TWD - Espresso-Chocolate Shortbread Cookies and Oatmeal Spice Shortbread Cookies and Banana Cake w/Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting

Tuesdays with Dorie is here! Excitement! Flag waving! Okay, maybe no flags. Donna of Life’s Too Short Not to Eat Dessert First is our host this week.

The recipe: Espresso-Chocolate Shortbread Cookies

Dorie also gave us a variation: Oatmeal Spice Shortbreads


I dropped the decorating ball with this batch. My kitchen sizzle was starting to fizzle. I love our baking groups but I also have my own list of "must bake" goodies and rarely do I get to do both. This last week I baked to my hearts content (literally) and learned to cut recipes in half along with freezing extras. Works great!

Dorie's recipe called for bittersweet chocolate. Brainstorm: Use my hidden stash of espresso chocolate along with bittersweet. (I know I am forgetting something.)

All the chocolate was chopped up into little chunks; mixed both shortbread recipes, rolled dough in gallon size Ziploc bags and refrigerated overnight. Took out my handy little kitchen ruler, the basic wood one we had in elementary school, and measured the dough into 1 1/2 inch pieces. Baked ALL the cookies.

There are oodles of cookies! Waited for the espresso shortbread cookies to cool then took a nibble. Immediately remembered what I was forgetting. I do not enjoy the flavor of coffee. I have coffee one morning, Sunday morning, every week and that cup is loaded with Nestle Hazelnut coffee creamer and 1 1/2 t. sugar. I sip 1/2 of the cup and talk a mile-a-minute for the next 2 hours. Weird ritual, I know, but hubby makes coffee on Sunday morning and I feel bad not having a cup. I have tried suggesting he become a tea sipper but he says all my tea cups are just too little for his fingers . . . funny ha but not funny ha-ha.

The shortbread cookies turned out cute but I guess shortbread cookies are not my thing (my first shortbread cookies). I would like to use some of the cookies in a few cheesecake crusts. I have oodles in quart size freezer bags plus Larry loves the espresso ones with his coffee. Personally, after 1 cookie and my 1/2 cup of coffee, I was dropping everything in sight. Making breakfast, I started cracking an egg open, the egg slipped out of my hand and cracked open between the stove and the counter. Interesting.

Donna, thank you for hosting TWD this week. I liked the oatmeal spice shortbread cookies and I know the cookies will be a part of some fun projects in the near future. To get the recipe, go to Donna's site and buy Dorie's cookbook.

I thought I would also share a banana cake recipe. Not to be confused with banana bread. The recipe originally came from Allrecipes.com but I altered it a smidgen. One of the changes was adding 1 teaspoon of baking powder. Makes for a light and fluffy banana cake.

Banana Cake with Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients:

* 1 cup white sugar

* 1/2 cup unsalted butter

* 2 eggs

* 4 ripe bananas, mashed

* 2 cups all-purpose flour

* 1 teaspoon baking soda

* 1/2 teaspoon salt

* 1 teaspoon baking powder

* 1/2 cup chopped pecans

* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

FROSTING INGREDIENTS:

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
3/4 cup white sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease and flour one 9 x 13 inch cake pan.

2. Cream together the butter or margarine and the sugar.

3. Add eggs, bananas, flour, soda, salt, nuts, and vanilla. Mix thoroughly and pour batter into the prepared pan.

4. Bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C.) for 30 minutes. Cool and frost cake.

FROSTING DIRECTIONS:

In a small bowl beat whipping cream until stiff peaks form; set aside.

In a large bowl combine cream cheese, sugar, salt, and vanilla. Beat until smooth, then fold in whipped cream. Frost cake.

SMS: Crunchy with a Creamy Filling ~ Chocolate Peppermint Meringues

Sweet Melissa Sundays. I fought this one. I baked everything under the kitchen roof while trying to convince myself just how easy this candy dessert would be. I found 2 bananas close to expiring so, telling myself how wonderful I was for baking something with them instead of putting the bananas with the rest of the old geezer bananas in the freezer, I baked banana cupcakes with caramel cream cheese frosting. Recipe, of course, below. Then I found strawberries I had big ideas for in the refrigerator. Not so gorgeous now since the red berries have been in the chiller for over 3 days. Cut the good pieces out and pulled out a recipe for strawberry scones. Another killer choice.



