Fruity Goodness

I don't know why I do this, but I always seem to take fresh, good-for-you fruit and mix it with flour, butter, sugar, and any other number of ingredients to make delicious, warm, not-so-good-for-you treats. It's a rare day when a fruit from my kitchen gets eaten in its full nutritional glory. But at this point, it's research. I'm still learning about cooking, baking, and food...and putting together a list of recipes that I will return to year after year. And so, in the name of research, I present 2 keepers and one that needs work.

Banana Oatmeal Pancakes
adapted from Joy the Baker's Oatmeal Cookie Pancakes

• 1 egg, beaten
  
• 1 c. buttermilk
• 28g. (2 T.) melted butter, cooled
• 1/4 t. vanilla extract
• 3/4 c. flour (I used wheat-white combo)
  
• 1 T. baking powder
• 1/2 t. baking soda
• 1/2 t. salt
• 1/4. t. cinnamon
• pinch of nutmeg
• 1 T. brown sugar
  
• 1/4 c. old fashioned oats
• 1 banana, sliced
  

Mix together eggs, buttermilk, cooled melted butter and vanilla. Add flour, bp, bs, salt, spices, sugar and oats. You can fold in banana now or add later. Coat pan with cooking spray and heat over medium heat before adding batter - 2 T. per pancake. I like to add the banana slices into the cooking pancake. Cook for about 2 minutes on each side. The batter is very oatmeal cookie-ish! This makes plenty of pancakes for 2 hungry eaters.


Banana Strawberry Muffins
from The Joy of Baking

• 113 g. (1 stick) melted butter
• 3/4 c. light brown sugar
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 t. vanilla extract
• 2 large bananas, mashed
• 1 c. fresh strawberries, sliced into bite sized pieces
• 2 1/4 c. flour (I used wheat-white combo)
  
• 1 1/2 t. baking powder
• 1/4 t. baking soda
• 1 t. ground cinnamon
• 1/2 t. salt

Whisk together the brown sugar, eggs, vanilla extract and mashed banana. Stir in melted butter until combined.

In a separate bowl combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Gently fold in the berries, making sure they are coated with flour. This helps to prevent the berries from sinking during baking. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir only until the ingredients are just combined. Do not overmix the batter or tough muffins will result. Bake at 180C (350F) for 20-25 minutes.

This recipe is brilliant, the muffins were delicious!

Strawberry Chocolate Chip Muffins
from Recipe Lover

• 1 1/2 c. strawberries
• 1/2 c. sugar
• 2 c. flour
• 1/2 t. baking soda
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 t. salt
• 3/4 c. plain yogurt (or buttermilk, or sour cream)
• 1 egg
• About 50g. (3/4 T.) melted butter
• 1/2 c. chocolate chips

Combine strawberries and sugar and let sit for at least an hour so that the juices come out. Combine flour, bs, bp, and salt. Strain liquid from strawberries and mix well with cooled melted butter, egg, and yogurt. Stir into flour mixture. Add strawberries and chocolate. Bake at 200C (400F) for 20-30 minutes.

These didn't turn out so hot for me. Maybe the wheat flour overshadowed the strawberry flavor or maybe it's because I used buttermilk instead of yogurt. But these didn't seem sweet enough and were a little rubbery. Gotta tweak this one.

Well, that's a few for the recipe file!