Banana Bread

There's not much better than a warm slice of banana bread and fortunately it's IC friendly!

Banana Bread
4 eggs
5 ripe bananas
1 c shortening
2 c sugar
4 c flour
1 t salt
2 t soda
1 c walnuts (optional)

Mash bananas and then beat together with eggs. Set aside. Cream shortening and sugar. Add salt, soda and banana mixture. Add flour last. Bake at 300 for 1-2 hours. This will make 2 loaves.

I like to sprinkle cinnamon and sugar on the greased pan before pouring in the batter--it gives the loaf a nice touch when it comes out.

Brown Sugar Muffins

I don't understand it, but I cannot make these as well as my husband. He's a much better baker than I am for some reason, and it kills me. :)

These muffins are just the right amount of sweet and almost have a banana taste to them if done right. They are best right out of the oven and we usually double the batch (for just 2 of us) because they disappear so fast.

Brown Sugar Muffins
1/2 c margarine
1 c brown sugar
1 egg
2 c flour
1 t soda
1/4 t salt
1 t vanilla
1 c milk

I cream the margarine and sugar together, add everything else, then add the flour, but like I said, mine never turn out as well as the spouse's. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes. This will make ~18 muffins.

Baked Apple Donuts

I cannot express to you how AMAZING these are. They come out with a crisp outer layer and a warm and soft inside. Oh, I'm drooling just thinking of them. My husband actually made these the first time, which made them taste that much better (the best food is food you don't cook yourself).

Baked Apple Donuts
1 1/2 c flour
1 3/4 t baking powder
1/2 t salt
1/2 c sugar
1/3 c shortening
1 egg
1/2 c milk
1/2 c finely diced apples
For Later:
1/2 c butter (melted)
1/2 c sugar mixed with 2 t cinnamon

Sift together the dry ingredients and cut in shortening (pastry blender or 2 knives) until the mixture looks like coarse cornmeal. Set aside
Combine egg, milk and apples. Add to dry ingredients and mix.
Spoon into 12 greased muffin cups.
Bake at 350 for 20-25 min or until done.
Remove donuts immediately from pan and roll in butter then sugar/cinnamon mixture.
Cool on wire racks.

NOTES
No idea why they are called donuts, muffins might be a better description. Regardless, they are awesome.
I used 1 Granny Smith apple and it was plenty. I used my food chopper to get it small enough, but left the skin on, which added some fun texture.
Also, I may use a smaller muffin tin and make 24 small rather than 12 large next time.

Cinnamon Roasted Almonds

This is my favorite smell ever! And they don't taste too bad either. :) 

Cinnamon-Roasted Almonds
1 egg white
1 t cold water
4 cups whole almonds
1/2 cup white sugar
1/4 t salt
1/2 t ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 250. Lightly grease a 10x15 jellyroll pan (or a cookie sheet).
Lightly beat the egg white; add water and beat until frothy but not stiff. Add the nuts and stir until well coated. Mix the sugar, salt, and cinnamon and sprinkle over the nuts. Toss to coat and spread evenly on the prepared pan.

Bake for 1 hour, stirring occasionally, until golden. Allow to cool and store in airtight containers.

Oatmeal Chip Cookies

Dessert = Heaven. Enough said.

Actually, I really have a lot more to say.

With IC, I can't eat chocolate. It's one of my all-time worst foods to eat. It makes me sick for 3 days, seriously. It took about a year until I didn't crave it all the time. Now I only want it if someone is being a jerk and waving a hot, gooey brownie under my nose. But I digress.

It seems like 95% of desserts either have chocolate in them or are garnished with chocolate or are served with chocolate. However, there are A LOT of good recipes in that 5% of non-chocolate desserts. Also, a lot of chocolate desserts can be easily modified to exclude it.

Enter the chocolate chip cookie.

Simply sub out the chocolate chips for carob chips (carob is way better in smaller doses, like in a cookie, than 100% carob, like in a brownie), or butterscotch chips, or mint chips, or even white chocolate chips. Did you know white chocolate isn't really chocolate? Pretty much made my day when I figured that one out.

This is a recipe I've made since I was a little girl. And I still love it.
Oatmeal Chip Cookes
2 c flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp soda
1 c shortening
3/4 c sugar
3/4 c brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp water
2 eggs
2 c oatmeal
1 c chips (mint, white chocolate, butterscotch, combinations, etc).

Cream the shortening and sugars together. Add and mix together everything but the flour, oatmeal, and chips. Add the flour slowly, 1 cup at a time. Add the oatmeal slowly too. Mix in the chips by hand. Bake at 350˚ for 8-10 minutes. Makes ~ 5 dozen cookies, depending on how big your cookies are.

Note: My stand mixer can blend up the oatmeal, but if you're working with a hand mixer, you may need to do the oatmeal by hand.