside. (This is called "blind baking".) Leave oven on!
While crust is baking, place softened cream cheese in a mixing bowl and beat until creamy using a stand mixer or hand mixer. Add sugar and beat until combined. Add eggs 1 at a time until combined. Then add vanilla and banana liqueur, mix until smooth and creamy.
Layer sliced bananas over crust that's been blind baked, then pour batter evenly over the top. Bake at 375 for 45 minutes until top is lightly browned and center is springy to the touch. Let cool for 1 hour, then store in the refrigerator.
Option: If you knew they were all going to be eaten right away, you could always make some homemade whipped cream (or Cool Whip, but I say go with the former!) and spread it over the entire top of the cooled dish. I knew we'd have a bunch leftover to store in the fridge and I didn't want the whipped cream to melt over them all, so I just did it per serving.
The other day I was having one of those moments where I saw a recent photo of myself and was like, "Alright, time to get a little healthier again." I'd made falafel waffles (which is fun to sing ♪♪♫), just using our Falafel Recipe and cooking it in the waffle maker with no fat; a lot better than our regular frying. That had me remembering how healthy garbanzo beans are for us and brain storming what other ways besides hummus, falafel and salads that I could use them. Several years ago, I remember coming across recipes for "dessert hummus" that tasted like chocolate chip cookie dough. I made it once back then, ate it with graham crackers or something and didn't seem real impressed with it.
BUT... I thought I could probably improve upon it and turn it into a "square" or "bar" recipe. And that's just what I did tonight! I even took the time to go through my Guilt-Free Cookie Dough Squares recipe versus one batch of the original Nestle Toll House cookie recipe to see how much healthier mine actually was. I figured they're pretty close to the same size in quantity, looking at the ingredient amounts... you might even get more out of mine than you would a batch of cookies. And mine came in 2000+ calories less than one batch of cookies, almost half as many carbohydrates and sugars, and more protein!
And the beautiful thing is... they taste exactly like raw cookie dough on tasty crust! You're getting carbs that are low on the glycemic index (at least in comparison to flour which is the main ingredient in chocolate chip cookies). That means they release their sugars more slowly in the body - they're longer lasting and they don't spike your body's glucose levels.
This recipe can also be made gluten-free and/or vegan! I used AP flour in the crust, but since you're not looking for the crust to rise, you could easily substitute a rice flour or an almond flour - I haven't tried it, but I don't foresee any issues. I also used butter, but coconut oil could be used in its place. And carob chips would be a fantastic substitute to chocolate chips!
Let's listen to The Lurkers - "I Don't Need To Tell Her". -jen
GUILT-FREE COOKIE DOUGH SQUARES Time: 40 minutes with 2 hours cooling time Difficulty: Easy Makes: 18 squares
Crust:
3/4 cup old fashioned oats
2/3 cup AP flour (or gluten-free flour - rice, almond, etc)
1/4 cup chopped pecans
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
6 tablespoons butter, softened (or coconut oil)
Filling:
2 (15oz) cans of garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup old fashioned oats
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup maple syrup
4 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk (or milk of choice)
2/3 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips (plus 1/3 cup for drizzling - optional)
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Prepare a 13"x9" baking dish with butter or non-stick cooking spray.
In a food processor, combine all of the crust ingredients except the butter. Pulse once or twice to combine. Add softened butter and pulse until all the dry ingredients are combined, no longer look dry and clumps begin to form. Turn out into prepared baking dish and using the palm of your hand, press the mixture firmly into the pan evenly, working it part-way up the sides. Bake at 375 degrees F for 25-30 minutes, or until golden brown and edges are just starting to get dark. Remove from oven and let cool completely (thirty minutes to an hour).
Meanwhile, combine the garbanzo beans, 1/2 cup old fashioned oats, peanut butter, 1/3 cup brown sugar, maple syrup, vanilla extract, salt and baking soda in a food processor (I just wiped it out after doing the crust). Turn processor on high and add a little of the almond milk at a time, until mixture is smooth and reached desired consistency. You may not need to use the full 1/4 cup. Remove mixture from food processor and stir in 2/3 cup chocolate chips by hand.
Spoon the garbanzo mixture into the cooled crust and spread evenly. If you like, melt 1/3 cup chocolate chips in a small bowl for 30 seconds in microwave. Stir and microwave in 15 second increments until melted. Using a spoon, drizzle melted chocolate over the top of the cookie dough squares. Refrigerate for at least an hour. Cut into squares.
I've had a huge bag of cranberries in my freezer since Christmas (and it's April), so I decided it was about time I used them in something. I'd considered doing cranberry cheesecake, but decided to cross cheesecake with bars instead. (I like bars!) They came out so good, that I made another batch with the remaining cranberries to send with Justin to work so he could share (and double-checking my recipe writing!)
The topping and crust is a little salty, the cream cheese filling is lemony and the cranberry sauce is tart with a cinnamon and vanilla warmth. All three layers just seem to compliment each other so nicely, I was way pleased with this recipe! It's a little time consuming but I've made them twice now and they're really not that hard - you just have to dedicate some time to them.
Justin was feeling like something early from The Offspring. "Jennifer Lost The War" from their 1989 self titled album. This was actually the first time I've heard this song, I think. -jen
1.5 cups rolled oats (also known as old fashioned oats)
1 cup pecans, chopped
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup coconut oil, melted
Cheese Filling:
8oz cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup sweetened condensed milk
1 egg
2 tablespoons lemon juice (about 1 lemon)
zest of 1 lemon
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Make the
cranberry sauce first by bringing water, brown sugar, vanilla, cinnamon
and salt to a boil in a large sauce pan. Add cranberries and bring back to a boil, then
lower to a steady simmer for about 10 minutes, stirring intermittently - cranberries will pop and
begin to break down. (Careful not to let it boil over!) Remove from
heat and refrigerate to cool while you continue with the other steps.