Still early. If I am going to make the candy, I have plenty of time. I go down into the study and read the recipe. Chocolate on chocolate with peppermint. Too much chocolate and no color; except chocolate brown. It is summer, I want color. Decide on chocolate peppermint ganache as stated by Melissa BUT the chocolate will be deleted out of the meringues and pink coloring will be swirled in. Now I want to make the candy. Go upstairs and cook bacon and potato soup. Find meatballs in freezer with serious freezer burn and get the crockpot out. Make BBQ meatballs.


Clean and to be absolutely honest, I am at a loss if there is something else I cooked or baked . . . I feel like I am forgetting something. 9 pm and I guess the time was right. I made SMS and the candy turned out perfect. Loved the crispy crunch of the sweet meringue and the creamy chocolate/peppermint ganache was just right for the loud filler flavor. I actually had a ball making these cute little candies. Of course, I had to use a star tip and play with sizes. For heavens sakes; why did we join a baking group if we didn't want to have a new playfield to go crazy in?



Kelly of Sweetgrass Sensibilities, you are brilliant for picking this week's recipe out of Sweet Melissa's cookbook! Loved the candy. For the recipe, you will either have to buy the cookbook OR go to this weeks host's blog. Either way, a win-win choice! Do not forget to check out the rest of us crazy bakers having a little fun in the kitchen by clicking here!

Fleeting moments of perfection giving way to a lifetime of memories.

I almost forgot! Here is the recipe for the banana cupcakes with caramel cream cheese frosting. You may want to just add a spoon to the frosting and forget dolloping it onto the cupcakes.

My cupcake recipe came from Sally. A wonderful Internet cooking/baking friend who is talented beyond belief in the kitchen. The frosting recipe was adapted from the Cream Puffs in Venice blog and she is also amazing in the kitchen!

Banana Cupcakes

Ingredients:
¼ cup butter
¼ cup solid Crisco
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
2 cups plus 2 tablespoons flour
2½ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon baking soda
1 cup mashed bananas (about 3 medium bananas)
¼ cup buttermilk or sour cream (I always use sour cream)

Directions:

In a large bowl, cream together the butter, Crisco, sugar and extract.
Beat in eggs, one at a time.
Mix dry ingredients together and add to creamed mixture alternately with bananas and sour cream (or buttermilk).
Grease 18 muffin tins (or line tins with cupcake liners); fill tins 3/4 full (I always get exactly 18 out of this recipe).
Bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes.
Cool and frost.

Caramel Cream Cheese Frosting
1 pkg. (8 ounces) at room temperature

1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

1/4 cup caramel sauce

2 tsp. vanilla extract

1 cup icing sugar (powdered sugar)

Directions:

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese and butter together at high speed until light (about 2 minutes).
Lower the speed and add the vanilla extract and caramel sauce. Mix well.
With the speed on low, add the icing sugar until incorporated and then increase the speed to high and whip the frosting for 2 minutes.
Apply liberally to the base of your choice.

Dreamy Holiday Banana Cream Pie

Banana cream pie immediately conjures images of a creamy vanilla bean custard packed full of deep banana flavor, teeth sinking into slices of banana throughout. Nothing processed; all parts of the luscious pie made from scratch. Just how long does a perfect banana pie take? With any great project comes a need for patience but the patience is linked to the waiting period necessary for the custard to properly set up. I did not do this on the first slice because 2 hours was all we could hold out for. 4 hours refrigeration time is the recipe's request.



As you can see, the custard was not set up after 2 hours chilling.



