Grandma's Banana Bread

Lately, my thoughts have been consumed with recipes from my childhood.  I love trying new recipes and I regularly seek them out, but sometimes you just want the familiar.

My little boy is having trouble eating right now because he has his first loose tooth.  Yesterday, Mallory and I decided that we'd make his favorite food in the whole world (next to pizza).  Banana Bread.  It's also very soft, so he'd be able to eat it without any discomfort.

Mallory couldn't wait to tell him what we'd made for him and he was so very happy and asked if I'd put some in his lunch today.  I was happy to do so.

I might have to stalk the produce section for black bananas for the next 6 years because I'm told this losing teeth business goes on for years!

This is the recipe I grew up with that my Mom made. 

Grandma's Banana Bread

1 cup sugar
1/2 cup Crisco
2 eggs
3 tbsp buttermilk
3 large bananas, mashed
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups flour

Cream the sugar and shortening together. Add well eaten eggs, buttermilk and other ingredients in order given.  Put in greased pan and bake for 1 hour at 350 degrees.

Pop Up Pancakes

Today....my first baby turns five years old. I always make a special breakfast for my kids when it's their birthday and I knew he'd like these. He ate them for breakfast and lunch. He ate them until they were gone. I made some of these in a regular muffin tin and some in a small tin and I liked the small one's better. I would reduce the baking time by 5 minutes if you do this.

bite sized

Pop Up Pancake Recipe
adapted from Make and Takes

1 cup milk
1 cup flour
6 eggs
1/4 cup melted butter
1 tablespoon of vanilla
3 tablespoons of sugar
dash salt

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and grease your muffin tins.

Place all ingredients in the blender and mix until all of the flour is incorporated.

Pour into muffin tins and bake for 15-20 minutes or until the tops are golden on top.  When you remove them from the oven...they will collapse a little bit.  This is fine.

The insides are hollow....so you could pipe in some whipped cream but we just cut them up and served them with maple syrup on top.  They are addictive!

Yorkshire Pudding Popovers

These popovers were light, fluffy and the perfect mate to the Prime Rib! I fell in love with them and I'm trying to think of other things to make them with.

Yorkshire Pudding Popovers
adapted from Steamy Kitchen and Cooks Illustrated

3 large eggs, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups milk, at room temperature
3/4 teaspoon table salt (1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt)
1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, sifted
3 tablespoons beef fat (from your Prime Rib Roast or bacon grease)

1. In large bowl, whisk together eggs, milk and salt. Sift in the flour in three stages, each time whisking until flour disappears before adding in more flour. Let rest at room temperature for 30 minutes and up to 3 hours.

2. When the prime rib roast is finished, spoon out 3 tablespoons of beef fat. Turn oven to 450F.

3. Stir 1 tablespoon of the beef fat into the batter.

4. In a muffin pan, fill each cup with 1/2 teaspoon of the remaining beef fat. When oven has reached temperature, place muffin pan with fat into oven for 3 minutes until smoking hot.

5. Carefully take out pan (careful! it's hot!) and pour batter into each cup, filling to 2/3 full. Immediately return to oven and bake for 20 minutes. Do not open oven door during baking, or the Yorkshire Puddings will collapse. Reduce heat to 350F and bake an additional 10 minutes until golden brown.

6. Remove from oven, pierce each Yorkshire Pudding with toothpick to allow steam to escape and prevent them from collapsing.

Cinnamon Bread

Yesterday...I was sitting at my desk reading twitter when my new best friend Ree tweeted that she was enjoying some delicious Homemade Cinnamon Bread. Over the weekend, my new best friend Ree started following me after I made some witty commentary about her fallen tree. And because I asked her.

Ree doesn't know it yet...but we have a lot in common, but in reverse. She went from being a city girl to a country girl and I did it the other way around. I used to live in the country and deal with cows on my porch. Oh...those were the days.

It was only 56 degrees in Denver yesterday so as I scanned the list of ingredients I decided that I would also make this bread. I'm going to tell you right now that this takes all day. Dough has to rise twice. But it's worth it and it will teach your preschoolers a lesson in patience.

  No...it's not ready yet.

I had a situation where I couldn't find my rolling pin.  I believe it's packed and in the basement storage room...so I used a can of beer from the fridge.  Sorry your beer is slippery honey!

Homemade Cinnamon Bread
adapted from Ree...The Pioneer Woman

1 cup Milk
6 Tablespoons Butter
2-½ teaspoons Active Dry Yeast
2 whole Eggs
⅓ cups Sugar
3-½ cups All-purpose Flour
1 teaspoon Salt
⅓ cups Sugar
2 Tablespoons Cinnamon
Egg And Milk, Mixed Together, For Brushing
Softened Butter, For Smearing And Greasing

Melt the butter with milk. Heat until very warm, but don’t boil. Allow to cool until still warm to the touch, but not hot. Sprinkle (don't dump it in) yeast over the top, stir it gently, and allow to sit for 10 minutes.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, mix sugar and eggs with the paddle attachment until combined. Pour in milk/butter/yeast mixture and stir to combine. Add the salt and half of the flour and beat on medium speed until combined. Add the other half and beat until combined.

Switch to the dough hook attachment and beat/knead dough on medium speed for eight to ten minutes. If dough is too sticky, add 1/4 cup flour and beat again for 5 minutes.

Warm a metal or glass mixing bowl by running hot water into it, so it’s warm. Drizzle in a little canola oil, then toss the dough in the oil to coat. Cover the bowl in plastic wrap and set it in a warm place for at least 2 hours.  Let it sit longer if you can.

Turn dough out onto the work surface. Roll into a  rectangle no wider than the loaf pan you’re going to use, and about 18 to 24 inches long. Smear with 2 tablespoons melted butter. Mix sugar and cinnamon together, then sprinkle evenly over the butter-smeared dough. Starting at the far end, roll dough toward you, keeping it tight and contained. Pinch seam to seal.

Grease a loaf pan with softened butter. Place the dough, seam down, in the pan. Cover it with plastic wrap and allow to rise for 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix together an egg with a little milk, and brush over the top of your bread. Bake for 40 minutes on a middle/lower rack in the oven. Remove from the pan and allow bread to cool. Slice and serve with butter.