Monday, July 30, 2012

Baking Queen

There are two main criteria that I look for when choosing a recipe. When I am looking for a recipe to make a meal the criteria are 1. is it easy and 2. can I name/am I familiar with all of the ingredients (and are all of the ingredients I need in the cupboard because it is 4:30...). When baking my first criteria is the same - what can I say? I don't do complicated - complicated usually makes a huge mess in my kitchen and ends up in the garbage. The second criteria when looking for a baking recipe is chocolate. If the recipe doesn't have chocolate, then really, what is the point? 
So today I am going to share with you two recipes. One is a tried-and-true recipe. The other was a first attempt but from the results I got, it is well on it's way to making it onto the tried-and true list.

First up is the tried-and-true. I have used this recipe for years (which makes me feel old when I actually stop to think about just how long I have been using it...). 


3 lg. bananas, mashed
3/4 c. white sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour (or 3/4 c. white and 3/4 c. whole wheat)
1/3 c. melted butter
1 c. (or more) chocolate chips
Add sugar and slightly beaten egg to mashed bananas. Add melted butter. Stir in dry ingredients and chocolate chips. Bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes. (Either grease muffin pan or use baking cups.) Best served warm!  (Recipe is from Cooks.com.)

See how short and EASY the recipe is? You cannot go wrong with a recipe like this up your sleeve. They make a great snack or a quick breakfast on your way out the door! 

For some reason my muffins always come out looking lumpy - fortunately, they taste delicious!


The second recipe I am going to share used for ingredients - SO SIMPLE! I found it on Pinterest...surprised? Yeah, didn't think so!

     1 chocolate cake mix
     2 eggs
     1/2 c. vegetable oil
     1/2 c. mini chocolate chips
Mix eggs and vegetable oil until well combined. Stir in cake mix and add ins; drop by teaspoons onto greased cookie sheet. Cook for 8-10 minutes at 350 F. 

For this recipe I used a Betty Crocker Chocolate Fudge cake mix and added both white and semi-sweet chocolate chips (I take my chocolate very seriously).
 I drool just looking at these cookies :)



And of course Mama's little helper had to get in on the taste-testing action - I would say they were a success!
Hope this encourages you to get into your kitchen! Happy baking!