Bodacious Banana Blueberry Bread

It's been over a month since I posted a recipe!  And....the last thing I posted was a  fruit bread. Delicious as it was, and many of you made it and reported your outcome, this is a bit of a repeat on the theme.  However, it'll be one worth printing off and putting in your file as it will be the best banana bread you will ever make.  I thought I had posted this a long time ago. Then, I happened to be reading a recipe tip at this place about adding cooled coffee to a brownie mix. I thought what a great idea that is for making it a bit gourmet, and I said wow, I do that with my banana bread and realized I never shared this recipe on the blog. That was a huge run-on sentence, and I don't care... ;-)  So, here it is. Cooled coffee tip and so bodacious.... You've just got to try it.  Plus, you can practice your tongue-twisting capabilities when you talk about it, especially when you add my name to the title.

If you own my cookbook, you know that I recommend baking the bread in one large loaf pan. Today I wanted to make small breads and give three of them away. I actually kind of liked them like that, petite, you can freeze the others, give them away, etc.  I baked them for around 45 minutes at the same oven temperature.  And, of course, when blueberries are not in season you can just omit them.  Enjoy, and let me know in the comment section how you loved it.




BETH'S BODACIOUS BANANA BLUEBERRY BREAD (Say that five times fast)
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Mash 2 very ripe, large bananas. Stir in 1/4 cup of cooled strong, black coffee and set aside.

In a bowl, mix together 2 cups of sifted flour, 1/2 tsp. of baking soda, 1/2 tsp. of salt, and 1 tsp. of cinnamon.

In yet another bowl, cream 1/2 cup of softened butter with 1/2 cup of white sugar and 1/2 cup of brown sugar.  Stir in 1 tsp. of vanilla extract and 1/2 tsp. of almond extract. Add 2 eggs, one at a time and beat well after each addition.

Add the flour mixture and the mashed bananas alternately to the creamed mixture, combining well after each addition.  It's not necessary to beat it to death, though, as this can make for a tough outcome. Stir in 1/2 cup of broken walnut pieces if you like nuts in your bread.  When blueberries are in season, 1/2 cup gently folded in with the walnuts in awesome.

Pour the batter into a loaf pan that has been coated with cooking spray.  Or, prepare 4 mini loaf pans with cooking spray and divide the batter evenly.  Bake one large loaf for an hour at least, or until a tester comes out clean.  Or bake the mini loaves for about 45 minutes. Turn out onto a wire rack for cooling, then wrap in foil when cool.

Below at a glance is the list of ingredients you will need:

• Ripe bananas
• Brewed coffee
• Flour
• Baking soda
• Salt
• Cinnamon
• Butter
• White sugar
• Brown sugar
• Vanilla extract
• Almond Extract
• Eggs
• Walnuts
• Blueberries (when available)

Blueberry and Cheddar Cornmeal Mini-Muffins

The temptation was there.  Blueberries, finally 2 for $3.00.  They have come down in price as far as they will probably go this season.  Not that I didn't pay more for them a few weeks ago to make that incredible Fresh Blueberry Pie.  You made it, didn't you? Well, I know some of you did.  Okay, here's my corn muffin recipe tweaked just a little bit to include blueberries and a little zip from some cheddar cheese. I used sharp white cheddar, but you can use the orange cheddar. This recipe calls for buttermilk, and I don't know about you but I never, repeat, never have buttermilk in the house. If you have a recipe that calls for buttermilk, like this one, measure 1 1/2 Tbs. of cider vinegar into a measuring cup and add milk to measure one cup.  Let it stand for a few minutes. It actually smells like buttermilk, and you will never notice the difference in your recipe. Of note, I only use this method for baking. If you're making a soup that calls for buttermilk, buy the real thing.

BLUEBERRY AND CHEDDAR CORNMEAL MINI-MUFFINS

1 stick of butter

2 eggs

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1 cup buttermilk

1 cup coarse or medium yellow cornmeal

1 cup sifted flour

1/3 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese

2/3 cup blueberries, rinsed and dried

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Melt the butter and pour into a large mixing bowl. Let it cool for a few minutes, and then add the two eggs, beating well. Stir in the sugar, baking soda, salt and buttermilk. Stir in the cornmeal, flour, and cheese.  Fold in the berries. Coat a mini muffin pan with cooking spray, and fill each mini-muffin cup with about a quarter of a cup of batter, making sure you've got at least two berries in each muffin.  The batter should come to the top of the cup for a nice full-sized muffin. Do not use paper liners.  Bake for about 13 to 14 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Makes 30 mini muffins.  These muffins are so moist with the addition of the blueberries and cheese and the slightly crunchy texture of the cornmeal, you won't need butter. Just pop the damn thing in your mouth and get over it.

Easiest & Best Fresh Blueberry Pie

Oh joy.... blueberries are back in season again. An opportunity to make this pie.  This recipe came from my mother, who I believe got it from our next door neighbor many moons ago. She was an expert pie baker, our neighbor. Once you make this, you will never look at another recipe for blueberry pie. I'm serious. Just to show you how serious I am, I'm offering a money back guarantee.  Wait a minute. I'm not selling you anything. How can I offer a money back guarantee?  Listen, July 4th is around the corner. Good excuse to make this. But don't wait until then. Make one now and see for yourself. The combination of fresh and cooked berries with the slightly tart taste of lemon.....all poured into a pre-baked and cooled deep dish pie crust, then topped with toasted coconut, and chilled!  I never met a frozen pie crust that I didn't like. Of course, if you're a purist then roll out your own crust from scratch.  Fifteen or twenty minutes from start to finish (except for the chilling time), the pie serves six generously or eight not so generously.

EASIEST AND BEST FRESH BLUEBERRY PIE

3/4 cup sugar

2 1/2 Tbs. cornstarch

1/4 tsp. salt

2/3 cup water

3 cups blueberries, divided

2 Tbs. butter

1 1/2 Tbs. lemon juice (about half a lemon)

1/3 cup coconut, toasted (optional)

Spread the coconut onto a sheet of foil and toast in a 350 degree oven, stirring occasionally, until browned and sweet smelling. Remove from oven and allow to cool.

Mix the sugar, cornstarch, salt, water and 1 cup of the blueberries together in a saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil and cook until the berries have "popped" and the mixture is thickened, bubbly and dark purple in color. Remove from heat and stir in the butter until melted, then stir in the lemon juice and then fold in the remaining two cups of berries.

Pour into a pre-baked, cooled pie crust, one that you've slaved over yourself, or a frozen deep dish pie crust.

Sprinkle the toasted coconut over the top of the pie. Chill until firm. Serve with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.