Banana Whip "Ice Cream" Recipe

One of my favorite things about summer is ice cream!  I love how this velvety smooth indulgence pairs perfectly with beautiful, warm summer nights.  There is just nothing like it.  Going for an ice cream makes anyone smile. 

As much as I love ice cream, I try to eat it in moderation.  This is a difficult battle for me, as I crave this creamy luxury often.  When I heard that I could make ‘ice cream’ with only one {healthy} ingredient, I didn’t believe it.  I had to try it for myself and I was pleasantly surprised.

Who would have thought that whipping frozen bananas could create a soft, silky texture as ice cream?  Since discovering that amazing recipe I have added in peanut butter and cocoa powder to enhance the flavor of this snack.  I just love finding healthy and inexpensive substitutes for food!

I dare you to try this new recipe…you will be happy you did!



Before



After

Banana Whip “Ice Cream”  Recipe

Serves 2

3 ripe bananas

Peel and cut bananas into pieces.  Wrap the cut bananas and place them in the freezer for a few hours.  Once the bananas are frozen through, place them into a blender or food processor.  Blend on high until smooth and creamy.  The mixture will stick to the sides, so make sure to stop a few times to scrap down the bowl to blend everything smooth.

If you want to add in peanut butter or cocoa, you can do that at this time.  Continue to blend until fully incorporated.  The ice cream will be the texture of soft serve.  If you prefer, place the mixture in an air tight container to freeze a bit more for a hard ice cream.

Tips:

1)      As mentioned before, feel free to enhance the flavor of this ice cream with peanut butter (1 tablespoon), cocoa powder (1 teaspoon), honey (1 teaspoon), chocolate chips, crushed oreo cookies, chocolate syrup, pecans, etc. 

What did you add to your banana whip?  Share your suggestions. 

Spicy Oatmeal Banana Cookie Recipe

I promise this is the last banana recipe post for a while.  For some reason we had tons of very ripe bananas, and you all know how I don't like to waste food I purchased with my hard earned money.  These spicy oatmeal banana cookies are so good and the best part is you don't feel guilty eating them.  They have a soft chewy texture from the oatmeal and a nice subtle banana flavor mixed with cinnamon and nutmeg. 

I made my cookies on the smaller side with a 1 tablespoon scooper.  This made them a fun bit size cookie packed with a lot of flavor.  These cookie scoopers are so much fun to use and help save so much time while scooping out batches of cookies.  I got mine as a gift (thanks Mom and Dad) and use it all the time!  

Spicy Oatmeal Banana Cookie Recipe
Recipe modified from All Recipes
Preheat oven to 400^o

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup white sugar

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

3/4 cup butter

1 egg, beaten

1 banana

1 3/4 cups rolled oats

In a large bowl, mix sugar and butter until creamy.  Add in the egg until well blended.  Next, add the flour, baking soda, salt, nutmeg and cinnamon. In a separate bowl mash the banana and add to the cookie mixture.  Then stir in the oatmeal until well incorporated. Scoop out rounded spoonfuls onto an ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven. Remove from baking sheet to cool on wire racks. Enjoy!

Tips:
       1) Investing in a cookie scooper will save you lots of time in preparing your cookies.  I am all about saving my time and money while cooking and this is a time saver that will pay for itself quickly.  They come in all different sizes and are so easy to use and clean.
       2) Next time I make these cookies I might add some walnuts or mini chocolate chips
       3) These also freeze well.    

Banana Nut Brownies Recipe

 

I am going bananas! B-A-N-A-N-A-S! 

After I made the Banana Maple Oat scones the other week I still had lots of ripe bananas to bake with.  I went straight to work researching some more new delicious recipes to share with you all.  When I found these banana nut brownies I was very intrigued.  I am a huge fan of brownies.  They are so fun because you can add anything to them (nuts, chocolate chips, candy bars, peanut better, etc.) and they always come out great! 

They were so easy to whip up.   They have a strong chocolate flavor complemented by the soft bananas and crunchy nuts.  I even added some chocolate chips to the recipe.  My husband took these brownies with him to his hockey game and they were a big hit with his team.  The team had a shut out, and I would like to think my brownies had something to do with it! They are magical. 

Banana Nut Brownies Recipe

Recipe from All Recipes

Preheat oven to 350^o



1/2 cup butter or margarine, melted and cooled

1 cup sugar

3 tablespoons baking cocoa

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1 tablespoon milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup mashed ripe banana

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1 cup chocolate chips

In a bowl, combine butter, sugar and cocoa. Stir in eggs, milk and vanilla. Blend in flour, baking powder and salt. Stir in bananas, nuts and chocolate chips

Pour into a greased 9x13baking pan. Bake at 350^o for 40-45 minutes or until brownies test done. Cool on a wire rack.

Tips:
      1)  Always make sure to test your brownies when they come out of the oven.  Mine weren't quite done to my liking when the timer went off. 
      2)  The nuts and chocolate chips are optional.

