AFTER SCHOOL BANANA CHOCOLATE CHIP CHUNKERS

I always buy a bundle of bananas at the market, only 1 of 4 of us actually snacks on a banana, which leaves lots of moments of overripe bananas that are too ripe for snacking but perfect for baking. 4 of 4 like the baked goods with the bananas. You’re welcome for my elementary math equation proving it is in fact, worth buying the bananas.

These are my favorite sorts of treats to make for and with the kids. Everything mashes up in one bowl, they’re easy on the sugar, packs in a lunchbox and they are free of the glutens and dairy so any person that comes over with a dietary preference, has a snack. I know when we’ve made them a dozen times, they are worth sharing here, so hope you have bananas ready to go soon (extra extra brown! don’t bother if they are pretty and yellow!). xo

AFTER SCHOOL BANANA CHOCOLATE CHIP CHUNKERS

Makes 12

Gluten free, dairy free and honestly, you can skip the egg if you need to and I believe they’ll still hold. I’ve been making these when I have dead bananas, but banana bread feels like too much. A tray of these will be gone before the end of the day and they hold up in a lunch box too.

Nut allergy folks, all-purpose flour is fine. Replace the almond and coconut flours with 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour. They will look different than what is pictured. The flax does help absorb some extra moisture, and you can pick that up and nearly any supermarket these days.

Recipe riffed from Joy the Baker

2 overripe, medium bananas (about 1 cup)
1 egg
4 Tbsp. coconut oil or warmed butter
1/3 cup light brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
big pinch of salt

1 cup almond flour
1/4 cup old fashioned oats
2 Tbsp. flax meal
3 Tbsp. coconut flour
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder

2/3 cup dark chocolate chips (or chopped chocolate)

Into a mixing bowl, smash up the bananas super well, we don’t want big chunks left. Add in the egg, oil or butter, sugar, vanilla , cinnamon, salt and whisk everything together to mix. Add the almond flour, oats, flax, coconut flour, baking powder and stir again to combine. Fold in the chocolate chips. Chill the mixture for at least 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 360’ and line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment. I make ours free-formed, not perfect balls 1) because they are tough to get into a ball and 2) I like those craggle edges! We want about 2-3 Tbsp. sized lumps, arranged with 2” of space between (they don’t spread much). Bake on the middle rack for 12-15 minutes until toasty on the edges, but still tender in the center. Remove to cool.

Keep the cookies in a covered container at room temperature for up for 3 days, and in the fridge any longer than that.

Sara Forte 2022-02-22

After School Banana Chocolate Chip Chunkers

15

These are my favorite sorts of treats to make for and with the kids. Everything mashes up in one bowl, they’re easy on the sugar, packs in a lunchbox and they are free of the glutens and dairy so any person that comes over with a dietary preference, has a snack.

• 2 medium bananas
• 1 egg
• 4 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1/3 cup light brown sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1 cup almond flour
• 1/4 cup old fashioned oats
• 2 Tbsp. flax meal
• 3 Tbsp. coconut flour

125 calories9 grams fat1 grams satFat0 grams transFat10 grams carbohydrate5 grams sugar2 grams fiber8 grams netCarbs3 grams protein

2/3 cup dark chocolate chips (or chopped chocolate)

Into a mixing bowl, smash up the bananas super well, we don’t want big chunks left. Add in the egg, oil or butter, sugar, vanilla , cinnamon, salt and whisk everything together to mix. Add the almond flour, oats, flax, coconut flour, baking powder and stir again to combine. Fold in the chocolate chips. Chill the mixture for at least 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 360’ and line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment. I make ours free-formed, not perfect balls 1) because they are tough to get into a ball and 2) I like those craggle edges! We want about 2-3 Tbsp. sized lumps, arranged with 2” of space between (they don’t spread much). Bake on the middle rack for 12-15 minutes until toasty on the edges, but still tender in the center. Remove to cool.

Keep the cookies in a covered container at room temperature for up for 3 days, and in the fridge any longer than that.

PT15M

PT15M

PT1H

American

Snack

snack, chocolate, gluten free, dairy free, kid friendly, lunchbox

GLUTEN FREE CRANBERRY TEA CAKE

Fa la la la la! It’s baking season and this cake was a hit. Of course we all love cookies, and I have plenty of those on the list. My people love a breakfast sweet, and this has stood in for a simple dinner dessert on occasion as well. I know you all love to have a spread planned for holiday mornings, so hope this works for those of you gluten free folks. We always have sweet rolls, but I may double up this year since everyone liked this cake so much. I’ll say it again, like we do with the lemon loaf or banana bread, toasted for a few minutes for a bit of a crisp edge is lovely.

I have made many dense gf baked goods, but I’m starting to figure out the ratios. Eggs are important for strength, going all almond flour turns out pretty dense, so I cut it with superfine brown rice flour like I learned from Aran of Canelle et Vanille. Hugh is the gluten free one in the family, but I have found the kids don’t question a thing when it looks like cookies and cake and sugar. I added some swap suggestions in the headnote.

