Brian's parents are here. Time to make banana bread.

When I was a kid, my mom used to occasionally make banana bread. I remember it being the BEST BANANA BREAD EVER. She gave me the recipe a long time ago, but I've always been dissappointed when I've made it because it just never lives up to the memory. Last summer when Brian's parents were here, I decided to perfect my banana bread recipe. I tried a few times, but then there were no more overripe bananas and I stopped. Well, Brian's parents are here again and oddly enough we have some more overripe bananas in the fridge. I decided to go back to somewhere closer to the original recipe, which I will produce here. What I've learned so far from my efforts (I know because I've kept meticulous records): yogurt substitutes pretty well for the sour cream, and you can reduce the butter down to about 5Tbsp if you add more of the yogurt (can be lowfat) and an extra banana. The sugar can be easily reduced to 1/4 cup (the original recipe called for 3/4 cups + 2 Tbsp). Some of the breads with reduced butter actually taste better as they age (who knew!) Anyway, here is the latest incarnation:

2 bananas, mashed
2 Tbsp sour cream
2 eggs
2 Tsp lemon zest
1 1/2 Tsp vanilla
2 cups flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
8 Tbsp butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350 deg.
Grease and 8x8 square pan.
Mix wet ingredients (bananas, sour cream, eggs, lemon zest, vanilla, sugar and butter) set aside
In a separate bowl, mix dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt)
Combine wet and dry ingredients. Do not overmix.
Spoon/pour into prepared pan and bake approx 35 min at 350 deg.

Red, White and Blue Cookies

I saw a show on the Food Network the other day that mentioned these cookies and for a holiday barbecue, I decided to try to make them myself. I had to improvise a bit on the recipe, but they turned out quite good. The dried fruit makes the cookies nice and chewy and the tartness of the fruit cuts the sweetness of the white chocolate. As a bonus, they are really easy to make (the hardest part is folding in the fruit and chips).

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

1 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup light brown sugar
2 eggs, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 package (11 oz) white chocolate chips
3/4 cup dried blueberries
3/4 cup dried cranberries

In the bowl of a mixer, cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add vanilla and eggs, one at a time, mixing until combined. Gradually add flour, salt, baking soda and baking powder. Fold in chips, blueberries and cranberries. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls on ungreased baking sheets. Bake for 12-14 minutes. Cool slightly on sheets, then transfer to racks to cool completely.