Banana Crumb Muffins

I had some old bananas at the lake, so I looked online for a muffin recipe to use them in.  I found this awesome recipe on allrecipes.com.  My son devoured 2 of them right away!   This recipe makes 10 muffins. 

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 bananas, mashed
3/4 cup white sugar
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/3 cup butter, melted
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon butter

1. Preheat oven to 375F.  Lightly grease 10 muffin cups, or line with muffin papers.
2.  In a large bowl, mix together 1 1/2 cups flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.  In another bowl, beat together bananas, sugar, egg and melted butter.  Stir the banana mixture into the flour mixture just until moistened.  Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups.
3.  In a small bowl, mix together brown sugar, 2 tablespoons flour and cinnamon.  Cut in 1 tablespoon butter until mixture resembles coarse cornmeal.  Sprinkle topping over muffins.
4.  Bake in preheated oven for 18 to 20 minutes, until toothpick inserted into centre of a muffin comes out clean.

Oven Fries

Other then the fry truck by our cottage, these are the best fries ever! Take care to cut the potatoes into even wedges so that all of the pieces will cook at about the same time.  Whether you choose a nonstick baking sheet or a regular baking sheet, make sure that it is heavy-duty.  The intense heat of the oven may cause lighter pans to warp.  This recipe was taken from Cook's Illustrated "The New Best Recipe".

3 russet potatoes (about 8 ounces each), peeled, each potato cut lengthwise into 10 to 12 even wedges
5 tablespoons vegetable or peanut oil
Salt and ground black pepper

1.  Adjust an oven rack to the lowest position; heat the oven to 475F.  Place the potatoes in a large bowl and cover with hot tap water; soak 10 minutes.  Meanwhile, coat an 18 by 12-inch heavy-duty rimmed baking sheet with 4 tablespoons of the oil and sprinkle evenly with 3/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper, set aside.
2. Drain the potatoes.  Spread the potatoes out on a triple thickness of paper towels and pat thoroughly dry with additional paper towels.  Rinse and wipe out the now-empty bowl; return the potatoes to the bowl and toss with the remaining 1 tablespoon oil.  Arrange the potatoes in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet; cover tightly with foil and bake 5 minutes.  Remove the foil and continue to bake until the bottoms of the potatoes are spotty golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes, rotating the baking sheet after 10 minutes.  Using a metal spatula and tongs, scrape to loosen the potatoes from the pan, then flip each wedge, keeping the potatoes in a single layer.  Continue baking until the fries are golden and crisp, 5 to 15 minutes longer, rotating the pan as needed if the fries are browning unevenly.
3.  Transfer the fries to a second baking sheet lined with paper towels to drain.  Season with additional salt and pepper to taste and serve immediately. 
Serves 3 to 4

Fruit Crisp

Who doesn't love apple crisp! I often double the topping as I love more of it.  This recipe is taken from Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook.  Pictured here is a peach crisp.  I bought peaches, but they all ended up being pulpy, so instead of wasting them I turned them into a crisp. I also never add the nuts. 

5 cups sliced, peeled cooking apples, pears, peaches, or apricots, or frozen unsweetened peach slices
2 to 4 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/2 cup regular rolled oats
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg, ginger, or cinnamon
1/4 cup butter or margarine
1/4 cup chopped nuts or coconut
Vanilla ice cream (optional)

1.  For fruit filling, thaw fruit if frozen.  Do not drain.  Place fruit in a 2-quart square baking dish.  Stir in granulated sugar.
2.  For topping, in a medium bowl, combine the oats, brown sugar, flour, and nutmeg.  Cut in the butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.  Stir in the nuts.  Sprinkle topping over fruit.
3. Bake in a 375F oven for 30 to 35 minutes(40 minutes for thawed fruit) or until fruit is tender and topping is golden.  If desired, serve warm with ice cream.
Makes 6 servings

Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

I love this recipe.  There is no cinnamon, just nutmeg, which I prefer in this cookie.  This recipe makes 18 large cookies, and is taken from Cook's Illustrated "The New Best Recipe".  Do not overtake this cookie.  The edges should be browned, but the rest of the cookie should be very light in color. I also do not rotate my cookie sheets. 

1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup unsalted butter, softened but still cool

1 cup packed light brown sugar

1 cup granulated sugar

2 large eggs

3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats

1 1/2 cups raisins (optional)

1. Adjust the oven racks to the lowland middle positions and heat the oven to 350F.  Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper or spray them with nonstick cooking spray.

2.  Whisk the flour, baking powder, nutmeg, and salt together in a medium bowl.

3.  Either by hand or with an electric mixer, beat the butter on medium speed until creamy.  Add the sugars; beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes.  Beat in the eggs, one at a time.

4.  Stir the dry ingredients into the butter-sugar mixture with a wooden spoon or large rubber spatula. Stir in the oats and raisins (if using).

5.  Working with a generous 2 tablespoons of dough each time, roll the dough into 2-inch balls.  Place the balls on the prepared baking sheets, spacing them at least 2 inches apart.

6.  Bake until the cookie edges turn golden brown, 22 to 25 minutes, rotating the baking sheets front to back and top to bottom halfway through the baking time. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets for 2 minutes.  Transfer the cookies with a wide metal spatula to a wire rack.  Let cool at least 30 minutes.