Guilt-free Chocolate Chip Banana "Bread"

Necessity has forced me to clean out my freezer. I recently got married, and between my old fridge, his fridge, and wedding leftovers, we were out of space. I set out on my counter a few random items, trying to brainstorm what action to take.

If you're like me, you hate throwing food away, and stick things in the freezer when they're on their last leg to preserve them for some future moment when you know you'll just crave that half a serving of casserole or a few slivers of chicken breast. Thus said, I always put browned bananas in my freezer for baking. I also had a carton of egg whites (yes, you can freeze eggs), so this is what I came up with: wheat free, dairy free, mostly fat and sugar free yumminess!

4 bananas, previously frozen, thawed
1 cup egg whites
1 cup oats (I used gluten free)
1 tablespoon Pampered Chef Cinnamon Plus spice blend
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips
1/4 cup chopped walnuts

Heat oven to 350. Mix together with an electric mixer. Because the bananas have been frozen and thawed, they are really juicy and mix well. Choose a baking dish that is easy to clean, such as glass, corningware or stoneware. This will stick, and you'll want to use an abrasive pad. Bake until it doesn't jiggle and it's slightly browned on top. 20 minutes or so.

Serves 4

Chocolate Pecan Bourbon Pie "Derby Pie"

• Last year I had the good fortune to be set up on a girl date with who is now my best friend, Bonnie. She and I share a love of horses and often talk about Kentucky and the races. This summer she made a "Derby Pie," and I will never look at a pecan pie the same way. 
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• The Derby Pie is a tradition of Kentucky, and the only original recipe is a well kept family secret. This version is a cross between a chocolate chess and a pecan. 
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• Frozen Marie Callenders crust 
• 1 1/2 cups chopped pecans 
• 1 cup (6 ounces) semisweet chocolate morsels
• 1 cup dark corn syrup
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar 
• 1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 1/4 cup bourbon or water 
• 4 large eggs 
• 1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted 
• 2 teaspoons cornmeal
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• Sprinkle pecans and chocolate evenly onto bottom of piecrust; set aside.
• Combine corn syrup and next 3 ingredients in a large saucepan, and bring to a boil over medium heat. Cook, stirring constantly, 3 minutes. Remove from heat.
• Whisk together eggs and next 4 ingredients. Gradually whisk about one-fourth hot mixture into egg mixture; add to remaining hot mixture, whisking constantly. Pour filling into prepared piecrust. Cover with crust shield for first 30 min. 
• Bake at 325° for 50 minutes or until set; cool on wire rack.
• Cynthia Ann Briscoe, Birmingham, Alabama, Southern Living 

Chocolate Chess Pie

I have the great honor and privilege of living close to my brother and his three amazing children. Time to time, when I babysit them, I let them help me cook and try to pass on my knowledge to their young, eager faces. This was a perfect opportunity to bake a pie: their father's birthday.

Now in the south, a Chess pie is a tradition. It's one of the first recipes I learned, passed down from my grandmother along with this story. The old saying goes, that a yankee was enjoying a delicious pie baked for him by a southern cook when he asked what kind of pie it was. The cook, in a heavy accent, said, "It's jes' pie." Thus, the name, "Chess Pie." What's better than a pie full of sugar and butter? A pie full of sugar, butter and chocolate. So here's the variation on the old favorite.

Ingredients
3 cups sugar
7 tbl cocoa powder
3 tbl flour
1 cup milk
4 eggs
1 stick butter
1 tsp vanilla
2 regular pie shells or 1 deep dish.

Directions
Heat oven to 350, place pie shells on a cookie sheet. prepare a crust shield (directions in Pumpkin Pie Cheesecake).
In a small saucepan, heat butter on low just until melted, remove from heat and add cocoa until melted.
In a bowl, mix sugar with flour, then add remaining ingredients. Add butter/cocoa mixture. Pour into crusts.
Bake for 30-40 min, until a crust has formed on top of the pie. (it will be cracked and not sticky to the touch)
Remove crust shield during the last 15 min of baking.
Cool completely before slicing. We call this "Settin' up."  (trust me, resist temptation or it will be pure liquid inside!)

Funny side note: After baking this and putting the sweet darlings to bed, I couldn't resist tasting my creation. So, I confess I nibbled a bit :) It made Twitter with a picture of the creator/culprit.

Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

• I woke up this morning to grey skies, the wind rustling the leaves outside of my window and the soft patter of rain serenading me. I started thinking of all the wonderful things I could make for breakfast when a Jack Johnson song started playing in my head, "Banana Pancakes." That sparked another thought, chocolate chip banana bread, one of my favorite comfort foods. 

Yesterday I had a bunch of girls over to watch a movie and do a chocolate tasting, so, conveniently, we had a selection of chocolate to choose from. I mixed dark chocolate with orange, sea salt chocolate, several milk chocolates, and a 85% dark chocolate. It keeps the banana muffins mysterious, and hard to pinpoint what you're tasting!

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• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cups white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 3 large over-ripe bananas from your freezer, thawed
• 2/3 cup plain yogurt
• 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 1/2 cups dark chocolate bar, chopped up

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Cream bananas and sugar, add eggs, butter, vanilla, yogurt, mix well. Mix dry ingredients in separate bowl, add to banana mixture 1/3 at a time. Add chocolate, just stir to incorporate. 

Grease a muffin tin or a loaf pan. Bake muffins for about 15 min, until sides are brown. Bake Loaf for 30-40 min until a toothpick comes out clean in the center. Don't open the oven too much as it can cause the center to fall. 

Tip: When your bananas start to go bad, throw them in the freezer. The peel protects them, and when you thaw them out they are a nice soft consistency that mixes well. 

Mocha Tart

This recipe will impress everyone! Beware, it has caffeine content!
My favorite food magazine for years was Family Circle. This is one of the gems I collected from there. Perfect for grown-up events.

1 ready-made pie crust
2/3 cup semisweet choc chips
1 cup rough chopped walnuts
3 Tbl butter
3 Tbl instant espresso powder
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup dark corn syrup
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
Whipped cream (recipe can be found on my other recipes)

• Heat oven to 350 degrees. Fit pie crust into a 9 in removable-bottom tart pan.
• Sprinkle chocolate and walnuts evenly over crust. Set aside.
• Microwave butter in large glass bowl 40 or until melted. 
• Whisk in espresso powder.
• Beat in brown sugar, corn syrup, eggs, and vanilla.
• Pour into crust.
• Bake in lower third of oven for 35-40 min. Cool on rack to room temp. Remove outer rim and garnish with whipped cream before serving.