Previously, banana cream pie recipes have been a complete let down. My mind must have a definite idea of what my taste buds should be looking for because I keep trying but now my search has almost been completed. The wonderful, creamy banana pie was close to perfection ~ ~ ! Maybe a thick custard is not the texture my mouth is used too but the flavor is here in every way. The graham cracker crust even has 1/2 cup of mashed bananas. NOTE: Do not press very hard when using a measuring cup to shape the crust into place in the pie dish. If you press to hard, the crust will come out of the oven hard and difficult to cut later. The recipe, with my altering for a thinner crust and less sweet filling, has been tried many times before and I made a few changes based on other baker's issues. Recipe is based off of a similar banana cream pie served at Emeril Lagasse's many restaurants.

The pie turned out absolutely delicious!



Dreamy Holiday Banana Cream Pie

(adapted from Emeril Lagasse with a few changes)

Ingredients

For custard filling:

5 large egg yolks

1/3 cup cornstarch

3 to 3 1/2 cups heavy cream

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 vanilla bean, split and scraped



For pie crust:

1 1/4 cups graham cracker crumbs

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 ripe banana, mashed

4 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

3 pounds bananas, cut crosswise into 1/2 inch slices



For drizzled toppings:

3/4 cup caramel sauce, recipe follows

1 cup chocolate sauce, recipe follows



For whipped cream topping:

2 cups heavy cream whipped to stiff peaks

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

2 teaspoons granulated sugar



Garnishes:

Shaved chocolate

Powdered sugar



Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.



To prepare custard filling, in a mixing bowl, combine the egg yolks, cornstarch, and 1 cup of the heavy cream. Whisk to blend well. Set aside. Combine the remaining 2 cups cream, the sugar, and the vanilla bean in a large heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat. Whisk to dissolve the sugar and bring to a gentle boil, about 10 minutes. Slowly add the egg yolk mixture, whisking constantly until it thickens, about 5 minutes. Be forewarned: this mixture must break and look curdled otherwise it will not set up properly and it will be runny. Pour it into a glass bowl. Press a piece of plastic wrap down over the surface of the mixture to prevent a skin from forming. Let cool completely at room temperature. When cooled, remove the vanilla bean and pour the mixture into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a wire whip. Beat at medium speed to combine the mixture. If it will not combine, warm another 1/2 cup heavy cream and slowly add it to the mixture. Whip until you have a thick and creamy custard.

To prepare pie crust, in a mixing bowl, combine the graham cracker crumbs, sugar and mashed banana. Mix thoroughly. Add the butter and mix well. Press the mixture into a 9-inch pie pan. Bake until browned, about 25 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and cool, for about 10 minutes. To assemble, spread about 1/2 cup of the custard on the bottom of the crust. Arrange about a third of the banana slices, crowding them close together, over the custard. Next, spread 1 cup of the custard over the bananas. Arrange another third of the banana slices close together over the custard. Top with 1 cup of the custard and the banana slices. Top with the remaining custard, covering the bananas completely to prevent them from turning brown. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for at least 4 hours. Cut the pie into wedges and serve with a drizzle of caramel and chocolate sauce. Top with the whipped cream and shaved chocolate. Sprinkle with powdered sugar.



Caramel Drizzle Sauce

1 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup water

1 cup heavy cream



Directions:

In a small, heavy-bottomed saucepan, combine the sugar and water and bring the mixture to a boil, stirring often. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is a deep caramel color and has the consistency of thin syrup, 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from the heat. Stir in the cream, return the saucepan to high heat, and boil the sauce until it regains the consistency of a thick syrup, about 2 minutes. Cool.



The sauce can be refrigerated until ready to use. Allow it to reach room temperature before drizzling it over the pie.



Chocolate Sauce

3/4 cup half-and-half

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

1/2 pound semisweet chocolate chips

1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract



Directions:

Combine the half-and-half and butter in a small, heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat. Heat the mixture until a thin paper like skin appears on the top. Do not boil. Add the chocolate and vanilla and stir until the chocolate melts and the mixture is smooth.

Remove from the heat and let cool.

The sauce can be kept refrigerated for several days, but must be returned to room temperature before serving.