Banana Maple Oat Scones Recipe

I found myself, again, at the end of the week with lots of ripe bananas.  I love having this ‘problem’ because it means I can find some fun new recipes to bake to utilize these brown spotted bananas.  A few of my friends and I were going on a road trip to NH for the day and we had to leave early in the morning.  I thought it would be nice to have a little snack for the drive up just in case we got hungry.  I wanted it to fall into the breakfast foods category, and I found these delicious banana maple oat scones. 

They were easy to make and are delicious.  Plus they have a maple glaze.  Who doesn’t love a glaze on anything?  These scones are so crispy out the outside and flaky and soft on the inside.  They worked out perfectly for our road trip up to NH to satisfy our hunger.  They would also be perfect for a brunch or just as a snack with a cup of tea.

Banana Maple Oat Scones Recipe

Recipe from WhipperBerry

Preheat oven to 400^o

Banana Maple Oat Scones:
1 ¾ cup All-Purpose Flour
1/2 cup Whole Wheat Flour
1/2 cup Quick-Cooking Oats, plus some for sprinkling
1 Tablespoon Baking Powder
2 Tablespoons granulated sugar
1 Teaspoon Salt
2 Sticks Cold, Unsalted Butter diced

1/4 cup Buttermilk
1/3 Cup Maple Syrup
2 Medium Ripe Bananas, diced in small pieces (the riper the better)
2 Extra- Large eggs, plus one for egg wash(1 egg beaten with 1 Tb. milk)

Glaze:
1 cup powdered sugar
1/3 Cup Pure Maple Syrup
1/2 teaspoon Vanilla Extract 

 
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine the first six ingredients. Add the diced, cold butter and mix on the lowest speed and mix until the butter is in pea-size pieces. Combine the buttermilk, maple syrup and eggs together and add quickly to the flour-and-butter mixture. Add diced bananas and mix until just blended. The dough may be sticky.

Dump the dough out onto a well-floured surface and be sure it is combined. Flour your hands and a rolling pin and roll the dough about 1 inch thick into a circle shape. You should see lumps of butter in the dough. Cut like you would a pizza and make eight pieces. Carefully place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

Brush the tops with egg wash. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the tops are crisp and the insides are done.

To make the glaze, combine the confectioners' sugar, maple syrup and vanilla. When the scones are done, cool for 10 to 15 minutes and drizzle each scone with 1 tablespoon of the glaze. I like to sprinkle some uncooked oats on the top, for garnish. The warmer the scones are when you glaze them, the thinner the glaze will be.

Tips:

      1) My dough was very sticky and I had to keep adding flour into the batter to make it managable to roll out on the counter.  Just add in you flour slowly and keep estimating small amounts at a time until you reach a dough consistancy. 

      2) I used a glass cup dipped into flour to cut my scones.  I wanted them to be a bit smaller than a typical scone.

      3) Definitely check your scones after 20 minutes of cooking.  I didn't and burned a few of my scones.  I thought the burning smell was from some cheese that might have feel to the bottom of the oven from Friday's pizza night.  Opps!  Lesson learned.  We can't have successes all the time or else we wouldn't have anything to learn from. 

Banana Mocha Muffins

Banana Mocha Muffins are a family favorite.  My mother always made them when I was a child.  They would be a special treat when we would go away on ski weekends, trips up to the lake, or ‘just because’.  Do you have some brown, ripened bananas at home and are sick of the same old banana bread? Don’t throw away those ripe bananas and waste your money.  Instead, you should try these delicious, chocolaty, banana mocha muffins.  They are a family favorite that never fails. 

I love to heat them in the microwave for just 10 seconds and the chocolate chips just start to melt and the muffin center gets soft and fluffy. 

Hope you enjoy!!

Banana Mocha Muffins Recipes

Makes 24 Muffins

Preheat oven to 350^o

2 ½ cup flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon instant coffee grinds
1 tablespoon of warm water

1 1/3 cup mashed bananas (3-4 bananas)

1 cup butter (2 sticks)

1 ¼ cup sugar

1 egg

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Beat butter and sugar until creamed.  Next add in egg and mix well.  In a small cup, disolve the instant coffee grinds in warm water.  Mash banana in a large bowl and add in coffee.  Add this to butter mixture and mix well.  Stir in all dry ingredients.  Fold in chocolate chips.  Spoon mixture into muffin tins and bake at 350^o for 20-25 minutes until golden brown. 

Tips:

1)   If you have some ripe bananas and don’t have any time in the next few days to bake, don’t worry.  Just quickly mash up the bananas and freeze them.  Then when you are ready to bake, take them out and defrost

2)   This recipe makes 24 muffins.  Trust me, they will be eaten quickly, but if you want to reserve some for another day, they freeze wonderfully.   

3)   If you don't have instant coffee, but you have some left over coffee from the morning, that works to.