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Banana Pecan Streusel Coffee Cake

February 5, 2022 by chrissy@mythankfultable.com

Recently while grocery shopping, my daughter asked me why we never buy coffee cake. It’s not that I don’t like coffee cake, I just always lean towards making it instead of purchasing it. Especially since it is an easy thing to put together.

This recipe is so good. It combines a lighter banana cake, a sweet crumble toping with pecans, and then an optional “Honey Bun” glaze…(as if that is an option). It’s from a cookbook entitled Big Bad Breakfasts, by John Currance, which I just had to check out. It has a tough guy book exterior, but actually the stories associated with each of the recipes is charming. I love that in a cookbook.

I’m the type of person who would rather go out for breakfast over any other meal. Find me a diner or a tiny cafe, I am in. There is something to having someone else make my breakfast it better.

This batter uses two ripe mashed bananas, which is either the amount hanging around or easy enough to find in the produce section. I like that the banana flavor is present without being overpowering. It comes together quickly, and the streusel topping is out of this world.

In the original recipe it calls for placing the pecans on top of the streusel- I just chopped mine up and added them in with all of the brown sugary goodness. If you wanted to do both, I am sure the larger pieces of pecan would add a special decorative quality as well as flavor boost. I figured since I was opting for the Honey Bun Glaze, I didn’t mind incorporating the pecans with the streusel mixture.

This recipe bakes up beautifully, combining the sweetness of cinnamon and brown sugar with the banana cake.

While your cake is cooling, prepare your glaze and drizzle away! You will not be disappointed!

While the winter season continues to keep us bundling up with warm sweaters and socks, there is something comforting in a recipe such as this. It isn’t just for breakfast either…I am pretty sure a slice of this cake is perfect any time of day.

I hope you enjoy this recipe, and as always, thank you for coming to the table.

Love,

Chrissy

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Banana Pecan Streusel Coffee Cake

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Banana Pecan Coffee Cake with Honey Buns Glaze is originally from the cookbook Big Bad Breakfast by John Currance. This light banana coffee cake is topped with a generous streusel topping and another layer of sweet glaze!

Author: chrissy@mythankfultable.com

Ingredients

Cake:

· 1/3 cup granulated sugar

· 1/4 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

· 2 ripe bananas, mashed

· 1/4 cup sour cream

· 1 egg

· 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

· 1 tablespoon baking powder

· 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

· 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

· 1/4 teaspoon salt

· 1/4 cup milk

Streusel Topping:

· 1/4 cup all-purpose flour

· 1/4 cup packed light brown sugar (I use dark brown sugar in my recipe)

· 2 tablespoon granulated sugar

· 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

· 3 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes

· 1/3 cup toasted chopped pecans

Honey Glaze:

· 1/2 cup powdered sugar

· 2 tablespoons honey

· 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

· 1 tablespoon milk

· 1 1/2 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted

Instructions

Cake:

Preheat the oven to 375ºF. Grease an 8-inch square baking dish. Set aside. (I baked my recipe at 350*, you can also line your baking pan with parchment paper for easy lifting/cutting for serving).

Combine the sugar and butter in a large bowl and cream together in an electric mixer with a paddle attachment until light and fluffy, (about 5 minutes).

Add in the mashed bananas, sour cream, and egg. Mix until thoroughly combined.

In another bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, nutmeg and salt.

Add the dry ingredients into the banana mixture, then add the milk.

Beat until completely combined. Pour the batter into the prepared baking 8 x 8 pan.

For the Streusel Topping:

In another bowl, combine the flour, both sugars, and the cinnamon. (I added my pecans at this point or you can add on top after the streusel is distributed).

Add the butter – using a pastry cutter, fork, or your fingertips, cut the butter into the mixture until coarse crumbs form.

Sprinkle the topping over the batter, then sprinkle the pecans on top.

Bake until the cake is golden brown, about 35 minutes.

Glaze:

While the cake is cooking, make the glaze. In a small bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, honey, vanilla, milk and melted butter.

Drizzle the cake with the glaze, then let it cool for 10 minutes before cutting into squares.

Coffee cake with last up to 2 days covered.

Banana Chocolate Chunk Muffins

April 17, 2019 by chrissy@mythankfultable.com

I know in the new year a lot of us make resolutions to do this or that. Some of those resolutions we keep, and some…well…let’s just say we get points for trying.

Muffins, even healthy muffins, still seem like an indulgent thing. So when I spy a recipe for a healthier muffin I of course am going to investigate. This muffin incorporates greek style yogurt, coconut oil and sugar, and in the original recipe on the www.bakerbynature.com website (which is gorgeous) whole wheat flour. I substituted bread flour, and I like the substantial chocolate chunks as well as the dusting of cookie or decorating sugar on top of muffins…which makes them less healthy…but still yummy.

