Banana Walnut Waffles

joythebaker — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 05:53:40 +0000

I don’t have one single recipe memorized.

Actually wait…. I have the recipe for a Bourbon and Ginger Ale memorized. That’s two ingredients. That doesn’t really count.

I don’t have one single baking recipe set to memory. Not my Dad’s Buttermilk Biscuit recipe. Not my favorite pancake recipe. Not the best Creme Fraiche Quiche ever. None of those are in my brain.

What I do have in my brain is: my best friend’s parents’ phone number, from 1988, the license plate number for my first car, and every single lyric to Blues Traveler’s “Hook”.

Wwwwhhhhyyyyy?

Can we erase these three useless pieces of information, and replace them with: a buttermilk biscuit recipe, the quadratic equation, and something awesomely conversational… like the lifespan of the beluga whale. That would be better, don’t you think?

Waffles for two.

You know… just like every day in your house, right?

I know. Me neither. It’s just that… sometimes you need to make Tuesday special.

Maple syrup helps tremendously.

In real life, it was waffle for three, right next to the front door with lots of natural light. Whatevs.

Banana Walnut Waffles

serves 4

Print this Recipe!

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

¼ cup packed brown sugar

2/3 cups canola or vegetable oil

4 large eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 ½ cups buttermilk

1/2 cup mashed banana

1/4 cup chopped walnuts

Set your waffle iron in a level, clean surface and turn on to preheat.

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and brown sugar.

In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, oil, vanilla extract buttermilk, bananas, and walnuts. Add the wet ingredients, all at once to the dry ingredients. Stir until just incorporated. Try not to over-mix the batter. If a few lumps remain in the batter, that’s ok.

Cook according to your waffle machine instructions.

Serve with warm maple syrup. Waffles are best served immediately.

Note: Allow waffles to cool completely. Store them in pairs in ziplock bags and store in the freezer. In the morning, gently reheat waffles in the toaster or toaster oven. Best toaster breakfast ever.

Dark Chocolate, Walnut and Golden Raisin Cookies

joythebaker — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 22:58:11 +0000

Dear Girl (that sat next to me on the plane last night),

Hi. How are you? This is just a quick note to let you know that you sat on my glasses. I know that you know that you sat on my glasses. You did, after all, hand them back to me crazy mangled. I trust that you know what shape glasses generally assume.

I understand that there are two active parties in this tragedy. There’s the person that accidentally left her glasses in the middle seat next to her while she properly stowed her purse under the seat in from of her…. that’s me. There’s also the person that was in such a hurry to get into that second row middle seat, that didn’t let the girl with the glasses on the aisle properly acclimate before barging in… that’s you. So, you sat on my glasses.

My favorite part about you sitting on my glasses, was how you showed exactly zero remorse for the damage you caused. That was awesome. Hey… remember that part when I was very obviously trying to bend them back in shape in front of you? Yea… that was pretty fun too. That was me being passive aggressive. I bet that was your favorite part.

Oh well, they’re just glasses, right? Next time, I’ll watch where I put my glasses if you watch where you put your body. Deal?

Sincerely,

Joy

And now… dark chocolate cookies. Let’s do this.

I love big, soft, brownie-like cookies. These are them. Hot dang they’re satisfying. Get your hands on some good chocolate for these beauties. I used a Valrhona 70% chocolate. When it comes to mix-ins, I went for walnuts and golden raisins. Maybe you want to try dried cherries and white chocolate, or pecans and walnuts, or chocolate chunks and dried apricot. Dream it up and go nuts. Thanks for the Twitter inspiration on these Roberta!

Dark Chocolate, Walnut and Golden Raisin Cookies

adapted from King Arthur somewhere

Print this Recipe!

8 ounces good quality bittersweet chocolate , 60%-72%(chopped or in chips)

3 Tablespoons (1 1/2 ounces) butter

1 cup sugar

3 large eggs

1 teaspoon espresso powder

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoons salt

1 cup chocolate chips

1 cup chopped walnuts

3/4 cup golden raisins

In a double boiler, or in the microwave, gently melt together the chocolate and butter. To avoid heating the chocolate too much and possibly burning it, the best method is to heat till the butter is melted and the chocolate has partially melted, then remove from the heat. Stir until all the chocolate melts.

In a separate bowl, beat together the sugar and eggs till they’re thoroughly combined. You don’t need a mixer, just do it in a medium sized bowl with a wooden spoon. Add the melted chocolate mixture, then stir in the remaining ingredients, including the chocolate chips, walnuts and raisins, if you’

re using them.

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Lightly grease (or line with parchment) two baking sheets, three if you have them.

Drop the cookie dough by the tablespoonful (about the size of a small ping pong ball) onto the prepared baking sheets. A tablespoon cookie scoop makes this task extremely simple. Leave about 2? between the dough balls, as they’

ll spread as they bake.

Bake the cookies for 11 to 12 minutes, until their tops are shiny and cracked. They won’t crack until the very end, so keep a close eye on them; when they’re cracked all the way across the top surface, they’

re done. The point is, you want these baked all the way through, but just barely; additional baking makes them more crisp rather than chewy. Remove the cookies from the oven. Wait 5 minutes then transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool.

Joy the Baker » walnuts

Banana Walnut Waffles

Dark Chocolate, Walnut and Golden Raisin Cookies