Grease a 13"x 9" baking dish with nonstick cooking spray, butter or coconut oil. Set aside.
For
the crust, combine the flour, oats, pecans, brown sugar and salt in a
mixing bowl. Stir in melted butter and coconut oil until combined and all flour is absorbed.
Mixture should be slightly clumpy but break up easily. Set aside 1.5
cups for topping but spread the remaining mixture into your prepared
baking dish, pressing it evenly into the bottom of the pan. Bake at 350
F for 15 minutes. Set aside.
While crust is baking
and sauce is cooling, make the cheese filling. Using a hand mixer or the
whipping attachment on your stand mixer, whip the softened cream cheese
on high for 2-3 minutes until very smooth. Add remaining ingredients
and mix thoroughly on high until smooth (remember to scrape the bottom).
Spread the cream cheese mixture
evenly over your baked crust. Stir in corn starch to cooled cranberry sauce, then gently dollop over
the top of the filling and gently spread it evenly with the back of a
spoon, trying not to mix it into the cheese filling. Sprinkle the
remaining flour and oat mixture evenly over the top. Bake at 350 F for
40 minutes. Let cool completely before serving. I like to refrigerate them overnight.
Was just sitting around on this 4th of July, watching bad tv, pondering what we had in the kitchen. Came across the four bananas that were getting close to being too ripe. Thought about just doing some banana bread or banana muffins, but that seemed more "bready" than I felt like. Last week, I'd found some pumpkin in the freezer from last fall when we'd roasted and pureed a few pumpkins. I made a great, hearty crust with oats and nuts, so I figured... why not make some banana cream pie bars using the same crust? I've never made banana cream pie before, though strangely, that's kind of how I met Justin - it was a topic of conversation. Then when I was grabbing the vanilla extract, I caught the chocolate chips out of the corner of my eye and decided they'd go into it, too.
Been listening to music all day today. Lots of Lagwagon, Strung Out, Swingin' Utters. It was kind of hard to choose a song. But one album I pulled out today was NOFX's "Punk In Drublic". Total flashback to my angst filled freshman year in high school. I remember specifically playing this cassette tape over and over on my boombox while playing Super Nintendo with my little brother. So I chose "Leave It Alone." -jen
BANANA CREAM PIE BARS Time: 30 minutes Difficulty: Easy/Medium (it seemed easy to me) Makes: 12 bars
Crust
3/4 cup old fashioned oats
2/3 cup flour
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
6 tablespoons butter (3/4 of a stick), softened
1/4 cup chopped nuts of choice (walnuts, pecans, almonds, hazelnuts, etc)
1/3 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (optional)
Custard
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup corn starch
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups heavy whipping cream
1 cup water, room temp
3 large egg yolks
2 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4-5 large, ripe bananas, sliced thin
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Combine oats, flour, sugar, salt, baking soda and butter. Beat until butter is cut into flour and crumbly. Stir in nuts and chocolate chips. Prepare a 13"x 9" (2 qt) baking dish by buttering or coating it with non-stick cooking spray. Press mixture into the baking dish evenly, coming slightly up the sides (make sure to even out the corners so they're not real thick). Bake crust at 375 degrees F for 17-20 minutes (until crust is golden brown). Remove and set on a cooling rack.
While crust is baking, prepare custard by combining sugar, corn starch and salt in a medium sauce pan. Whisk in cream and water. Then whisk in egg yolks. Cook over medium-high heat, continuing to whisk until sauce thickens and boils (about 6 minutes). Remove from heat and then whisk in butter and vanilla.
Cover the cooled crust with a layer (2 to 2.5) of sliced bananas. Scoop half of the custard evenly over the layered bananas, and carefully spread across them as evenly as possible. Repeat a second layer of sliced bananas and custard. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for an hour before serving.
You might be wondering what the hell a Choner Bar is, besides an incredibly delicious, chewy dessert. Well, it's my understanding that stoners get the munchies. And I've been told that when stoners get the munchies, they don't want to drive anywhere, so they start digging through their cupboards, making outrageous concoctions with what they have on hand! So a hypothetical stoner might hypothetically have all these ingredients in the pantry and make a hypothetical chewy stoner bar out of them. But we wouldn't want to title our bars Chewy Stoner Bars! That could come with some negative implications, and it's hypothetical, after all... so we shortened it to Choner Bars. Who are we to pretend like we know the culinary cravings of stoners just because we live in Humboldt County?! Please... as if!
I chose The Clash's "Rock the Casbah" simply because someone was talking
about Adam Ant today, and I was explaining my first crushes... which
included Joe Strummer, specifically from this video. So it was just rollin' through my head today. -jen
1 cup chopped nuts of choice (I used 1/2 Hazel nut, 1/2 roasted peanuts)
2/3 cup dark chocolate chips
2/3 cup raisins
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Generously coat a 9x13 baking dish with non-stick cooking spray and set aside.
Combine brown sugar, granulated sugar and softened butter in a mixing bowl and beat with a mixer until creamed together. Add vanilla, baking powder, salt and cinnamon; mix in. While continuing to mix, add eggs, one at a time. Then slowly beat in the 2 cups of flour. Fold in coconut, oats, nuts, chocolate chips and raisins.
Press dough evenly into prepared pan and bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes, until a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean. Allow to cool before cutting and serving.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Coat a 9"x13" baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.