I used bananas I had previously frozen, and let them defrost. I only used the banana itself not the thawed juice of the mix. (If you have ever frozen a ripe banana and then thawed it, you know what I mean). If you use a fresh ripe banana this won’t be an issue. I didn’t notice any difference in quality by using a frozen banana…and actually the combination of bread flour with the yogurt and baking powder gave these muffins a lift that was light and cake even though banana muffins are typically dense.

This is pretty much a one-bowl recipe, I melted the coconut oil and set it aside to cool a bit before adding it to the mix. There is just enough cinnamon to offset the chocolate and banana flavors. The muffins bake up rounded and puffy, they are sweet without being overly so. They are delicious warm out of the oven, and the next day. I froze half of the batch and they thawed out fine.

I am a big fan of a healthier anything, and if a muffin looks and tastes this good with the healthy substitutions it has, it’s a winner in my book.

I hope you enjoy this recipe, and as always, thank you for coming to the table!

Chrissy

Click on the link below for a printable recipe.

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Banana Chocolate Chunk Muffins

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These banana muffins incorporate healthier ingredients such as yogurt and coconut oil, bananas and honey. Original recipe from www.bakerbynature.com

Author: chrissy@mythankfultable.com original recipe posted by Ashley Manila on the bakerbynature website

Ingredients

Scale

1 Cup mashed banana
3/4 Cup plain greek yogurt
1/4 Cup coconut oil, melted
1/3 Cup honey
2 large eggs, at room temperature
3 Tablespoons coconut sugar
1/2 Teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 Teaspoon salt
3 Teaspoons baking powder
2 Cups flour *original recipe called for whole wheat, I used bread flour.
1 Cup chocolate chunks
Decorating sugar for tops of muffins (optional)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375*
Line muffin tins with liners and set aside.
Sift together flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon.
Combine mashed bananas, greek style yogurt, eggs, honey, and sugar until completely incorporated.
Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix until just combined.
Add melted coconut oil and combine.
Fold in chocolate chunks until just combined.
Scoop batter into lined muffin tins, filling each almost full.
Bake for 15-20 minutes, until muffins are puffed, light golden brown, and a tester comes out clean.

Coffee Cake Banana Bread

July 18, 2018 by chrissy@mythankfultable.com

I don’t know if it is an age thing or a mom thing, but I tend to forget. I make lists and set reminders and own a large stock in post-its of every color and size to compensate for this, but the truth is, if I don’t write it down, I forget. I tell my kids to remind me when I am older that I did this when I was in my forties to make me feel better.

I forget the ingredient that I specifically went to the grocery store for, even though I buy other stuff I forgot to write down. I forget to put the card in the mail even though I bought it two weeks ago just so it wouldn’t be late (I am the worst auntie ever, sorry kids for the late birthday cards…).

I remember to pay my bills and feed and clothe my children and keep a house that’s clean and my yard is nice. I am kind to the dog and I do my job at work to the very best of my ability. So, for the most part, the forgetting is the other stuff.

Which includes myself. I forget to remember that exercise is important. That rest is necessary. That self-care is not only a priority but is essential to the people around me. I get caught up in not wanting to be selfish but the truth is, sometimes, in order to survive, we need to not forget ourselves.

Like anything you let slide, getting back into the remembering is hard at first. Remembering how good it feels to leave the gym after a workout. Remembering that meal prep and eating healthy is actually not as hard as you thought it was. Remembering how writing resonates deep within after not being able to string along sentences for a while. That taking the time to stop and enjoy life around you is worth remembering to do.

I would like to say I have found perfect balance and have achieved whatever zen I am looking for in my life, my kitchen, my table. I haven’t. I still want to eat a slice of banana bread or a cookie after I eat my salad with a protein. It is what it is. I am trying to remember balance, and kindness to myself, and indulge without going overboard. Like this Coffee Cake Banana Bread. (Creative stretch to segue into the recipe? Maybe?) It’s a stretch…but I’ll take it.

Banana bread is beautiful on its own. But combine it with a Coffee Cake Crumble topping and you have a healthy base with an indulgent flare that says, “YES PLEASE!” It is a moist tender bread with the crumbly crunch of cinnamon and sugar. It is worth the freezing of the ripe bananas. It is worth the effort to bake from scratch. It reminds me to stop. Sip the coffee. Eat the banana bread. Enjoy the view.

While I will continue to write post it notes and lists for myself, I will also remember to feed my soul, in whatever form that takes. Because healthy is important, as well as a generous portion of crumble topping.

I hope you enjoy this recipe, and as always, thank you for coming to the table!

Chrissy

Click below for a printable recipe!

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Coffee Cake Banana Bread

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This moist banana bread is topped with a buttery crumb topping. Original recipe from www.alattefood.com.

