My co-worker makes this fantastic banana bread and I finally was able to get the recipe from her. She calls it sour cream banana bread.

1 c. sugar
1/2 c. oil
2 eggs
1 c. mashed bananas (about 2 bananas)
1/2 c. sour cream (regular or light)
1 tsp.vanilla
1 1/2 c. flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup walnuts (optional)

Mix wet ingredients, then add dry. Butter or oil loaf ban. Bake at 350 F for 50-60 minutes or until tester comes out clean. Makes one loaf.

Instead of sour cream, I used some Greek yogurt and it turned out just fine. I left out the walnuts this time around.

This is fool-proof recipe. Love it. Not a pretty picture but I swear it’s delicious.

http://www.marthastewart….e-chunk-cookies

From Martha Stewart’s Cookies. The recipe can be found on Martha Stewart’s website here. I made a couple changes, I couldn’t find my big tub of rolled oats (it somehow got lost during the move) and I used chocolate chips instead of chopping my own chunks.

I made a bit of a mistake too, after toasting the nuts, I dumped them while still warm into the batter so that the chocolate chips melted a bit… but it actually turned out well as the chocolate swirled into the batter.

It takes a bit of work to bake these as it requires rotating the pan halfway through cooking. It turned out a bit cake-like so Ron suggested (and preferred) a longer cooking time so that it had more crispy edges. I’m going to go buy myself a bigger cooking pan too, I could only bake 6 cookies at a time so ended up having to cook 4 batches which took a long time.

Another great recipe from Coffee Cakes: Simple, Sweet, and Savory by Lou Seibert Pappas. In the book, it’s under “peach-cashew coffee cake” but I made it work for some ripe nectarines I had and I used slivered almonds (as mentioned in the recipe) instead of cashews.

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter at room temp
1 cup granulated sugar
3 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract (or 1 tbsp amaretto liqueur)
1 cup unbleached all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
4 peaches, peeled, pitted, and cut into 3/8 inch thick slices
I substituted nectarines
2 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/4 tsp freshly grated or ground nutmeg
1/2 cup (2 oz) slivered almonds (or roasted cashews)
2 tbsp turbinado or Demerara sugar
Whipped cream or creme fraiche for serving (optional, so I left it out)

Preheat oven to 375 F. Butter and flour an 11 inch fluted tart pan with a removable bottom or a 10 inch springform pan.

In a large bowl, cream the butter and granulated sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and amaretto or vanilla and beat until smooth. In another bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Stir to blend.

Mix the dry ingredients into the butter mixture, beating well until smooth. Turn into prepared pan. Toss the peaches (or nectarines!) with the lemon juice and nutmeg and arrange them on top. Sprinkle with the nuts and sugar.

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until golden brown. Let cool in pan on wire rack for 10 minutes, then remove the pan sides. Serve warm or room temp.

I ended up having to bake it for an additional 15 to 20 minutes because the center was still raw then I ended up broiling it for 5 minutes to toast the nuts on top.

Thick layer of fruit.

I love coffee cakes, so easy to bake and so delicious.