Eggless Banana Almond Cake

Ok..  Before you go thinking I'm turning Vegan or I'm trying to healthify my cake...  Just know this ended up being eggless because I was eggless and I wasn't going to take a baby out at 9pm to get some.  So.. Thanks to google.. I found an alternative.  I thought this was kinda crazy but it works.!!  I needed 3 eggs so the substitution was 1 tablespoon of baking soda to 3 tablespoons of vinegar..  I know.. It sounds yuck right?   It totally isn't and it works!!!  I am so excited about this because how often do you not have the right ingredients..  and I should be limiting the calories in my dessert...  So... I may have to do this more often....

Recipe is as follows..

1 box Betty Crocker Super Moist White Cake

3 TBS Vinegar and 1 TBS baking soda  ( mix these together separately and then add to the cake mix)

1 1/4 cup sprite 

1/2 cup oil

1 mashed banana

1/2-1 teaspoon of almond extract (i used an emulsion) depending on your taste

Mix all ingredients together, they will be very thick but fluffy.  Bake for 20-25 mins @ 350.  Cake will brown quickly but make sure it is firm (not overcooked) before removing.  Cake will pull away from the sides of the pan as it cools.

Topping

1 carton cool whip

1 carton Philadelphia White Chocolate Indulgence

Mix together and cover cooled cake.   Keep Cake Refrigerated until ready to serve.

 The cake is like a banana cake/banana bread hybrid.. It is dense but moist and chewy also.

It looks like it was enjoyed..  What do you think?

Cookies to blow your diet

So.. I haven't done much baking.. Between chasing a crawling baby and trying to lose extra weight I generally avoid baked goods... Which is still my favorite food thing ever.

But, Hubby needed some for a friend so I thought I would mix it up and make a new cookie.

One of my new fav. things to do is mix jello pudding powder into baked goods to give them a hint of flavor.

So here are my Chocolate Bottomed PB Nana Cookies.

1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup peanut butter (I am VERY generous with my 1/2 cup.. it's usually more)
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg

1/8 cup banana cream jello pudding powder (the banana flavor is pretty subtle.  So you can add more if you like)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/4 cups  flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt

1/3 bag semi sweet chocolate chips

Mix 1st 7 ingredients together

 Add in dry ingredients and  scoop spoonfuls  onto a cookie sheet.  

 Sprinkle with sugar and make criss crosses with a fork.

 Allow to cool completely.  

Melt remaining chocolate chips and use to coat the backs of the cookies.

 When you don't allow them to cool completely then they break when you go to coat them.  Then I had do eat it.   DARN YOU COOKIE!  I just used the back of a spoon to coat the cookie back.

Once the bottoms are coated let them set up and eat more cookies.  

I'm BAAACK

Holy Cow..  It's been awhile!

So after life craziness and a trip to mexico.. I am finally home and getting into the Christmas Spirit.  Today we are having an office ornament exchange.  For my delicious plate of food I brought in some Crescent Roll Cream Cheese Bars.  They are delicious and made even better by the addition of vanilla, bananas and honey...  Some of my favorite flavors of all time...

Here is the original recipe from Pillsbury   MY changes are in green.

INGREDIENTS

2 - Pillsbury® Refrigerated Reduced Fat Crescent Dinner Rolls 8 oz (8 ct)

1 Package reduced fat cream cheese, softened (8oz.)  I prefer all of my fat...

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup sugar, plus 1 teaspon

2 bananas sliced

1/4-1/2 cup drizzle of honey

2 teaspoon cinnamon

2 tablespoons melted butter

DIRECTIONS

1 Preheat oven to 350. 2 Unroll 1 can of the crescent rolls and place into a 9x13 pan, smoothing out the seams. 3 Mix together the cream cheese and sugar and vanilla  with electric mixer until blended well. 4 Spread cream cheese mixture on top of crescent rolls.  Evenly spread over banana slices and drizzle honey over all. 5 Unroll 2nd can of crescent rolls and place on top of cream cheese mixture, pinch together the seems. 6 Brush top with melted butter. 7 Sprinkle with 1 teaspoon sugar and 2 teaspoons cinammon. 8 Bake at 350 for 20 minutes or until lightly brown. 9 Cut into bars and serve.

 final goooooey goodness...

Just had to show you my Mexican honey..  You know it's good when they caught a bee inside... Yum..

 

 

I'm a chunky monkey.. So why not eat one?

Had the oppourtunity to go to a friends house this week to say goodbye to her daughter and son in law who are going to Kuwait.
I wanted to make a quick and yummy treat and this is what we ended up with. This is really a no measure snack. You make it to your taste.

I started with a bowl containing 2 sticks of cream cheese softened and added some honey peanut butter ( add as much or as little as you would like. )  Mix in 1 teaspoon of vanilla  Add 1/2 cup of powdered sugar to start with and continue adding until the desired sweetness is reached.

So these little rolled goodies are made with crescent rolls.  Separate each triangle from your tube and stretch them a little.  In the center of the large end of the triangle add a dollop of the cream cheese mixture, 3 chocolate chips and 2 slices of banana.

Roll them up and pinch all of the corners and openings.  Be careful not to overfill!
Once they are all rolled up sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar and cook until golden brown.

They went fast.... and none of us waited to eat them so we ended up with burnt tongues..   They aren't the most beautiful dessert but they taste delicious...    Enjoy!