Author: chrissy@mythankfultable.com

Ingredients

Scale

½ Cup Butter, softened
1 Cup White Sugar
2 Tablespoons Brown Sugar
1 ½ Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
2 Eggs
½ Teaspoon Cinnamon
2 Cups Flour
3–4 Mashed Ripe Bananas
1 Teaspoon Baking Soda
¼ Teaspoon Salt
2 Tablespoons Sour Cream or Plain Greek Yogurt

Crumb Topping:

1 Cup Flour
1 Tablespoon Cinnamon
1 Cup Brown Sugar
6 Tablespoons Butter, Cold and cubed

Instructions

To prepared the Crumb Topping:

Combine cinnamon, brown sugar, and flour.
Cut in butter until crumbly in texture.

To Prepare Banana Bread:

Preheat oven to 350*
Spray two 8 x 4 pans with non-stick spray, butter, or oil of choice. (I also make these in the smaller loaf pans and it makes approximately five loaves.
In a mixer, cream together butter and sugars until light and fluffy.
Add in eggs, vanilla extract, and sour cream (or Greek yogurt)
Add in mashed bananas until combined.
Combine dry ingredients in a separate bowl.
Add dry ingredients until incorporated.
Divide batter between two prepared pans.
Sprinkle Crumb topping generously over both pans.
Bake at 350* for 35-40 minutes until tester comes out clean.

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Coffee Cake Banana Bread

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Author: chrissy@mythankfultable.com

Ingredients

Scale

½ Cup Butter, softened
1 Cup White Sugar
2 Tablespoons Brown Sugar
1 ½ Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
2 Eggs
½ Teaspoon Cinnamon
2 Cups Flour
3–4 Mashed Ripe Bananas
1 Teaspoon Baking Soda
¼ Teaspoon Salt
2 Tablespoons Sour Cream or Plain Greek Yogurt

Crumb Topping:

1 Cup Flour
1 Tablespoon Cinnamon
1 Cup Brown Sugar
6 Tablespoons Butter, Cold and cubed

Instructions

To prepared the Crumb Topping:

Combine cinnamon, brown sugar, and flour.
Cut in butter until crumbly in texture.

To Prepare Banana Bread:

Preheat oven to 350*
Spray two 8 x 4 pans with non-stick spray, butter, or oil of choice. (I also make these in the smaller loaf pans and it makes approximately five loaves.
In a mixer, cream together butter and sugars until light and fluffy.
Add in eggs, vanilla extract, and sour cream (or Greek yogurt)
Add in mashed bananas until combined.
Combine dry ingredients in a separate bowl.
Add dry ingredients until incorporated.
Divide batter between two prepared pans.
Sprinkle Crumb topping generously over both pans.
Bake at 350* for 35-40 minutes until tester comes out clean.

Welcome to the Circus and Dark Chocolate Chunk Greek Yogurt Banana Muffins

April 14, 2018 by chrissy@mythankfultable.com

Dark Chocolate Greek Yogurt Banana Muffins

My Spring Break is coming to a close, and while I did a ton of cleaning and purging and moving furniture around, etc… I am only now settling in to write. Why is it that the writing part is the hardest part?

Do you ever walk around composing in your brain? Letters you need to write or cards to send, emails to respond to, and for me, blog posts as well. It is what it is. If I am lucky, I get an opportunity to write it down. If I am not, I place a post it note somewhere and come back to it thinking, “huh?”

One of the best parts of my week off, besides the opportunity to stay at the Cape for a few days, (Thanks Aunty Cathy) was the chance to walk with friends. I mean early morning, after work, lunch break walks with people I don’t get to see in daily life. Walk, and listen, and share, and all while filling my lungs with fresh air and moving my body. To me, that is a gift. I did my first set of pull-ups this week as well (Thank you Erika) so hey, rock on. Forty-six, here I come.

We have been a predominantly vegetarian household for almost a month, and yet, I still have a list of recipes to share that are not necessarily super-healthy, but are in the works. The blog is about two weeks behind my real life. So when I post a batch of cookies, chances are they are long gone and the crumbs are already swept of the teacher’s lunch room table at school. It’s just reality.

We work. We have family. We have outside responsibilities. We feed and nurture and take care of our circle. So, the extra stuff waits for most of us. We don’t really get the chance to be selfish. It isn’t who we are.

I had the chance to grab coffee with a precious friend this week who shared some things, and she said, “Thanks for letting me look into your life.” My response was, “My life is a Sh8t Show!” and her response was, “But it makes me think I can do it too.”

To which I say, AMEN and YES. YES YOU CAN. Our lives are imperfect. We have kid issues and work issues. We have addictions and illnesses and death and loss. We have messy. We have step-over-this-part-of-my- life-and-no-one-needs-to-see-it stuff. We have the stuff we won’t put on Facebook.

You will never see me post my children’s report cards on social media. Not because they aren’t worthy. But because, it’s not my thing. You will see me post a picture of them laughing together, or playing their ukuleles together, because while I love that my children are smart, I love that my children have the capacity to be kind. Not to shame those who do. Like Amy Poehler says in her book, “Good for you, not for me.” I realize my parenting style is not the same. I am not raising free-range chickens or lab rats. I am not raising super heroes. I am raising children (technically young adults). I am sure they will need therapy for something. It won’t be because I didn’t try.

