Easter Cookie Cake

Easter 2020 might not look and feel the way we might have anticipated or hoped it would be, but that doesn’t mean that we can’t still make it special. With the current “shelter in place” that we are experiencing, I have found myself in the kitchen more than ever. And more specifically, baking more than ever. But I have had to be a bit more selective on recipes, based on the items I have in the pantry. This cookie cake uses simple pantry staples yet is SO good! It is the best world of a soft baked cookie in a cake form. If you don’t have these chocolate Cadbury Easter eggs on hand, you can definitely use M&M’s, chocolate chips, or even sprinkles!

Growing up, the second the Valentine’s Day candy was cleared out and the Cadbury chocolate eggs were out on the shelves, we always had a bowl of them in our house. So it was an easy choice to add these to this cookie cake. Next time I would also add some mini chocolate chips or cut up some additional Cadbury eggs to add to the batter to even out the cookie dough to chocolate ratio- but that’s just my preference!

Our Easter plans this year include making Eggs Benedict for breakfast, eating a bite (more like slice) of this cookie cake every time we pass by it in the kitchen, FaceTiming with family and friends, and hopefully getting our veggie garden planted. It sure is the little, and simple things. How are you planning to celebrate Easter this year?

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Easter Cookie Cake Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 cup butter, softened

• 3/4 cup sugar

• 1 cup brown sugar

• 1 Tbs vanilla

• 2 eggs, room temperature

• 3 cup flour

• 1 tsp baking soda

• 1/2 tsp baking powder

• 1/4 tsp salt

• 1 cup Cadbury eggs (or M&M’s, chocolate chips, etc.)

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a tart/pie dish or baking sheet (I used a tart pan- if you used a pie dish or deeper dish, it will make for longer cook time).

2. Combine butter, sugar, brown sugar and vanilla. Add eggs until just blended.

3. Add flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Combine.

4. Scoop dough into baking dish, press until smooth. Bake 11 minutes, remove from oven and press candies into top and return for 5-7 minutes, or until the top of the cookie cake is lightly golden brown.

*This recipe was adapted from this original recipe.

Almond Butter Chocolate Chunk Banana Bread

Do you ever look over at your fruit bowl and see your bananas start to get just a little bit brown? And then choose to ignore them so you can bake something with them? I hate to admit I do this more often than not. I have made a lot of baked goods with bananas in them (remember these?), however I had never tried putting almond butter in the batter before. What a game changer! Combined with chocolate chunks, the flavor and texture is amazing. You are going to want to let your bananas get brown just so you can make this recipe! 

I cleaned up the ingredients for this bread so that it fits most allergy restrictions, and you don't have to feel bad about eating it. To insure each bite has that amazing chocolate flavor, I used my favorite semisweet chocolate chunks. A good quality chocolate makes a big difference in this recipe. 

When my husband got home from work the day I made this, he walked in the door saying how amazing the house smelled! After dinner we enjoyed a few too many slices of the bread for dessert and had some for breakfast the next morning. This bread did not last long in our house! In fact, I see some bananas on our counter that are turning brown and I am thinking of making another loaf. It's that good! 

I hope you give this recipe a try and enjoy it as much as we do! Be sure to let me know how you like it below or on my Instagram. Happy baking :) 

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Almond Butter Banana Bread Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup real maple syrup
• 1/2 cup almond milk
• 1 egg
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 3 cup overripe bananas, mashed (about 1 cup)
• 1/4 cup coconut sugar
• 1 1/2 cup extra fine almond flour
• 1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup chocolate chunks
• 1/2 cup creamy almond butter

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan and line with parchment paper. In a mixing bowl, combine the maple syrup, almond milk, egg, vanilla, banana, and coconut sugar until well combined. Beat in the almond flour, baking soda and salt until just combined.

2. Stir in the chocolate chunks. Now take the almond butter and add it to the batter in teaspoon full size dollops and then gently swirl it into the batter. Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and sprinkle with chocolate chunks if desired...you may also now push in a few extra teaspoons of almond butter too!

3. Place loaf pan on a baking sheet and set in the oven. Bake for 50-60 minutes, or until center is set. If the top begins to brown (mine did after about 45 minutes), tent the bread with aluminum foil. Remove and let cool for at least 30 minutes before cutting. Bread will keep (covered) for 3-5 days. Serve and enjoy! 

* This recipe was adapted from this original recipe.

Brown Butter Ghee Chocolate Chunk Cookies

I have always loved trying different variations of chocolate chip cookie recipes. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that my husband absolutely loves chocolate chip cookies. I stumbled upon the idea of making gluten free chocolate chip cookies that called for ghee instead of butter, coconut palm sugar instead of white sugar and almond flower instead of white flour in the recipe. I have to admit, I was skeptical of the cookies tasting like anything other than cardboard (just keeping it real here!). However, these cookies turned out incredible! So incredible that my husband who is the cookie cridic in our house, was completely blown away and really enjoyed them! I brought some over to our neighbors and they had the same reaction. You have to give this recipe a try! 

There are so many good things to say about this cookie dough. It is incredibly easy to make, especially if you buy brown butter ghee already prepared. The dough also taste amazing by the spoonful! But then again, what cookie dough doesn't?! 

