Hands down, this is the easiest recipe on this site, with the fewest ingredients: one. I stumbled upon this recipe for banana ice cream on the same day I noticed a few sad bananas sitting in the kitchen, and it seemed too crazy-majickal to pass up. Freeze bananas, blend bananas. That’s pretty much it. It turns into “ice cream”. Really. The texture is awesome — not icy, not dry: creamy goodness without any cream. The original suggests blending until the consistency is like soft-serve ice cream, but I stopped blending sooner, as soon as the bananas formed a solid mass and jumped above the blades. If you have some over-ripe bananas in the kitchen and you’re not in the mood for banana bread, I highly recommend this treat.

Lisa:

What? It worked? No way!

Chris:

How crazy is this? It looks and feels just like ice cream!

Lisa:

If you don’t like the taste of bananas, though…

Chris:

Yeah, it’s banana-y. But if you don’t like that taste, I’d hope you wouldn’t prepare a recipe where that was the only ingredient.

Lisa:

Next time you should totally add in a little peanut butter or something.

Chris:

Honey might be good, too — yeah, let’s do it.

Lisa:

Wahoo! Also, I just realized you made it through this entire conversation without making any banana puns.

Chris:

Yeah, I didn’t see the a-peel.

Banana Ice Cream
2 over-ripe bananas
Optional: honey or peanut butter

Peel the bananas and cut into small pieces. Freeze for a few hours. Stick in a food processor and pulse until crumbly, scraping down the sides as needed.
At some point the bananas will turn from crumbles to a solid mass and rise above the blades (similar to making dough in a blender) — you’re done! Scoop into a bowl and enjoy!

I love when Lisa gets on a “I’m gonna bake treats” kick. This week she spotted this recipe @101 Cookbooks for a tasty coffee cake with an interesting twist — it includes fresh rosemary and thyme, which happen to be the two plants we’ve actually managed to keep alive in our garden. Perfect!

Whoa, what’s up stoner?

Lisa says:

Excuse me?

Chris says:

It smells like you’re baking space cakes or something in here.

Lisa says:

Nice try — but not quite. Different herbs — rosemary and thyme.

Chris says:

In coffee cake? What the?

Lisa says:

I know, interesting, right? But you have to taste this.

Chris says:

Omigod this is awesome. It doesn’t really come across super-herby, but I definitely smell it. Why is the inside so yellow?

Lisa says:

Hmmm, not sure… the lemon zest? Don’t you love the crumble on top? So addictive!

Chris says:

Are you sure this is just rosemary and thyme? This coffee cake totally gives me the munchies.

Lisa says:

Believe what you want — just save some for me!

Maple Blueberry Coffee Cake
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
3 tbsp rolled oats
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp fine grain sea salt
1/4 tsp fresh lemon thyme, chopped
1/4 tsp fresh rosemary, chopped
4 tbsp (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/3 cup maple syrup, room temperature
1 large egg, room temperature
zest of one lemon
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup buttermilk
1 1/3 cups fresh blueberries

Topping:
1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
4 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut 1/4-inch cubes
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 tsp fresh lemon thyme
1/4 tsp fresh rosemary
1/2 cup chopped pecans

Preheat the oven to 350F degrees, rack in the middle. Butter a 1-pound loaf pan, and line with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda, salt, thyme, and rosemary. Set aside. In a separate large bowl beat the butter with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Drizzle in the maple syrup and beat until well incorporated, scraping down the sides of the bowl as you go. Beat in the egg, lemon zest, and vanilla extract, scraping the sides again. Add half of the flour, stir, and just a splash of the buttermilk. Stir again, then add the rest of the flour and stir in the remainder of the buttermilk, until everything just comes together and then very gently fold in one cup of the blueberries. Scrape the batter evenly into the prepared pan and set aside.

To make the streusel topping, place the flour, butter, brown sugar, rosemary, thyme and pecans in a food processor and pulse until the topping is just past sandy/crumbly, yet still moist looking. Crumble 2/3 of it over the cake batter, sprinkle the remaining 1/3 cup blueberries on top of that, and then add the last of the crumble. Delicately pat in place with your fingers.

Place the coffee cake in the oven and bake for 45-50 minutes or until the top is golden and a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Let the cake cool for five minutes and then remove it from the pan to cool on a rack.

Everyone’s heard of “Christmas in July”, but I’m proposing “Thanksgiving in May” — why? Well, frankly, I’ve been sitting on these pictures and recipes for six months now, and I finally have the time to post them. Since we’re already being a little nutty, let’s also start with dessert — this insanely good Hazelnut Pumpkin Pie, which Lisa made after seeing the recipe on 101 Cookbooks. The original recipe suggests using freshly ground spices, and it does make a difference. I’m not sure how long this pumpkin pie lasted in our kitchen, I’m guessing “not long”.

It’s. About. Time. 

Chris says:

Hey, we’ve been busy! 

Lisa says:

I know, but that Thanksgiving dinner was so awesome! 

Chris says:

Well, now you can virtually re-experience everything. 

