Tag Archives: banana bread

Banana Nut Muggin – Muffin in a Mug – 3 Ways

Posted on by
1

Banana bread doesn’t make an entrance often in my household because there are only two of us to eat it. Now and then, I have an excuse to whip something like the Banana Pecan Bread with Dark Chocolate Chips, but not often enough to soothe the cravings.
You know what I’m going to say, right? Yes. Banana Nut Muffin in a Mug, or Muggin to the rescue.

nuts throughout

add cacoa nibs

cacoa nibs throughout

I started playing around with ingredients a few weeks ago and came up with several varieties. You may recall the Gluten free, Dairy free Banana Nut Cinnamon Muggin recently created.

It was delicious, but I wanted to offer another Banana Nut Muggin for those who like the convenience of using the Muggin Mix – which is not gluten free, but is very handy.

The banana makes this so moist and the nuts add a great texture.
One version added toasted pecans, and mixed them into the batter. YUM.
Another day I put honey roasted slivered almonds in the bottom of the mug and mixed the rest of the ingredients in a bowl and then poured them over the almonds.
When I turned it out onto a plate, it had that wonderful “upside down” effect and was also delicious.

But I’m also in a baker’s quandary: what to do with cacao nibs. These are little bits of the cacao bean, so are unsweetened, but are supposed to add real chocolate flavor. So far, I’m not sold on that. But I roasted some and added a few to another banana nut muggin. My hubby liked the flavor better than I did.
I still think the nibs need some sugar. If you have suggestions about what to do with them, please leave a note.
Cacoa nibs will likely have a blog post of their own in the near future.
In the meantime, I found another blog that has lots of helpful cooking advice. Please visit Mom to Chef, written by Jolie Angie: http://www.momtochef.com/

You’ll enjoy her site and I’m hoping she (or a reader) can help me with the pound of cacoa nibs sitting in my cupboard unused.

But back to Banana Nut Muggins: get out a large mug and your muggin mix and let’s whip up breakfast!

First, if you are new to muggins, you will want to visit (and make) the blog about the Muggin mix. http://www.nanaclareskitchen.com/2012/03/07/make-a-mix-for-blueberry-almond-muffin-in-a-mug-and-more/
Ingredients for the Muggin mix
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour (or white flour – your choice)
1 cup oats – quick or old fashioned
½ cup ground flax meal
½ cup wheat germ
3 TBS baking powder

make in a separate bowl

Ingredients for the Banana Nut Muggin – three options
1 egg
1/2 small banana
1 TBS honey
3 TBS muggin mix (see above)
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 TBS nuts
2 TBS cacao nibs or chocolate chips

almonds on top

Directions
If you want the nuts on top, put them in the bottom of the cup or mug.
Next mix the ingredients in a bowl and pour the batter over the nuts.
Microwave as usual and when you turn it out onto a plate – voila!

Regular directions
Crack the egg in the cup and add the other ingredients.
Blend well with a fork.
Microwave 1 1/2 – 3 minutes depending on your microwave oven.

Enjoy.
Other Single Serving items you may enjoy from Nana Clare’s Kitchen:
Chocolate cake in a cup
http://www.nanaclareskitchen.com/2012/02/03/chocolate-cake-in-a-cup/
Caramel apple cake in a cup
http://www.nanaclareskitchen.com/2012/03/03/caramel-apple-cake-in-a-cup/

Cinnamon muggin
http://www.nanaclareskitchen.com/2012/02/24/cinnamon-muffin-in-a-mug/

Follow Me on Pinterest

Banana Pecan Bread with Dark Chocolate Chips

Posted on by
3

Sometimes I cheat when I make sweet breads. Just a little. And it’s a good thing, this little cheat. Years ago I discovered that when a recipe says to put a batch of sweet bread in a loaf pan, chances are you will need to over bake it before the center finally gets done. And this means the batter around the edges will be rather dry. Who needs that? So I do one of two things:
Either I put a single batch into an 8” x 8” square pan, or I make a double batch and put it into three loaf pans. In this case I had an extra small loaf pan which I was using as a gift for someone who lives alone, so it was perfect.