Yesterday I asked my son, “Do I stress too much and act really cranky when we travel?” He looked at me and said (carefully and only slightly sarcastically), “Ahhhh, yeah?” Point well taken. My response? “I’m really sorry. I’m working on it.” I’d rather they remember me identifying and apologizing and changing as a mom. At least they know I am trying and willing to work on stuff.

Truthfully, I suck at the circus. I can do this or that really well and the rest I am trying my best. Sometimes my best is not good enough for my standards. Sometimes my best still rocks but it isn’t enough. That’s where grace comes in.

No one has it all together. No one has a Facebook perfect life. We can’t compare or it will kill us slowly from the inside. Comparing is as bad as cancer in my book.

In the last year, I have slowly learned to unfold from years of this mindset of being the good parent, or the adult, or the martyr in some situations. I am not done. I am so not done. Every day I am trying to love this body and this soul inside my skin and forgive myself of all the shortcomings. This is hard. It is hard because I am great at finding the good outside of myself but not necessarily inside of myself.

What a slow process. I have said it before, I wish I wanted all the good for myself that my mom would want for me or I want for my kids. That I would breathe and say, “Chrissy, you’ve got this,” more. I am learning.

I am changing habits and while I think of cookies (recipe not posted yet) while I do pull ups for the first time, I am realizing that cookies are lovely and therapeutic to make, but not the only option.

Still, give me all the chocolate. (I am working on this too).

So. This recipe. It is a dark chocolate muffin and it uses banana, coconut oil, greek style yogurt, and it is still a muffin but it is a better choice muffin.

For the banana haters of the world…yes, it still does have a slight banana smell but it is not a banana muffin, if you get me. It also has dark chocolate chunks and is delicious. It has sugar but not a ton. It is decadent enough to be a cupcake- but it is dense. So it really is a muffin. I chose dark chocolate cocoa powder because it is my personal preference, but regular cocoa powder will work too.

My only wish for these muffins is that they would last longer, you need to share them and eat them within a few days or they toughen up. So make these and bless those around you with a healthier version of a breakfast treat. You can pop them in the microwave or a few seconds to heat them up and they are even better.

As for a glimpse into my circus. It is what it is. Hopefully it makes you think you can tame the tigers, unload the clowns out of the small car, hang from the trapeze, eat the popcorn and ride the camel too. We do the best we can, and take it one day at a time. We need to look at ourselves with kindness. We need to fall in love with ourselves a little bit more every day. Because, we are worth it. I’ll say it to you now, and tuck it into your heart: You’ve got this.

I hope you enjoy this recipe, and as always, thank you for coming to the table!

Chrissy

Click below for a printable recipe.

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Dark Chocolate Chunk Greek Yogurt Banana Muffins

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Author: chrissy@mythankfultable.com

Ingredients

Scale

1 Cup extremely ripe mashed bananas (2–4 depending on banana size)
1/2 Cup Plain Greek Yogurt
1 Large Egg
2 Teaspoons Vanilla Extract
1/4 Cup melted coconut oil, cooled
1/2 Cup Dark Brown Sugar
4 Heaping Tablespoons Dark Cocoa Powder
1 Cup Dark Chocolate Chips
1 Cup Flour
1 Tablespoon Corn starch
1/2 Teaspoon Baking Soda
1/4 Teaspoon Salt

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350*
Line a muffin tin with paper liners. If you want the added protection from muffin sticking to liner, lightly spray muffin liners with baking spray. You can dust liners with additional cocoa powder.
Mix dry ingredients and chocolate chips.
Mash bananas and combine with yogurt and egg.
Add melted and cooled coconut oil, brown sugar, and vanilla extract.
Add in brown sugar.
Combine wet ingredients and dry ingredients, mixing until just combined, not overworking the batter.
Divide batter into muffin tins, this yielded 12 regular sized muffins.
Bake for 18-20 minutes or until tester comes out clean.
Allow to cool and store in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

Buttermilk Banana Orange Muffins with Orange Glaze

March 14, 2018 by chrissy@mythankfultable.com

Buttermilk Banana Orange Muffins with Orange Glaze

I have a serious citrus love. From my essential oils in my diffuser or the perfume that I wear, satsuma, sweet orange, lemon, lime, you name it. I am a fan. So, when I spotted a recipe that would incorporate orange and bananas to make a muffin with a sweet orange glaze, I was sold.

All winter long I have purchased bananas for the family, for post work out snacks, to freeze, for smoothies, and to take along in lunch boxes. However, no matter how frequently we eat them, there are always one or two that are too ripe to be anything other than frozen and or made into banana bread/muffins.

I always quest for a muffin that is worth the caloric value. And truthfully, a citrus-y recipe will call out to me. If it incorporates my soon to be expired bananas, I am all in!

This recipe calls for orange zest in both the muffin as well as the glaze. Another very cool thing, if you don’t have buttermilk on hand (I never do) you can make your own with regular milk and vinegar. I know. Cooking and science is amazing. This muffin recipe also calls for both oil and melted butter, which, initially had me wondering if it would be heavy and oily. They are anything but.