GLUTEN FREE CRANBERRY TEA CAKE

Serves 6-8

This could be part of a breakfast spread or a dessert. It is sweet and seasonal but we nibbled at it most in the afternoon with a second (er, third) cup of coffee or tea. It has a good amount of moisture, so it sits well at room temperature for a day or two, then should be kept covered in the fridge. Great served with a dollop of plain yogurt in the morning or sweetened creme fraiche for dessert.

Dairy-free option is to replace the buttermilk with non-dairy milk with a squeeze of lemon juice - oat or almond both great, coconut is a bit heavy. You don’t need it gluten free, replace the almond and rice flours with 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour.

Not cranberry season? try lemon blueberry or almond raspberry (replace the vanilla with almond extract).

Ingredients

6 Tbsp. unsalted butter (vegan butter works great!), room temperature
3/4 cup cane sugar
2 Tbsp. avocado or coconut oil
2 eggs
1/2 cup buttermilk (or non-dairy milk with a squeeze of lemon juice)
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 tsp. vanilla extract
zest of one orange
1 cup almond flour
1 cup superfine brown rice flour (I buy this one)
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. sea salt
2 cups (8 oz.) fresh or frozen cranberries, roughly chopped

turbinado sugar, for finishing

sweetened yogurt, for serving

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350’ and parchment line and butter a 8-9” cake pan.

In a stand mixer or with an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar together until fluffy. At least 3 minutes. Add the oil, eggs, buttermilk, maple, vanilla, orange zest and beat again to incorporate. Add the almond and rice flours, baking powder, salt and fold it a few times. Add half the cranberries and fold again. Transfer it to your prepared pan, sprinkle the remaining cranberries over top, swipe it down to an even layer, and sprinkle the top generously with turbinado sugar.

Bake on the middle rack for about 50 minutes, until tested in the center and only a few crumbs (no batter!) come out with it. If the top starts to get to brown, cover it with a piece of parchment or foil. Let the cake cool for at least 30 minutes before slicing. Serve with yogurt or sweetened creme fraiche.

MAPLE BANANA CAKE WITH YOGURT FROSTING

I really wanted to push this as a smash cake idea, but I must tell you that in retesting, it is quite delicate. It is DELICIOUS, but she is not a sturdy, easy to frost cake. I’ll give it to you straight in case you have dreams of a Pinterest-worthy sprinkle dream cake. We’re using banana and maple here, and with the sweetness and tang of the frosting, it all balances to be quite the treat. I tested it with both maple and sugar, the prior resulting in a more damp cake, and certainly less sweet, and the later a bit more traditional (and easier to frost). It gets sweetness from over ripe bananas, and I used Greek yogurt to help “frost” it. Know that Greek yogurt does not hold well at room temperature any longer than an hour, so I would suggest making the cake in advance and assembling it with the yogurt just before serving. Alternatively, if you need it to be sitting out over an hour, or hold stronger for decorating, I would make a half batch of this frosting, and just go easy on the amount. This is so many suggestions! I’m sorry, but there is cake.

MAPLE BANANA CAKE WITH YOGURT FROSTING

Make one 8” cake

I call for quick oats, which may sound annoying and you can use old-fashioned oats with a little pulse in a food processor or blender to break them down a bit. If you want a nicer textured cake, less dense, cake flour in its place here will help. If you do not time your life to have brown bananas in time, canned pumpkin does the trick.

A high fat content Greek yogurt is important here. Regular yogurt or anything runny will not work.

Egg Free: Make a flax egg by mixing the flaxmeal with a Tbsp. of water until it starts to thicken. The banana helps hold things, this doesn’t work as well with the pumpkin swap.

Gluten Free: Use a GF 1:1 flour in place of the whole wheat pastry flour.

Ingredients

1/2 cup maple syrup
3/4 cup mashed, overripe bananas (about a medium)
1/3 cup coconut oil, warmed
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 eggs, room temp

1 1/4 cup all purpose flour or cake flour
3/4 cup quick-cooking oats, or pulsed oats (blitzed in a food processor or blender)
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
pinch of sea salt

YOGURT FROSTING

2 Tbsp. butter, room temp
2 Tbsp. cream cheese, room temp
6 oz. full-fat Greek yogurt
1 cup powdered sugar for a firmer frosting, maple works
dash of vanilla extract

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350’. Grease and parchment line a 8” pan or three, 6-8” cake rounds (this will yield much thicker layers).

In a large mixing bowl, or stand mixer with paddle attachment, combine the maple, smashed bananas, coconut oil, vanilla and eggs. Mix well to combine. Add the flour, pulsed oats, baking powder and soda, cinnamon, salt, and give it a few more stirs to just combine. Tip it into the pan and bake for 30 minutes, until cooked in the center. Remove to cool completely.

In a mixer, combine the butter and cream cheese until smooth and aerated a bit. Add the yogurt, powdered sugar, vanilla and mix until combined and smooth. This can be done in advance and kept in the fridge for a few days. Chill to firm up it needed.

If you’re leaving this as a 8” cake, just frost and enjoy. If making a smash cake, use a round tupperware, jar or larger glass to get 2 to 3 circles from the cake and eat the scraps. Layer the cakes with some frosting between, and then over the sides and top. The cake is easier to work with if it is cold! It does need to be kept in the fridge once frosted!