banana bread sliced


But you will want to try this bread. Even if you already have a banana bread favorite, this is worth taking for a test drive. The recipe is adapted from Ellie Krieger’s book, Comfort Food Fix, 2011.

roasted pecans resting


Ellie takes a nutritionist’s knife to our favorite foods and cuts out the bad stuff and leaves in the flavor. She used to have a TV show on the Food Network but now the network seems to be dominated by programs about restaurants and chefs. My hubby and I really liked Ellie’s cheerful advice and great recipe swaps. So try this one.

dark chocolate chips on top


Naturally, I’ve modified it a bit – like adding more nuts and the chocolate chips. I don’t want to go overboard with all this healthy cooking.

banana pecan bread


chocolate melting

Ingredients for a single batch
½ cup pecans
¾ cup all purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
¼ cup white sugar
¼ cup packed brown sugar
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
¼ cup canola oil
¼ cup plain nonfat yogurt
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 very ripe bananas, peeled and mashed (about 1 ½ cups)
1/3 cup dark chocolate chips

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
Spread the pecans on an ungreased baking sheet and toast about 8 minutes. Set aside to cool.
Spray a 9 x 5” loaf pan with cooking spray. (Or a 9” square pan.)
In a medium bowl, whisk together the oil, yogurt, eggs and vanilla.
Whisk in bananas.
Stir in the dry ingredients and mix just until combined.
Stir in pecans.
Pour into pans.
Sprinkle chocolate chips on top and swirl into the top of the batter.
Bake 45 – 55 minutes or until done.
Cool for 15 minutes and then pop the bread out of the pan and onto a wire rack to finish cooling.

Follow Me on Pinterest

Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

Posted on by
Reply

banana bread with attitude

Chocolate chips make a great addition to this moist banana bread. This is a recipe I copied from a magazine and didn’t note which one. Sorry. It sounds decadent, but actually it’s a lightened up version using applesauce for some of the fat and a fat-free sour cream to make it really moist. When I was making it, I forgot to add the chocolate chips until after the batter was in the bread pans. So I sprinkled them on top and added walnuts and mixed them in. For a final flourish, I sprinkled the tops with Sugar in the Raw. (From the natural cane turbinado sugar.)

moist, sweet and wonderful

Interesting note on sugar: White sugar is really sugar that has had the molasses pulled out of it. Brown sugar is made from taking white sugar and adding molasses back in. Sugar in the Raw (turbinado) is natural sugar that hasn’t been bleached. Check out their site: http://www.sugarintheraw.com/

sugar crystals sparkle on top


I also love the bigger crystals which make muffins and breads look more dressed up and ready for a party.

Ingredients
2 TBS butter
1 ½ cups sugar (white, brown, raw, your choice)
2 eggs
1 ¼ cups mashed bananas – about 3 medium sized
½ cup fat free sour cream
¼ cup applesauce
1 tsp vanilla
2 tsp baking soda
¾ tsp salt
3 cups flour – all purpose or whole wheat pastry flour
1 cup chocolate chips
1 cup chopped walnuts
2 TBS Turbinado sugar – optional

spray pans with oil


Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

heavy, creamy batter


mix chips and nuts into top of batter

Spray or grease two 9” x 5” loaf pans
Mix together the butter, sugar, eggs, bananas, sour cream, applesauce and vanilla.
Sprinkle in the baking soda and salt and mix until well blended.
Add the flour and mix just until incorporated.
Add the chocolate chips and walnuts and mix by hand.

they didn't raise a lot, but you won't be disappointed

Pour into the two pans.
Sprinkle the tops with the turbinado (raw) sugar, if you like.
Bake for 40 – 45 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

cool on wire racks


Notes:
You may want to add the chocolate chips and walnuts once the batter is in the pans. It makes a very pretty loaf of bread.
I have to confess the original recipe called for 2 cups of chocolate chips, but it just seemed like too much of a good thing. One cup got the job done and didn’t overpower the flavor of the bananas.