These muffins are light and springy, they pop with orange flavor and the glaze…oh, the glaze…I will make this the next time I make cinnamon rolls and take them to the next level.

In this unending winter, a little spot of sunshine and citrus in your morning is absolutely called for. These muffins would be perfect for an Easter Brunch or just for a regular morning treat.

I hope you enjoy this recipe, and as always, thank you for coming to the table!

Chrissy

Click below for a printable recipe!

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Buttermilk Banana Orange Muffins with Orange Glaze

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Delicious Orange Banana Muffins with an Orange Sour Cream Glaze that is out of this world. Original Recipe posted at www.creationsbykara.com

Author: chrissy@mythankfultable.com

Ingredients

Scale

1/4 Cup Melted Butter
1/2 Cup Vegetable Oil
1 1/2 Cup Buttermilk
3 Eggs
1 1/2 Cups Granulated Sugar
1 1/2 Teaspoon Baking Soda
1 1/2 Teaspoon Baking Powder
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
4 Overripe Bananas, mashed
3 Cups AP Flour
2 –3 Tablespoons Orange Rind, Zested

Glaze:

1 1/2 Cups Powdered Confectioner’s Sugar
1/4 Cup Sour Cream
2 Teaspoons Orange Zest

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350*
In a mixer with a paddle attachment, combine eggs, melted butter, oil, buttermilk, mashed bananas, and orange zest.
Add sugar and combine.
Combine Flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
Slowly incorporate dry ingredients to the mixture.
Fill muffin liners 3/4 full.
Bake for 15 minutes
Combine glaze ingredients.
While muffins are still warm, top with glaze.

Notes

This recipe has more orange zest than the original simply because I can’t get enough! If it is too much, scale back to suit taste.

Cream Cheese Filled Banana Nutella Muffins

February 12, 2018 by chrissy@mythankfultable.com

Cream Cheese Filled Banana Nutella Muffins

When you find yourself with yet another snowy icy day, and a handful of really ripe bananas on the counter, you investigate banana muffins. I love a good banana bread. I love banana bread with chocolate chips, with coconut, with walnuts or pecans…it’s a beautiful thing.

But somedays, you just want the simplicity of a paper wrapped treasure that travels well and freezes well and doesn’t require a knife to cut a slice. So yeah, muffins are lazy bread. Or are they?

I love this recipe because it creates a light but dense muffin. (It is possible). It packs a punch of banana flavor without being heavy.

The original recipe for this is from www.u-createcrafts.com. Then, I saw another recipe from www.thenovicechef.com that incorporated a drizzle of Nutella on top of a banana muffin. Hence my Frankenstein muffin creation wherein I combine two recipes.

Cream Cheese Filled Banana Nutella Muffins

What is there to say about a muffin with a cream cheese filling except, “yes please?” A sweetened cream cheese filling that holds up to the muffin mixture and creates the perfect little pocket of yummy.

Topped with a remainder of batter, a slightly warmed Nutella is swirled on the top. Just enough chocolate hazelnut-ness to bring this muffin to dessert status. Hello tastebuds.

Here’s where I have to ask myself…have we now crossed over from breakfast foods to post-supper food? I mean, a pop tart, a danish, a donut, a toaster strudel all are considered breakfast foods…right? I mean, an Eggo waffle is still considered breakfast even though they come in birthday cake and chocolatey chip flavors…right? The end result of this inner monologue is stop over thinking it. Eat the darn muffin/breakfast cupcake.

Again, I brought these to my teacher’s room…and again, they disappeared quickly. Even the healthy eaters shared one between them. I can’t fault them. There is a reason I get this stuff out of my house right away.

Now, if I were to add yet another layer, (and I will, and I will post when I do) what I would have added was bacon. Or, peanut butter. Because a banana bacon Nutella muffin is just insane. Insane enough for me to try to make it. Or, a banana peanut butter fluff muffin. OOOOh my wheels are spinning. Hey, banana, peanut butter and bacon worked for Elvis. They didn’t call him the King for nothing.

The teacher’s room discussion when I brought these in centered around ripe bananas and what to do with them. Some people throw them out. DON’T. Peel and throw in a plastic bag. Break into chunks if you want to take the extra step or don’t. Why? Because frozen bananas are spectacular in so many things. Smoothies. As is, or dipped in chocolate, thrown into the blender and made into “nice-cream,” the possibilities are endless. The best part is, if you want to use them for banana bread, you can. Almost every recipe calls for mashed bananas. No banana is easier to mash than the thawed banana from the freezer.

These muffins keep for several days in an air tight container, if they last that long. The Nutella drizzle is just enough, not too much, but you could always add more if you wanted.

This recipe filled 24 muffin tins to a pretty full capacity with their glorious layers.

