A Shot of Rye

You might think from this post and my post at the beginning of this month, that I eat a lot of muffins.  Or, at least, I did for the month of April.  I do love me a good muffin, don't get me wrong...but I normally don't eat them all that much.  I guess I felt that April was the month of muffin experimentation.  At least twice.  [My apologies also to those who saw the title and thought it might lead to libations.]

I was sorting and organizing my pantry and found my rye flour.  There was also an overripe banana or three.  You know as well as I do, that overripe bananas invariably lead to some sort of baked goods with bananas as the key ingredient.  One of the work study students told me her mom had made banana bread the day before I brought these into work because she had past-prime fruit sitting on the counter.  The natural progression in the life of a banana.  There is the desperate need to make something quickly, because I am not a fan of refrigerated or frozen bananas.

I really like what the rye flour did to these little guys.  They turned out a little dense, with an almost savory quality, but it's 'under the radar', 'can't quite put your finger on it', kind of flavor.  These muffins are also less sweet than you'd probably expect.  The original recipe called for a whole cup of sugar.  Way too much in my opinion.  Drop the sugar, up the cinnamon, you've got enough sweetness from the fruit.  I was also able to finally use up my Easter muffin/cupcake liners!  And yes...I made these on Easter Sunday.  Baking alignment!

On another note...once again, the month of April was my annual mid-life crisis month.  Someday I'll get tired of doing this to myself.  But, hey...consistency, right?  This also means that there will be cake.  Yes, I have decided on my birthday cake.  No, I am not spilling the beans.  You'll just have to come back in a couple of days and see for yourself.  Or find me on Instagram.  No doubt there will be a photo posted.  In the meantime, enjoy a muffin (again).

Banana Walnut Rye Muffins
Makes 10-12 muffins

1/2 cup canola oil
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
3 overripe bananas
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup rye flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.  Line a 12-muffin tin with paper liners or lightly grease and flour.  In a bowl, sift flours, baking powder, and salt.  Set aside.  In a small bowl, mash the bananas, cinnamon, and vanilla together until all big lumps are gone.  In another bowl, vigorously whisk the oil, sugar, and egg until well-mixed and smooth.  Add the bananas and mix.  Add the dry ingredients and mix well.  You can use a hand mixer if you like, but I like doing it all by hand.  Spoon the batter into the cups so each is about 2/3 full.  

Bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in muffin comes out clean.  Let cool in pan.  

Little Pockets of Joy

Sometimes I get an idea in my head and let it fester for a few days.  Sometimes I get a thought in my head and let it fester for a few days.  The thoughts can bring on a whole lot of anxiety and tension.  The ideas usually lead me into the kitchen and baking.   I don't have to tell you that I'd much rather have ideas running through my head than the latter.

It was those ideas (and honestly, an overripe banana or two) that led me to this cake.  Cake wasn't the first thing I thought of baking.  I considered a pie, but I'm not really a pie girl.  Maybe it's because I haven't made a whole lot of them, but pie just doesn't excite me.  I don't wake up in the middle of the night and think, 'all will be right in the world if only I had pie.'  I don't really wake up in the middle of the night craving cake either, but I do have a hard time resisting cake when I know it's around.  And if there's buttercream frosting involved...well...all hell could conceivably break loose.

Somehow I also got to thinking about a banana cake my mom used to make when I was growing up.  I know it was from a box.  Betty Crocker.  Duncan Hines.  I don't remember which one.  I don't even know if they still make it.  But I used to love it.  I loved how light the texture was.  That texture is why I went for a cake instead of the usual banana bread.  I have nothing against banana bread...but it's not cake.

I also couldn't leave well enough alone and make just a plain banana cake.  While, no doubt, it would be great on its own, I had to add something.  The obvious answer would be chocolate chips.  The not so obvious answer was cinnamon chips.  YES.  Cinnamon chips.  These little beauties are fantastic.  You can find them at King Arthur Flour.  I'm sure there are other companies that make them.  Look for them.

The most amazing part about these chips is what happens when you bake them into a cake.  I like to imagine them exploding like little fireworks in the oven.  They burst (or melt) and create these little pockets of air in the cake, completely coated in cinnamon.  I like to call them 'little pockets of joy.'  You end up biting into this airy, light cake riddled with cinnamon and laced with banana.

Now keep in mind that I am a huge fan of both bananas and cinnamon.  I consider this to be pretty close to heaven on a plate.  I am the girl who eats a banana every day and loads her French toast with cinnamon in both the batter and sprinkled on top.  That said...there is cinnamon in triplicate in this cake.  Cinnamon chips, an additional 1/2 teaspoon in the mix, and a dusting of cinnamon and confectioners' sugar.  There are different cinnamons out in the world.  Currently, I'm loving Saigon cinnamon.

