Banana Whoopie Pies with Chocolate Chips

Today is a holiday in Canada - so happy birthday Queen Victoria you old doll and thanks for getting us the day off.  Unfortunately, the beautiful sunny weather that blessed us on Saturday has turned back to the blech that we've been experiencing most of this Spring.  We even had hail for about 3 minutes last night around midnight.

Justin and I have been itching to make Whoopie Pies for sometime now but the opportunity just didn't present itself until this morning.  I purchased a Whoopie Pie pan (kind of a muffin top pan if you know what I mean) and a book on making Whoopies a while back, as I like to read about food sometimes as much as I like making it.  So this morning we hung out in the kitchen for a bit using the Kitchen Aid before his friends come back from the cottage and he abandons Mom for them, Xbox and Annoying Orange on Youtube.

Looking around the kitchen to see what ingredients we had on hand, I noticed four rather sad looking bananas.  You know what I mean ...not unhappy bananas... just soft with lots of brown spots.  Basically the kind of banana I wouldn't eat, but with which I would bake; hence Banana Whoopie Pies.  And since we have some chocolate sprinkles and chocolate chips in the cupboards, they will make an appearance also.

The following recipe is adapted from Whoopie Pies by Sarah Billingsly and Amy Treadwell.  It is pretty simple and really more like a banana muffin mix than a cake.  I also used half multigrain flour to give the cake a bit of crunch and texture.  Taste was very nice but I think it would have benefited from another banana.

Next time, I guess...

Banana Whoopie Pies with Chocolate Chips

1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup multigrain baking flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons grapeseed or vegetable oil
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
3 very ripe bananas (try 4 next time)

Position rack in the centre of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees.  Spray pan with cooking spray or use a paper towel to grease each pie form.

Sift together both flours, baking soda and salt onto a sheet of parchment or waxed paper.

In the bowl of a mixer fitted with a paddle, beat together butter, oil, sugar and vanilla until light and creamy, about 3 minutes.  Add the eggs and beat to combine.  Then add the bananas, and continue to combine.

With the paddle running on low (speed 2) slowly add in the flour mixture from the parchment paper ( you would pick up both sides and use it like a feeder).  Beat until well combined, being sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl several times.  Do not overbeat - you just want to combine all the ingredients for a few minutes.

Spoon banana batter into Whoopie pie moulds, being sure not to over-fill or you will have muffin tops (like I got....sigh).  Fill to about 2/3 of the mould's capacity.

Bake in oven for about 17-20 minutes and cakes spring to the touch and are slightly brown on top. Remove cakes from the oven and allow to cool in the cake pan for at least 5 minutes before transferring them to a rack to cool completely.

Classic Cream Cheese Filling

4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature (we used reduced fat)
4 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
3 cups icing sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

In the bowl of a food processor fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the cream cheese and butter on medium speed (speed 4ish).  Add the sugar and beat on low (speed 2) until combined.  Add the vanilla and increase the speed back to medium.  Beat until creamy, smooth and fluffy about 4 minutes.

To assemble:

Chocolate Chips (about 1/2 cup)
1 banana, peeled and chopped
Chocolate Sprinkles (optional)

Pipe or spread icing on the flat inside half of one Whoopie pie.  Add a few slices of banana and sprinkle with chocolate chips.  Top with other Whoopie pie half and press lightly together.  Roll in chocolate sprinkles if desired.

If the icing seems a bit soft, refrigerate for half an hour before enjoying.

Cook's Note:  The pies turned out delicious and they were quickly consumed by a band of roaming children who arrived starving at our door.  However, next time, I think I am going to try to make them without the pie pan and in a "mini" size so they are only a few bites. 

Chewy Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Well the plan was for us to have a fun day of cooking in the kitchen to celebrate Family Day here in Ontario.  I love cookies and Oatmeal Chocolate Chip are my hands-down favourite, hence the reason I don't make them very often.

And this recipe is really, really good, especially when they are soft and they made a terrific dessert tonight and are already packed in the lunch bags for tomorrow.

Chewy Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:

1 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
3 cups quick-cooking oats
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. 

In a large bowl, whisk together the butter, brown sugar, and white sugar until smooth and creamy.  In a small bowl, beat in eggs, then stir in vanilla.   Pour eggs and vanilla into butter and sugar mixture.  

In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, and salt.  Stir into the creamed mixture until just blended.  If the mixture is a bit thick, as a few splashes of milk to loosen it up slightly.  Mix in the oats and chocolate chips. 

Drop cookie dough by heaping tablespoonfuls onto un-greased baking sheets.  Bake for 15 minutes in the preheated oven. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Glazed Blueberry Lemon Loaf

Those who regularly read my blog know that I don't often bake. If I am completely honest, I find baking a bit intimidating. I think it is the precision required in measurement and the fact that if you leave important ingredients out like baking powder your creation can fall flat! That doesn't happen in a stew!

About 10 years ago I did take two baking courses at George Brown College, which is where a lot of chefs get their training in Toronto. We did amazing things like hand-pulled Apple Strudel, Opera Cake, real Black Forrest Cake and puff pastry from scratch. So basically, I am competent just maybe a little out of practice.

Also I don't bake often because if I bake we have to eat it and I am sure I really don't need to consume yet more butter and flour than I have been since I started working on this blog. Nothing like a little Opera Cake on a Tuesday night after dinner to ensure that you can't do up those skinny jeans.

But the Teen has started "cooking" as he calls it in high school and it seems to have made a connection for him so I figure I'll encourage it in whatever manner I can if it gives him some direction. Maybe one day he can catch up to his 10 yr old brother in terms of culinary skill and knowledge!

When trying to decide what to make I thought I'd let the contents of my fridge lead the way. For some reason I seemed to have purchased two huge containers of blueberries this week which now desperately need using lest they go bad. Can't have that. And I have a few lemons in the fridge and I like the pairing of blueberry and lemon, so it is Blueberry Lemon Loaf with a lemon glaze.

Glazed Blueberry Lemon Loaf

Ingredients

1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
3/4 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup fresh blueberries (I think I used 1.5 cups whoops)
zest of 1 lemon (about 2 teaspoons)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Oil a 9-in. x 5-in. x 3-in. loaf pan and set aside until you are ready.

In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar. Beat in eggs, milk and vanilla. In a separate mixing bowl, combine flour and baking powder.  Pour your west ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix to combine.  If the batter seems a little thick, add small amounts of milk to loosen it until it reaches the desired consistency.  Gently fold in blueberries. 

Pour intothe greased loaf pan and bake for 60 minutes or until a wooden skewer inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack to cool completely

Lemon Glaze:

2/3 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Put the sugar in a small bowl. Add lemon juice and whisk together until smooth and well blended.  Set aside.

Place your cooling loaf on a baker's wire rack and slide a cookie sheet under it to catch any glaze that drips off.  Using a wooden skewer, poke holes all over loaf, then drizzle glaze over the cake.  Leave to set before slicing.