In a winter filled with less than wonderful weather, it is nice to have a recipe like this in your repertoire. It makes a cold day warmer, and sweeter. Isn’t that all we want in life? A little warmth and sweetness? You betcha.

I hope you enjoy this recipe, and as always, thank you for coming to the table!
Chrissy

Click below for a printable recipe.

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Cream Cheese Filled Banana Nutella Muffins

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Light Banana Muffins with a cream cheese filling and a Nutella swirl on top! Original recipe from www.u-createcrafts.com

Author: chrissy@mythankfultable.com

Ingredients

Scale

2 Cups Mashed Bananas (4–5 Bananas approximately)
1 Cup Brown Sugar
1/2 Cup White Granulated Sugar
1/2 Cup Vegetable Oil
2 Large Eggs
1/2 Cup Sour Cream
4 Teaspoons Vanilla Extract
2 Cups AP Flour
1 Teaspoon Baking Soda
1 Teaspoon Baking Powder

Filling:

2 Large Eggs
8 Ounces Cream Cheese (softened)
1/2 Cup Granulated Sugar
6 Tablespoons AP Flour

Nutella: Approximately 4 Tablespoons warmed slightly

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350*
In a mixer, combine sugars, oil, sour cream, and vanilla extract.
Add mashed bananas to mixture and combine.
Add Dry ingredients and mix well, set aside and make cream cheese filling.
Combine cream cheese filling ingredients.
Line muffin tins (This recipe made 24 muffins) and fill 1/2 way with banana mixture.
Scoop 1-2 Teaspoons of cream cheese filling into each muffin tin.
Cover with remaining banana mixture.
Take warmed Nutella and swirl on top of each muffin.
Bake for 30-35 Minutes or until tester comes out clean.

Chunky Monkey Banana Bread

November 14, 2017 by chrissy@mythankfultable.com

Chunky Monkey Banana Bread

If banana bread stuffed with coconut, walnuts, and chocolate chunks is wrong, I don’t want to be right. We are a don’t-waste-that-banana-family. As in, I will stick that ripe banana in the freezer rather than throw it away family. Frozen bananas can be transformed into “nice” cream, eaten as a snack, or tossed into something wonderful, such as this banana bread.

I love banana bread, but it has to be the right consistency. The right amount of moisture, the right amount of chunk-age. I don’t usually put nuts in my banana bread, but for this recipe, it was go big or go home.

Chunky Monkey Banana Bread

This recipe calls for greek style plain yogurt, shredded coconut, chopped walnuts…and of course the chunks of chocolate. Because, in my world, all breads have chunks of chocolate.

It is a super easy one bowl recipe, that bakes up evenly, with a nice density and crumb. The coconut holds the moisture and gives the bread a more than bread texture. The melty chocolate and walnuts say “HELLO!” to your tastebuds.

In a world where I wish all things were as easy as this bread, most of life isn’t. Some people aren’t fans of banana. Don’t let your view of banana dim your opinion of this bread. The original recipe is from www.spoonfulofflavor.com and it is Banana Coconut Crunch Bread with Coconut Cream Icing. I changed a few things and it does call for an additional frosting/glaze made with coconut cream and cream cheese. Truthfully, when I made this bread, I didn’t want to go the extra step for the icing…and it didn’t lack a thing. It was sweet enough and yummy enough. Not every thing I bake needs to have frosting. I know. Even I have limits.

Chunky Monkey Bread

Now that the days have officially declared WINTER IS COMING (why is New England so darn cold all of a sudden?), some times it is just nice to sit with a cup of tea or coffee or almond milk and think about how blessed you are. This recipe made up four small loaf pans, which is perfect for bake sales or sharing with your friend, which is what I did.

Here is a shout out to the momma’s who are tired. Who run kids to practices, help with homework, keep the laundry going, set healthy (mostly) meals before their children, try to fit in exercise, do the rest of their work after they have put kiddos to bed, spend weekends running to catch up, and love love love until they are exhausted.

Chunky Monkey Banana Bread

That’s the kind of friend I shared my bread with. My teacher friend who I believe was my hallway neighbor for a reason. The kind of friend who, on a Monday morning, I am happy to say, “Hey, I baked for you!” (Or actually, I baked for your family because I know you don’t like banana bread but your husband and kids will like it…I hope)!

She’s the friend who is the first to text, “What can I do to help?” She reminds me I too am a good momma. That my kids will turn out just right. Even when I question and worry. Don’t we all need someone like that in our lives? If we don’t have one, let’s be one.

I wish for you a moment where you can whip up this bread, smell it baking, eat a slice while it is still warm, and a real friend to share it with. That, to me is a beautiful thing.

I hope you enjoy this recipe, and as always, thank you for coming to the table!
Chrissy

Click below for a printable recipe!

