Busy as a Bee for Rosh Hashanah

I’m already starting to think about the Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah, and dreaming of apples and honey because I know September 28 will be here sooner than I want.  And, as always, I’m making apple cookies with sugar sprinkles and royal icing bumble bees.  Bags of cookies and bigger baskets with individually wrapped cookies will be available.  Send me a note if you are interested.  Wishing you a happy and healthy year full of sweet things.

Happy Back to School!

At least I waited until the end of August to remind everyone it is back to school time.  It is simply not fair when companies start advertising back to school in JULY!  What’s up with that?  But here at Flour Child the reminder is as fun as it can possibly be given the circumstance – COOKIES!!!  I really like the cute pencil but I love the note paper (thinking these would be great for notes to Santa at Christmas and love notes at Valentines Day too).  I hope everyone going back to school – whether starting kindergarten or graduate school in university – has lots of success.  Wishing everyone an A+ year full of learning lots of new things.


P.S. leave a comment on your favorite thing to buy for back to school (I always had the best pencil case -- just ask my friend Suzanne;)

Chunky Monkey or Coco Loco Banana Bread

I think everyone has a favorite banana bread recipe.  I know I do – its from The Complete Magnolia Bakery Cookbook. I particularly love it because it has coconut in it and anything with coconut I just adore.  I adapted the recipe, ever so slightly, as it calls for pecans and I put in peanut butter chocolate chips instead.  You can adapt your fav banana bread to include coconut and chocolate chips instead of using the one below. I love these President Choice mini chips – they come in three flavors – fudge, caramel and peanut butter – each is yummy and could work in this recipe.

Recipe:

3 cups flour

1½ tsp baking soda

¾ tsp cinnamon

¾ tsp salt

¾ cup canola oil

1½ cups sugar

3 large eggs, room temperature, well beaten

1½ tsp vanilla

1½ cups mashed ripe bananas (approx. 4 depending on the size)

¾ cup sour cream

¾ cup sweetened shredded coconut

1 to 1½ cups of chocolate peanut butter or other chips for a nut free alternative

Instructions:

Preheat Oven to 350 degrees.

Grease and lightly flour a 1-=inch tube pan – this makes a big cake which is super if you are having people for brunch.  I have also make it as 3 medium sized loafs – I use one and freeze the others.

Sift together flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt – set aside.

In a large electric mixer bowl, beat together the oil and sugar.  Add the eggs and vanilla, beat until well combined.  Add the bananas and sour cream and mix really well.  Add the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. 

Stir in (by hand) the coconut and peanut butter chips. 

Pour the batter into the prepared pan (or pans).

Bake for 60-70 minutes (45-55 if using smaller pans), or until a cake tester inserted into the center of the bread comes out with moist crumbs attached.

Let cool for at least 1 hour before removing from the pan and serving.

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I was not sure if the name should be coco loco (because of the coconut) OR chunky monkey (because of the whole banana and chocolate thing).  Let me know what you think!

Funky Town Disco Cookies

Not sure if you have seen Glee 3-D or not but these funky disco cookies are a great way to get down and celebrate any Saturday Night fever.

Want Some More S'mores?

They are called S’mores because once you eat one, you always want SOME MORE! 

Real s’mores are a campfire treat are made with a roasted marshmallow and piece of chocolate sandwiched between two graham crackers.

For me, s’mores bring back some of the best memories of summer nights at camp, the cottage and canoe trips in Algonquin park.

But, because we can’t always be campfire side, these cookies are a great substitute AND if you make them right, you may still have the gooey mess that is part of the s’more fun.

I got the recipe from Martha Stewart and made a (very) few modifications.

Ingredients

1/2 cup old-fashioned rolled oats -- I use Quaker Oats

1 cup all-purpose flour -- I ALWAYS use Five Roses Flour

1 cup whole-wheat flour -- again with the Five Roses

3/4 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

3/4 cup brown sugar

1 large egg

15 large marshmallows, cut in half  horizontally

chocolate cut into 30 squares I used 2 boxes of these Hershey's 

Bliss chocolates (milk chocolate and caramel) -- each box 

contains 15 pieces and the recipe makes 30 cookies so I would say 

that is better than perfect.  But you can really use any of your 

favorite chocolate bars cut into 30 squares

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a food processor, pulse oats until finely ground. Add flours, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt; pulse to combine. 

Using an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar until pretty fluffy. Beat in egg, scraping down side of bowl. With mixer on low, beat in flour mixture until just combined.

I use a small ice cream scooper to form the dough into 30 balls placed 1 inch apart, onto two baking sheets. Top each with a chocolate square. 

Bake just until lightly golden, 12 to 15 minutes.  I always put just one cookie sheet in at a time and rotate the sheet halfway through. 

Remove sheets from oven; heat broiler. 

Top each cookie with half a marshmallow. One sheet at a time, broil until marshmallows are lightly browned, 1 to 1 1/2 minutes. Put the light on in the oven and watch the marshmallows really carefully as they brown VERY quickly and can burn really easily.

Cool on wire racks.

Bet you will be wanting s'more than just one!  Happy Summer!

Where the Watermelons Grow

Remember the fun of making up lyrics to the song "Down By The Bay"?  Well, I made these watermelon cookies and kept singing the song, then I came up with my own verse and it goes like this:

Down by the bay, where the watermelons grow

Back to my home, I dare not go

For if I do, My mother would say...

Did you ever see a treat?

Looking so sweet.

Down by the bay.

The song reminds me of a summer camp sing-along and so do the cookies.

If you have your own verse, let me know in a comment or an email.