The key to these cookies is the mix of chocolate chunks and chocolate chips that I used. They gave the cookies amazing flavor and also prevented them from being really thin and flat.

When I pulled the cookies out of the oven, I immediately sprinkled them with some flaky sea salt. It really elevated the flavors! Even though the ingredients might not be traditional to chocolate chip cookies, you still get that incredible smell when you bake them!

These cookies taste amazing fresh out of the oven when they are still slightly warm yet crispy around the edges. I love the nutty flavor from the brown butter ghee and of course the gooey chocolate. I piled the cookies onto a platter and my husband and I enjoyed one too many of them with a tall glass of milk!

These cookies also make great gifts, especially if someone has dietary restrictions. I like to cut small squares of natural parchment paper and place them in between the cookies. You can either package them up in a cute bag or jar and make someone very happy :)

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Brown Butter Ghee Chocolate Chunk Cookie Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup brown butter ghee
• 1/2 cup coconut palm sugar
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 2 egg yolks
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2 cups fine almond flour
• 1/2 cup arrowroot starch
• 1/4 tsp. sea salt
• 2/3 cup semi-sweet chocolate chunks
• 1/3 cup milk or dark chocolate chips
• Additional sea salt for topping

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 375 and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or a silpat baking mat (what I used). 
2. In a stand mixer (or handheld beaters), beat the brown butter ghee and coconut palm sugar for 2-3 minutes, or until lighter in color and smooth.
3. Add the maple syrup, egg yolks and vanilla extract and beat for another 2 minutes.
4. Add the almond flour, arrowroot starch, and sea salt and beat until well incorporated, scraping down the sides of the bowl a couple times.
5. Stir in the chocolate chunks and chocolate chips.
6. Using an ice cream scoop, drop 6 cookies onto each prepared baking sheet. Bake for 9-10 minutes, or until just starting to brown around the edges.
7. Remove the cookies from the oven and sprinkle with sea salt. Allow them to cool before removing from the pan (if you can wait that long!). Serve and enjoy. 

*This recipe was adapted from this original recipe. 

Chocolate Chip Banana Bread Muffins

When you have banana's in the kitchen that start to turn brown, what is your go-to approach? Do you eat them, throw them away, freeze them, bake something with them? Sometimes I do a combination of all the above (minus throwing them away) but this time I wanted to try something new. I am such a sucker for banana bread and with the Spring season approaching and lots of entertaining coming up, I thought muffins would be more fun. These chocolate chip banana bread muffins are perfect for brunch, a quick breakfast or to give as a gift! 

I had been dying to try What's Gaby Cooking's banana bread recipe ever since I saw her make it on her snapchat. When I finally got my hands on the recipe, I was pleasantly surprised to find that it had a few simple ingredients yet was packed with flavor- score! 

I originally wanted to add mini chocolate chips to the recipe but I was out of them, so I ended up using regular chocolate chips. I'm glad I did because you could really taste the banana bread and the chunks of chocolate. Sometimes when I use mini chocolate chips, it gives it a chocolate flavor throughout and you miss the flavor of the banana bread itself. 

The muffins don't rise very much since it is a banana bread recipe, so be sure to fill the muffin tin almost to the top. I used these in place of traditional muffin wrappers and they turned out great! 

One thing is for sure about this recipe: your kitchen will smell amazing as they bake! Once the muffins were slightly golden brown on top, I removed them from the oven and let them cool on a wire rack for about 30 minutes. 

Once they were (finally) cooled, I couldn't wait to try one. I was blown away at how amazing they were! All of the things I love about banana bread but in muffin form :)

These muffins are delicious on their own, or you could smear some softened butter or cream cheese to really take them to the next level! 

Once my husband and I had consumed one too many of these muffins, it was time to get them out of the house. He brought the rest of them to the office and everyone loved them! Let's just say there was not a single crumb left. 

I hope you add this muffin recipe to your brunch menu this Spring, to give as a hostess gift or to simply enjoy with your morning cup of joe. I would love to hear how you like this recipe, so be sure to leave a comment below or on my Instagram account. 

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Chocolate Chip Banana Bread Muffin Recipe

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature 
• 1 1/2 cups white sugar 
• 2 eggs
• 4 tsp. milk (I used almond milk)
• 3-4 ripe bananas (I used 4)
• 2 cups flour 
• 1 tsp. baking soda 
• 1 cup chocolate chips, plus extra 

Directions:

1. Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees F.
2. In a large stand mixer, combine the butter and sugar and whip for 2 minutes until combined.
3. Add the eggs, one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl to make sure everything is evenly combined.
4. Add the milk and the bananas and mix for 30 seconds. The batter will look a little curdled, this is normal.
5. Add the flour and the baking soda and mix for a few seconds until the flour is evenly combines. Add the chocolate chips and give it all a quick stir.
6. Line your muffin tin with muffin wrappers. Add about 2 Tbs. of batter to each, or enough to fill almost to the top. Sprinkle added chocolate chips on top. 
7. Transfer the muffin tin(s) to the oven and bake for 25-30 minutes until a knife can be inserted in the center and comes out clean. Remove the muffins from the oven and let cool for at least 30 minutes before removing them from the pans and serving.

*This recipe was adapted from this original recipe.