bake sale

Coconut Bourbon Banana Bread /  by Amy Cantu

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I'm of the belief that you can't cram enough goodness into banana bread; it can totally handle it! This banana bread is made with browned butter, big chunks of walnuts, toasted coconut, and a splash of bourbon–browned butter for it's rich nutty flavor, walnuts because my two-year-old is obsessed with nuts, toasted coconut since we were out of chocolate chips, and I cannot stop myself from putting some form of coconut in everything, (here's a short list: Coconut Bars, Buddha Bowls, Coconut Tres Leches Cake, Mango with Coconut Sticky Rice, Olive Oil Granola . . . ) and bourbon makes everything seem a little bit more sinful and therefore delicious. (That was a crazy run-on sentence, and I can't fix it, so just bear with me. It's that kind of day.) The reasoning behind this banana bread is perfectly sound, and I can promise not a crumb will be left behind. No seriously.

Notes: Like any good banana bread recipe, this one is highly adaptable to whatever you have in the pantry. I let the kids pick their favorite "mix-ins", so that each loaf is uniquely their creation. On this day, my two-year-old was adamant about "more and more and more nuts", so I obliged with a whole cup of toasted chopped walnuts. We all enjoyed it immensely, but if nuts aren't your thing, feel free to leave them out. For that matter, add whatever mix-ins make your day happy, (chocolate or peanut butter chips, nuts, coconut flakes, raisins, cranberries, etc.) or none at all!

Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Yield: One 9"x13" loaf

1/2 cup butter, diced
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
4 small (or 3 medium) ripe bananas, mashed
2 large eggs
1/2 cup greek yogurt (any kind)
1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut, toasted + extra un-toasted for sprinkling on top
Optional: 1 cup walnuts, toasted and coarsely chopped + extra un-toasted for sprinkling on top

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9"x5" loaf pan with oil and parchment paper (or oil and flour). 

Line a rimmed baking sheet with two pieces of parchment paper (one piece of paper covering each half of the sheet). Place walnuts on one half and coconut on the other. Toast in the oven, removing when they are golden. (5-10 minutes for walnuts and 3-5 minutes for coconut).

Melt the butter over medium heat in a small saucepan, swirling butter occasionally until butter smells toasty and is golden brown. (Watch closely, because it will go from browned to burnt quickly!) Transfer to a medium bowl to cool.

In a large bowl, whisk together all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, brown sugar, granulated sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.

Add mashed bananas, eggs, yogurt, vanilla, and bourbon to the browned butter and whisk together, until well combined.

Pour the banana mixture into the flour mixture all at once and stir together until just combined and no patches of flour remain. Batter will be thick and not pourable. Lightly fold in the toasted coconut and walnuts, then scrape the batter into prepared loaf pan. Give the pan a little jiggle and spread the batter as evenly as you can. Sprinkle the top with a un-toasted walnut pieces and coconut.

Bake for 55-65 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove from oven and let cool for 10 minutes in the pan, then remove and place on a wire rack until completely cool. (Who are we kidding? Slice into that baby and try not burn your fingers and your mouth as you devour it!)

Lime Bars with Pistachio Crust /  by Amy Cantu

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One of my best friends often craves anything tart and citrusy, and has an especially deep love for key lime anything, as well as lemon bars. This recipe is undoubtedly for her. Not quite key lime pie and not quite lemon bars, these Lime Bars with Pistachio Crust are intensely creamy, cooling, tangy, and perfectly complemented by the nutty, sweet crust. This recipe is somewhat adapted from a Martha Stewart recipe for Key Lime Bars and also one I found for Lemon-Pistachio Bars on NYT Cooking. I found the Martha Stewart one, while delicious, always fell apart due to an overly delicate crust. So I loosely adapted a crust from the latter recipe to come up with this one. It holds together a bit better, but is still a creamy (even a bit gooey) bar.

Notes: Don't skip any of the cooling steps, or the bar will not hold together. The limey tanginess is fairly intense, so you can cut the bars into 16 small squares, rather than the 9 large squares I have pictured here - a little can go a long way! Make sure to store any leftovers (what??!) in the fridge.

Time: 20 minutes (active), 2 hours (inactive)
Yield: 9 large squares or 16 small squares

For the crust:
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/4 cup wheat bran, toasted
1/4 cup confectioners' sugar
1/2 cup cold, unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1/3 cup shelled salted pistachios, finely ground

For the filling:
2 large egg yolks
1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup fresh lime juice
1 teaspoon finely grated lime zest

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease a n 8-inch square baking dish with non-stick cooking spray or  melted butter. Line bottom with parchment paper, leaving a 2-inch overhang on two sides.

In a small food processor or a clean coffee bean/spice grinder, finely grind pistachios.  In a large bowl, combine ground pistachios with flour, wheat bran, and sugar. Dump in the butter pieces and use your fingers to squish the butter pieces into the flour mixture, until everything looks like lumpy wet sand. You should still see streaks of butter.  (This can also be done completely in the food processor. Add all the dry ingredients and pulse until finely ground. Add butter and pulse a few times, until only pea-sized pieces of butter remain.) 

Press mixture into bottom and 1 inch up sides of prepared pan. Bake until lightly browned,  about 20 minutes. Cool crust, 30 minutes.

In a large bowl, whisk together egg yolks and condensed milk. Add lime juice; whisk until smooth. Pour filling into cooled crust; carefully spread to edges.

Bake until set, about 15 minutes. Cool in pan on rack; then chill at least 1 hour before serving. Using parchment paper overhang, lift out of pan, and transfer to a cutting board. With a serrated knife, cut into  9 large squares or 16  small squares, wiping knife with a damp kitchen towel between each cut. Eat with delight (or store in refrigerator until ready to serve).

Adapted from here and here.