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Chunky Monkey Banana Bread

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Delicious banana bread with the addition of coconut, walnuts, and chocolate chunks! Recipe from www.spooonfulofflavor.com

Author: chrissy@mythankfultable.com

Ingredients

Scale

3 Ripe Bananas, Mashed
1/4 Cup Plain Greek-Style Yogurt
2 Eggs
3/4 Cup White Granulated Sugar
6 Tablespoons of Melted Butter, (Cooled)
1 Tablespoon Vanilla Extract
3/4 Teaspoon Baking Soda
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
1 Cup Chopped Walnuts
1 1/2 Cup Shredded Coconut (I used sweetened)
2 Cups Flour

Instructions

Prepare four small loaf pans with non-stick spray.
Preheat oven to 325*
In a mixer, combine mashed bananas, yogurt, eggs, butter, vanilla until combined.
Add sugar, salt, baking soda.
Add flour and shredded coconut
Fold in walnuts and chocolate chunks
Bake for 50 minutes or until cake tester comes out clean.

Elvis Overnight Oats

September 13, 2017 by chrissy@mythankfultable.com

I know. I know. Some things go from being good to over the top, and they need a name worthy of their awesomeness. May I introduce my latest breakfast creation, The Elvis Overnight Oats.

Elvis Overnight Oats

It started out as an endeavor to create a high-protein, healthy, filling, nutritious breakfast. Which it is, don’t get me wrong. Starting out with steel-cut oats, right before the liquid is absorbed, I added peanut butter powder. Step one of yum. Then, taking plain Greek yogurt, I added Quest Banana Protein Powder, which is one of my favorites. So you have the peanut butter and banana part.

My official peanut-butter-taste-tester-man commented it needed more peanut butter, so we added a tablespoon of chunky style peanut butter on top.

I felt it needed more banana, so in went the fresh banana.

It was perfect.

Or so I thought.

As an aside, I was lucky enough to host the JV Field Hockey team for breakfast on Sunday, and was impressed not only that this team of girls were kind, and polite, and gracious athletes…but that they put away almost as much food as the wrestling team can (after a match, before they don’t like to eat much). Go girls! Did I mention they ate almost six pounds of bacon? I know, impressive.

Peanut Butter and Banana Overnight Oats

So, my perfect breakfast was put just over the top with the leftover bacon from the breakfast (I was able to salvage a few strips). This serving literally has half a strip, so in the big scheme of things it didn’t create caloric devastation, but it did tip the scales in the realm of breakfast flavor.

When I visit my brother in West Des Moines, a mandatory stop is Zombie Burger, for an Undead Elvis (check it out, it is amazing). If you are a carnivore, and believe in the burger to end all burgers, the apocalyptic (pun intended) experience is worth the flight. So, that said, a breakfast that includes, peanut butter, banana, and (sigh) bacon, deserves the king of names.

Elvis Overnight Oats

Elvis was before my time, but his voice graces my play list, and his favorite blend of banana, peanut butter and bacon is in my opinion, brilliant.

You can disagree. If you must know, this morning I had the peanut butter and banana oats as I originally intended, without the bacon. It was equally delicious. Sometimes, over the top is best saved for special occasions. That, and the JV team ate the rest of the bacon.

They have won their first two games, so who’s to complain?

I hope your breakfasts love you tender, and as always, thank you for coming to the table!

Chrissy

click below for printable recipe

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Elvis Overnight Oats

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This recipe makes four servings of “King” worthy breakfast!

Author: chrissy@mythankfultable.com

Ingredients

Scale

1 Cup Steel Cut Oats
4 Cups Boiling Water
2 Tablespoons Peanut Butter Powder
1 Cup Plain Greek Style Yogurt
1 Scoop/packet Banana Quest Protein Powder
2 Bananas
4 Tablespoons Chunky (or Plain) Peanut Butter
2 Strips of Crispy Bacon

Instructions

Cook Oats according to directions, boiling water, adding the oats and stirring until liquid is absorbed.
At the end of cooking time, stir in Peanut Butter Powder (this is found in peanut butter aisle at grocery store, and typically contains less fat and calories)
Divide into four serving bowls
In a separate bowl, mix plain Greek yogurt with Banana Protein Powder
Scoop four separate portions of Banana powder onto oats
1/2 Banana into each serving portion
Scoop 1 TBSP Peanut Butter into each portion
Crumble 1/2 strip of bacon into each portion.
Put on some classic Elvis and enjoy.

Birthday Blessings and Banana Cake with Browned Butter Frosting

August 28, 2017 by chrissy@mythankfultable.com

So today, I bumped up to the older age group box on surveys. I’m not so troubled by the actual number. There are certainly things I notice on the day-to-day, like the fact that I am certainly wearing more sunscreen and investing in a new skin regimen for reversing aging. Hey, a gal can hope. I’m also making healthy choices, tracking what I eat and exercising more, because I need to be living in this body for a lot longer.

One year ago, I made a goal to find a gift in every day. Whether it was the joy of my first cup of coffee, the way my daughter comes out of her bedroom all sleepy and beautiful, or the way my son will randomly give me an unsolicited hug. It could be the things I grow in my garden, the sound of my mother’s laughter, the way my puppy snuggles on my significant other. Every day, I anticipated and acknowledged the daily gifts I was surrounded by. I made it a personal challenge to, as my mother says, “Find the Good.”

