While I’m not a huge fan of bananas themselves, I’m surprisingly a fan of banana bread. đđ It’s always good for breakfast or as a snack. This particular recipe for it, 17-17: Banana Bread with Pecans uses honey to sweeten it, which is a nice alternative to using processed sugar.
Simply Delicious gives you a nice blurb here on bananas–for a more in-depth look, check out 19-5: Bananas, part of the Cooking School series featured at the end of the cookbook.
Merry Christmas! đČ Or if itâs not Christmas when youâre reading this, hope youâre having a nice day. đ The final component of my holiday assortment this year was 17-67: Coconut Crescents, and since they turned out somewhat nicely (unlike some of the other components), I thought it best to end this holiday baking burst on a high note.
I included these in my assortment to vary some texture (not all cookies) and to make at least one that used a yeast dough. These can be really versatileâjust swap coconut for something else like a strawberry filling or sprinkle something like brown sugar on top.
The only chocolate-containing component in my holiday baked goods assortment, 17-31: Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies are honestly pretty good any time of year. So if youâre reading this at some other time of year besides Christmas Eve, donât feel like you canât make these.
I found a way to mess these up as well (seems like this year I had a hard time with some things that should have been really easy), but Iâve made them before previously to this, and both times (then and now) theyâre still definitely very edible and good.
This recipe is another Simply Delicious âtakeâ on something that already largely exists in a slightly different form. These arenât really these kind of macaroons (the Passover kind). Theyâre not these kind of macarons (the French kind) either.
17-52: Apricot Macaroons were part of my big batch of assorted baked goods that I made as gifts for people this yearâyou can find the others linked at the end of this entry.
Mine were a horror show compared to the picture on the cardâI blame poor tools (my pastry bag blew its side out early on, rendering it useless and me bagless) even though any chef knows thatâs a cop-out. I also blame exhaustionâthese were the last ones I made of all of the recipes.
I had high hopes for these. They sounded great. And to be honest, it still might have been my fault these went badly. 17-61: Vanilla Chip Cookies were part of my big batch of assorted baked goods that I made as gifts for people this yearâyou can find the others linked at the end of this entry.
Maybe I overworked them. Maybe my dough was too warm. Maybe it was my oven or my pans. Something just didnât work out here. After the jump, Iâll show you what happened.
Iâve made quick bread from Simply Delicious before (17-51: Three Palms Quick Bread) and it turned out wellâthis recipe is no exception. 17-43: Orange Date Quick Bread is part of my big batch of assorted baked goods that I made as gifts for people this yearâyou can find the others linked at the end of this entry.
I chose to include this recipe in my holiday gifts this year because I wanted to include some different textures, flavors, and shapes, as well as reflecting the abundance of citrus fruit during winter in California. đ
Hopefully I havenât caught you too late for this yearâs batch of holiday baking. If so, keep this one around for next yearâ17-37: Holiday Cookies is a great butter cookie recipe for using cutters or presses. This is part of my big batch of assorted baked goods that I made as gifts for people this yearâyou can find the others linked at the end of this entry.
I got a new cookie press for Christmas last year, and finally got to test it out this year. This cookie press is AWESOMEâso much easier than the old stubborn buggers from the past.
Another recipe that I intended to cover earlier (when it was more relevant). Whatever, you can totally still eat 17-53: Spiced Whole Wheat Muffins in mid-to-late November.
The recipe card says ânot-too-sweetââŠtheyâre not kidding. These are good, but only if you have some preserves or butter to go along with it. On their own, theyâre a bitâŠdry.
Not every recipe is going to be avant-garde. 17-68: Oatmeal Raisin Cookies arenât treading any new territory here, but thatâs not always necessary. Sometimes, just doing a nice version of a classic is just as good, if not better.
Anytimeâs a good time of year for these, but why not give them a go the next time you find yourself with some unexpected raisins or oatmeal. Hey, it happens.
đ I started this one over a month ago, when it would have still been relevant/timely, but procrastination got the best of me. Late, but hopefully not too late, hereâs 17-46: Pumpkin Streusel Muffins.
If youâre not totally over pumpkin yet, these are a nice option for breakfast or dessert.
I made these along with 17-53: Spiced Whole Wheat Muffins and 17-68: Oatmeal Raisin Cookies as part of a âfallâ baked goods basket for the break room. These muffins were the first of the assortment to disappear. đ