Banana Cinnamon Chip Cake
Makes 1 9-inch layer

1 cup flour
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 egg, room temperature
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup cinnamon chips
2 bananas, mashed
2 tbsp milk
Cinnamon and confectioners' sugar, for sprinkling

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.  Line a 9-inch cake pan with parchment or grease and flour the pan.  In a small bowl, mix the flour, baking soda, and cinnamon.  Set aside.  In a medium bowl, cream the sugar and butter until light and fluffy.  Add the egg and vanilla, beating to combine.   

Alternate adding the flour mixture and the mashed bananas to the creamed butter.  Fold in cinnamon chips.  Add milk and stir well to combine.  Pour batter into lined cake pan and bake for 20-25 minutes or  until a toothpick inserted into center comes out clean.  

Let cool in pan for 10 minutes before plating, or leave in cake pan.  Sprinkle with confectioners' sugar or a combination of confectioners' sugar and cinnamon.  

When Is a Cookie Not a Cookie?

You have a cookie, you decide to grind it into a cream (think peanut butter), and then you spread it onto bread and eat it.  Sounds a little odd, doesn't it?  Over the past couple of months, I had been coming across mentions of this Biscoff spread on other food blogs.  Yes, it piqued my curiosity.  Lotus Bakeries (those crazy Belgians!) took their Biscoff cookie, speculoos, and turned it into a creamy spread.  They certainly don't have a monopoly on speculoos, but they did take it that extra step.  I filed this bit of information in my brain and went along my merry way.

Fast-forward to a couple of weeks ago.  It's a glorious Saturday afternoon, I'm on the errand run and while my focus should be heading to Petco to find sustenance for the felines, I take a detour into Cost Plus (Hey, I can't help that they're right next to each other!).  This is dangerous territory for me as it is one of my favourite stores.  I am a kid in a candy store here, with their soaps, kitchen gadgets, fancy notebooks, and most importantly, their food and drink section.  They carry foods from all over the world and have a great wine and beer section.  I used to not be able to get out of a Cost Plus without spending at least $50, but I've reined myself in considerably over the past couple of years.  So I'm innocently walking down the aisles in the food section, looking at imported pastas, olives, cookies, and jams...and guess what I spot?  Yes, Biscoff spread.  I snatched that baby up and didn't even debate on whether it was a necessity or indulgence.  I had to try it.  I am also happy to report that I got out of the store only spending $13.00.  Biscoff spread, Italian dry salame, and violet gum...that's a good haul!

No time was wasted once I got home and took a spoon to that jar of Biscoff.  It doesn't look any different than peanut butter, but the taste, well, that is something else.  Caramelly with brown sugar, overtones of ginger and cinnamon...I get it!  I also had to stop myself from eating it by the spoonfuls.  Biscoff on the no-knead bread I'm obsessed with baking??  Wow.  Limiting myself to one slice?  Not easy.  I screwed the lid back on and hid it away before I really ate the whole jar in one sitting.  But it has not been out of my mind.  I really wanted to bake with it.  I had seen recipes for Biscoff cupcakes, frostings, and cakes.  It was earlier this week while at work that I thought 'banana' and 'Biscoff!'

Well, you know what happened on my day off.  Yes, Biscoff and Banana cookies.  I ate four.  I took most of them into work the next day because I would easily eat all of them myself.  They were gone in no time thanks to my co-workers.  Know what I had for breakfast today?  Yep, cookies.  I will unabashedly tell you that I love these cookies.  They are a very cakey cookie.  Soft and dense with a nice balance of caramelly brown sugar and banana.  With a cup of strong coffee they are fantastic.  I don't see it as a tea cookie, but I guess it could be.  I love tea, but to me it's dainty.  This is not a dainty cookie, it's a hearty cookie.

Seek out Biscoff.  I also found out that Trader Joe's makes a version called 'Cookie Butter.'  I will be looking into that too.  Lotus Bakeries makes it easy to purchase online, as does Amazon.com.

Banana Biscoff Cookies
(Adapted from King Arthur Flour's Basic Drop Cookie)
Makes about 2 dozen 2-inch cookies


1/2 cup butter
1/3 cup + 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar, packed (light or dark)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 egg
1 1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup Biscoff spread
1 medium ripe banana


Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.  Line baking sheet with parchment and set aside.  In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter, sugars, salt, vanilla, baking soda, and baking powder until creamy.  Add the egg and mix until fluffy.  Add flour, Biscoff, and banana (break up with fingers).  Mix until batter is well-combined and smooth.  Drop by tablespoons onto baking sheet about 1 1/2 inch apart.   Bake for 14-16 minutes or until edges are golden brown.  Transfer to wire rack to cool.