Even though I didn’t journal about these gifts, If I could, it became a photograph, and I even used #everydayagift on my Instagram posts. So for me, I was able to document my gratitude journal in visual format.

Did it change me?

Absolutely.

Being aware of the gifts around me on a daily basis made for a more positive, thankful heart. It steeped me in gratitude. I stopped comparing myself to other people. I started to look for ways to bless others.

I can’t say I never had hard or blue days, or didn’t have situations where one of my children asked me why my face was angry, I am human. I can say I handled some pretty interesting stuff with grace that I might not have had, and it is something I will definitely continue to do moving forward. I’m a better person when I am a grateful person.

So, this morning, when I woke up, the few things I wanted to do on my birthday:

Surround myself with family, go to church so I could go forward for the birthday prayer (I was raised Episcopalian and it was one of my favorite things as a child), Field Hockey scrimmage all afternoon to cheer on my kid, and baking this banana cake. I can’t believe it, but I wanted this cake over everything else. It’s that good.

This recipe actually comes from the www.tastesbetterfromscratch.com website. The original recipe is Banana Bread Bars, I was just going to follow the recipe as it was, and then I made minor changes, the flour mix, more banana, and in the glaze, I used more vanilla and heavy cream instead of milk. It is so simple and easy to create.

Now, in my house there are always bananas, and I am not a banana snob. I will eat a banana with bruises. But even I have my limit; and end up peeling, plastic bagging, and freezing those babies. So, that is how I ended up with five bananas instead of the original 3-4. Thaw, mush up, add to the batter.

Browned Butter for Glaze

As for the glaze. Dear sweet goodness in a frosting. I know, browned butter sounds scary. It isn’t. You take the butter in a pan, turn on the heat, let it cook. Watch that it doesn’t burn and keep the heat low. When it is ready, add your glaze ingredients (I threw mine into the mixer) and combine until smooth. If you spread it on the still warm cake, it smooths out to this creamy layer of sweet, without being confectioner’s sugar sweet. It’s more like a penuche fudge flavor. If you are from New England, penuche shows up at fairs and festivals, it’s a burned sugar fudge that is insanely good.

Now, you can wait to cut this beautiful cake until it is cool, but on this quiet birthday morning, I just wanted a small square still warm without a plate, looking out at my flowers.

When did I decide every day was a gift? When my children

were little and I realized they would be big before I knew it. When my father was diagnosed with cancer and we had less than a year before he lost his brave battle.

When every school year goes by faster and faster.

When I am going to more funerals, volunteering to make meals more, and praying for more friends and families who are struggling. Realizing how really blessed I am.

Every day. Is a gift.

Leave it to my mother to find a place in my flowers to bring my Dad into this day. Cardinals are supposed to be our loved

Banana Cake with Browned Butter Frosting

ones passed on, coming to visit. So he was here with us.

Today, I felt loved, which is all any of us want, right? To be truly loved? To be surrounded by the people who want to be with us and show up in our lives?

And here is this new blog thing, this beautiful new creative corner for me to do what I absolutely love. The things that bring me joy. I am learning and hopefully getting better every day.

So on this day, this perfect end of summer day, I choose to celebrate with this square of deliciousness. The rest will be boxed up and brought to school to make the first few days of school sweeter! I can’t have this around or I will eat the whole cake. No joke. And that does nothing for my eating healthy exercising more resolutions.

I hope you enjoy this recipe, and as always, thank you for coming to the table!

Chrissy

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Birthday Banana Cake with Browned Butter Frosting

Print Recipe

Delicious Banana Cake with Browned Butter Frosting. Based on the Banana Bread Bars recipe from Tastes Better from Scratch website.

Author: chrissy@mythankfultable.com

Ingredients

Scale

Banana Cake:

1/2 C Butter
1 1/2 C Sugar
5 ripe Bananas (If frozen, thaw and mash)
1 C Plain Greek-Style Yogurt
2 Large Eggs
3 tsp Pure Vanilla Extract
1 tsp Baking Soda
3/4 tsp Salt
1 C AP Flour
1 C Cake Flour

Browned Butter Frosting:

6 TBSP Unsalted Butter
3 Cups Confectioner’s Sugar
2 TBSP Pure Vanilla Extract
3–4 TBSP Heavy Cream

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350*
Prepare a 9×13″ pan
Cream together butter and sugar until smooth
Add Greek-Style Yogurt, eggs, mashed bananas, and vanilla
Add dry ingredients and mix until combined
Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 25-35 minutes, until tester in center comes out clean.
In a pan, (I use a larger wok style fry pan) melt butter and simmer until it turns a light brown in color.
Remove butter from heat, add confectioner’s sugar, vanilla, and heavy cream until the glaze is smooth and to the desired thickness.
Spread frosting over the cake while it is still warm.