Lisa says:

Seriously, I need to make this again. Until the blog is presented in Taste-O-Vision™, I’m just going to be craving this non-stop. 

Chris says:

I’m in! 

Hazelnut Pumpkin Pie
1 store-bought pie crust
2 cups hazelnuts, toasted
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 tbsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground allspice
1/4 tsp ground cloves
3/4 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp cornstarch
1 15-oz can pure pumpkin puree
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 extra large eggs PLUS one for glaze, lightly beaten
1 cup coconut milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Puree 1 1/2 cups of the toasted hazelnuts in a food processor until they turn into a hazelnut paste and set aside. Chop the remaining 1/2 cup of hazelnuts and set aside separately, to top the pie after baking.
To make the pumpkin pie filling, whisk together the brown sugar, spices, salt, and cornstarch. Stir in the pumpkin puree, and vanilla. Now stir in the eggs and coconut milk until just combined. Set aside.

Place the pie crust in the pan, and then crumble the hazelnut paste on top of the pie dough and gently press it into a thin layer across the bottom. Use the last egg to brush the edges of the pie dough. Prick the pie dough a few times to prevent air bubbles. Finally, fill the pie crust with the puree mixture and bake for about 50 minutes. The center of the pie should just barely shake when you move the pie, and the edges should be set.

Let the pie cool a bit, then serve topped with whipped cream and chopped hazelnuts.

Lisa recently made these peanut-butter cups while we were on the Oregon Coast with the Small Clan — this is the second go-round for Lisa experimenting with peanut-butter cups, and it was a definite winner. The peanut-butter filling has the perfect texture thanks to the addition of crushed up graham crackers (!!) — I know, right? This recipe was found @ Pete Bakes, and for how surprisingly easy (and delicious!) they are, will surely be made again.

Om-nom-nom…

Who keeps leaving half ones? And can I finish them?

There’s only three left!

Yum, you can really taste the graham cracker…

I don’t taste the graham cracker, just delicious peanut-butter-filled goodness.

There’s only one left!

Wow, these are perfect…

It’s a good thing I didn’t make 40 of these… we’d have polished them all off!

Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups
8 oz semi-sweet chunks
8 oz dark chocolate chunks
1/3 cup creamy peanut butter
1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar
1/4 cup crushed graham crackers

In a medium bowl, mix together the peanut butter, confectioners’ sugar and graham crackers. Set aside.
In a metal bowl over a saucepan with boiling water, carefully melt the chocolate.
Use a pastry brush or a spoon to brush the melted chocolate on the bottom and sides of mini cupcake liners. This will be the base for your cups, so if in doubt, slather on more chocolate — you don’t want the lining too thin. Put the cupcake liners on a plate and place in the freezer for 10 minutes.
Remove from the freezer, and place about a teaspoon of the peanut butter mixture in each cup. Press down a bit to spread. Spoon more melted chocolate on top of each cup.
Place the peanut butter cups back in the freezer for another 15 minutes to set.
Allow cups to get to room temperature before serving, or just serve cold!

12-16 mini peanut butter cups.

When I spotted this recipe for Tahini Brownies on Taste of Beirut, I knew it was just a matter of time before we would tackle it ourselves.  Actually, “tackle” is very much an overstatement; this is one of the easiest brownie recipes we’ve ever made.  It literally took more time to figure out the approximate grams-to-cups conversions than to throw everything together and get them baking.  A birthday party was the perfect excuse to make, and give away (lest we eat them all ourselves), these egg-free, butter-free, sesame-sweet treats.

Yay, we’re finally making these!

Chris says:

I know it — the batter is awesome.

Lisa says:

You sure it’s a good idea to bring these to a party with kids? There’s rum in here.

Chris says:

Heck yes — I’m sure there will be plenty of kid-friendly treats. Besides, I’m sure most of the alcohol is gonna burn off during baking.

Lisa says:

True! Um, I think we should cut these before the party.

Chris says:

Well of course, how else are we gonna taste-test them?

Lisa says:

Wanna split one?

Chris says:

Yes please…

Lisa says:

Ooooh, they’re good… you can definitely taste the tahini!

Chris says:

Yeah, at the end… not overpowering, but you can definitely place it. Okay, these were a success.

Lisa says:

*Totally* — and so easy! Now let’s go before I eat any more of them.

Tahini Brownies
1 Bar of cooking chocolate, such as 60 or 70% bittersweet, 100 g
1/2 cup, plus one tablespoon of tahini
1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 heaping tsp baking powder
1 cup powdered sugar
~ 2/3 cup combination of rum and orange juice

Preheat the oven to 350F.
Melt the chocolate in a double-boiler. Meanwhile, mix the tahini, orange juice and rum in a large bowl.
Add the melted chocolate and the powdered sugar. Mix well.
Sift the flour and baking powder into the mixture, and again mix well.
Grease an 8 inch baking pan and line with parchment paper. Pour in the batter, spreading it as evenly as possible.
Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until the outside is crispy, and still slightly gooey inside.