The Frugal Gourmom

I am an expert in banana bread, but other baking? Not so much. I had some overripe bananas and wanted to try something new, so I found a recipe online and altered it to make it vegan and healthier. These are awesome!!!!!!  You and your family will love them, I promise.   And the bonus? They are super simple!

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Get a large bowl and combine the bananas, white sugar, 1/3 cup of butter substitute, the flax combined with the water and the pinch of salt  with a hand mixer until well blended and smooth.

Now sift in the cup of flour, the half cup of whole wheat flour, baking powder, baking soda, 1/4 tsp cinnamon and blend until just mixed. I like to fold it in with a spatula so it doesn’t get overworked and the batter stays light and fluffy.

Fold in the walnuts last.

Line a muffin pan with paper liners (or use the mini silicone cups for mini muffins!) and use an ice cream scooper to fill the cups. It should make about 10-11 regular sized muffins or about 24 minis.

Now in a small bowl, combine the brown sugar, 2 tbsp  flour, 1/8 tsp cinnamon & 1 tbsp butter until it resembles coarse crumbs. Top each muffin with about 1 tbsp of the crumb mixture.

Bake large muffins for 20-25 minutes. Bake minis for 12-14 minutes.

I left the crumb mixture off of the minis so I could just throw them in a ziplock baggie for an easy snack. They are insanely delicious.

Tomorrow is my dog’s 5th birthday, so I thought I’d make him something special. I had some pumpkin puree in the freezer from last fall (you can use unsweetened canned pumpkin or even squash puree) so I put it to use! These smell so good, you’ll want to eat one yourself…and you can since they are all natural and made with wholesome everyday ingredients.

Mash your banana so it’s smooth – combine with the pumpkin puree.

Add the whole wheat flour and mix well.

Lastly, add in the oats and combine.

The dough will be sticky. I made cookie sized rounds with my hands.

If you prefer to be more cutesy, you can add more flour so  it forms a stiffer dough, roll it out and cut into cute shapes…but these aren’t a gift and my dog isn’t picky, so he gets the ghetto hand-formed cookies

Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes. Let cool completely. If your doggy prefers crunchier treats, let them sit out overnight.

Store in a ziplock bag. They won’t last long, so no need for refrigeration or freezing.

You’ll be tempted to eat one…and you can! Not too bad – yes, I sampled along with my 3 year old.  Your pup will love them.   I know mine does!

I was looking for a new way to use up my mushy bananas and came across this banana cupcake recipe from Martha Stewart. It  sounded good, so I gave them a shot. I know Martha wouldn’t love that I’ve changed some things according to our tastes, but I do think she would approve of my version of this yummy, delicate, sweet treat.  The recipe made 21 cupcakes for me. I would probably make less next time and fill the cups a bit more, so I’ll say that this recipe makes approximately 18-21 cupcakes.  Enough to share with your neighbors and friends.  Martha’s recipe says it makes 12, but I am pretty sure that they would’ve been overflowing the cups if I only made 12.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour 
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) melted, unsalted butter
• 1 1/2 cups mashed bananas (about 4 ripe bananas)
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a standard 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

Make a well in center of flour mixture. In well, mix together butter, mashed bananas, eggs, and vanilla. Either by hand or hand mixer, blend until it’s all uniformly incorporated. Try not to over mix.

My bananas were  large and my batter seemed soupy, so I added about 1/4 cup more flour to the batter to stiffen it up a bit. If your bananas are large, you may want to only use 3 OR just add a bit more flour to the batter.

Bake until a toothpick inserted in center of a cupcake comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes. Remove cupcakes from pan; cool completely. Spread tops with frosting and share with your friends :)

Honey-Cinnamon Frosting

1 stick softened butter

2 tbsp softened cream cheese

3/4 cup powdered sugar

1 tbsp honey

1/2 tsp cinnamon

Using a hand mixer, blend all ingredients together until well incorporated and creamy. 

 Martha’s original frosting only called for 1/8 tsp of cinnamon, no cream cheese and 1 1/4 cups of powdered sugar. I tried her recipe (using 3/4 cup sugar) and it just  didn’t speak to me, so I added the cream cheese and more cinnamon…and bam! It was outstanding. Not super duper sweet, not too heavy – perfectly complimentary to the cupcakes.

I’ve been altering my original recipe and have come up with an awesome alternative recipe using more whole wheat flour, less sugar and more bananas + nuts without losing texture or moisture or flavor.

Ingredients

3 bananas

3/4 cup sugar

1 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 cup all purpose flour

2 tbsp ground flax seed combined with 6 tbsp of water (mix together and let sit for 1 minute) – you can use 2 eggs if you don’t have ground flax seed.

1/2 cup of butter substitute (like Smart Balance or Earth Balance)

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup chopped pecans (very reasonable at Aldi) – walnuts would work also
Optional (if you feel indulgent) – 1 small dark chocolate bar chopped into chunks

Preheat oven to 325 degrees

Throw the first 9 ingredients in a mixing bowl and combine well with a hand mixer until smooth and well incorporated. Fold in 1/2 of the pecans (and if you are adding chocolate, add it now) – spray a loaf pan with baking spray. Pour in the batter and top with remaining pecans down the middle of the loaf.

Bake for about 75 minutes (or until a toothpick comes out clean) – it’s better overbaked than underbaked. Trust me. It stays moist, but you don’t want the middle to get gooey (it’s happened to me before).

It is sooo soooo good.

My friend gave me this recipe after I snuck a taste of hers in her fridge….it’s so moist and delicious (AND HEALTHY!!!) 

Vegan Banana Bread



Prep time: 10 minutes



1 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter substitute (like Smart Balance or Earth Balance)
egg substitute for 2 eggs (2 tablespoons of ground flax seed & 6 tablespoons of water) – This is a new trick for me! I just bought a bag of ground flax seed for about $3 at WalMart and it says right on there that ground flax + water can substitute for eggs in baking! I’m excited!
2 ripe bananas
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup of all purpose flour + 3/4 cup of whole wheat flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon of vanilla
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup of walnuts (chopped)

Directions:


Preheat oven to 325


Put all the above ingredients (except walnuts) into a bowl and beat together with a mixer until smooth. 

Stir in the walnuts. Pour into a greased loaf pan and top with some additional walnuts.  Bake for an hour and 15 minutes in a preheated 325 degree oven. A toothpick should come out clean.

Trust me…you’ll never know that it doesn’t contain eggs or butter.  The flax eliminates 10 grams of fat from the traditional use of eggs and extra fiber. The butter substitute adds extra health benefits (mine had added Omega-3′s) and less fat.

Trucker, my black lab, loves to eat. Why should our pets have to eat crunchy & costly treats? I personally have no idea what goes into most commercial dog treats, so I figured I’d make Mr. Trucker some frozen “ice pups” for these warm and sunny days.  They are so easy & use ingredients that most of us have around the house anyways. I guarantee your dog will love them.