Happy 2nd Birthday, Dancer Bakes! {Oatmeal Banana Nut Muffins}

Pretend there's a candle in one of those muffins because the blog turns two today!!  WHOA!

It barely feels like this last year happened for me - graduation, marriage, and 6 months at sea dancing my little tush off made it fly by!  But even though I'm still in denial that it's really been two entire years since I started this little online journey, I couldn't be happier about where it's taken me.  I started my dance career, I lived in one of the most beautiful places in the entire world, I have a wonderful husband who helps and supports me in every way, and I've developed a deeper love of food than I ever imagined when I decided to start writing it all down.

This occasion really demands rich and delicious baked goods.  In lieu of rich, have healthy and delicious baked goods!

The other day, I got hit by a particularly strong urge to bake, fed in part by the appearance of a Nutella Swirl Banana Muffin recipe on my newsfeed - courtesy of Jessica over at The Novice Chef. I basically started salivating on sight.
However, I've recently tried to renew my commitment to eating a clean diet - high in fiber, vitamins, minerals, protein and healthy fats; low in sugar, saturated fat and processed chemicals.  The hardest part for me to cut out is sugar.  It's no secret that I love sweets, and I particularly like finishing a meal on a sweet note, so sugars - even natural ones - are hard for me to both limit and avoid altogether.
I couldn't shake the banana muffin craving, though, so I searched for a healthier recipe, and voila!  I found one!  Still sweet, but not a cupcake masquerading as breakfast.

These are oatmeal muffins, but not in the same sense as an oatmeal cookie.  In this recipe, the oats are ground into oat flour to form the base of the muffin.  I was a little low on oats at home, so I supplemented with a little white whole wheat flour and they still turned out great.  Also, these are basically the easiest muffins to make in the history of the world: all you do is process the oats, add all the rest of the ingredients, process until it looks like a batter, and bake!

In terms of the calorie count (if you even care), these beauties come to a whopping 135 calories per muffin!  Not bad at all.  If you're watching your sugar intake, you'll still need to balance these with low-sugar, high-veggie-and-protein meals, but eating one is nothing to feel guilty about!  Score :)

Oatmeal Banana Nut Muffins
Source: slightly adapted from this recipe by Michelle Hein
Yield: 1 dozen muffins

Ingredients:
2 cups old-fashioned oats
2 extra ripe bananas, cut into quarters
2 eggs
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 tbsp honey
3/4 cup plain nonfat Greek yogurt
1 tsp vanilla extract
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/3 cup chopped walnuts

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400˚F.
Lightly grease a 12-cup muffin pan with cooking spray, butter, or shortening (I used Baker's Joy).
Place the oats in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until finely ground. 
Add the remaining ingredients and blend until a smooth batter is formed.
Scoop the batter into the prepared muffin tin, evenly filling all 12 cups.  Bake for 15-20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean and the tops of the muffins spring back when pressed lightly.  For me, it only took 15 minutes, so make sure to test them at the minimum baking mark - don't let them overbake and get tough!  Serve warm and enjoy - add candles if you're feeling celebratory :)

Cocoa Glazed Banana Bundt Cake

Et voila, the first cake I baked in our new apartment!

This gorgeous thing was the product of a very domestic day alone - my wonderful husband was at work for two days straight in Pittsburgh, so my kitchen and I got reacquainted in a very intense way.  After the cake came out of the oven, those insane sprinkly pancakes found themselves on the stovetop, and broccoli fritters made it to the dinner table a few hours later.

First of all: SO. MANY. DISHES.
Second of all: SO. MUCH. DELICIOUS.

This cake is chock full of scrumptious, moist, banana flavor and the quick-and-easy glaze tastes like hot fudge.  The baking method for the cake is easily one of the most interesting I've ever encountered: the cake stays in the oven for nearly two hours at a low temperature, then immediately makes its way into the freezer for an additional hour.  The resulting cake is insanely moist and flavorful, and the outside doesn't get super dark like many banana cakes are wont to do in a hot oven.  Though it took time to bake, I was absolutely thrilled with the quick prep (especially with my new KitchenAid 6-quart pro!!) and the delectable result.  Thank goodness I found some people to help me consume it, or this delicious cake would have become 10 new delicious pounds around my waist!

I highly recommend this recipe.  If muffins or banana bread sound boring the next time you have overripe bananas, go for cake!

Banana Bundt Cake
Source: adapted slightly from My Baking Addiction

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups mashed ripe bananas
2 cups white whole wheat flour
1 cup all-purpose flour
1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 cups granulated sugar
3 large eggs
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups buttermilk

Directions:
Place a rack at the center of the oven and preheat to 275˚F.  Thoroughly grease and flour a 12-cup nonstick bundt pan, or use a baking spray with flour to coat it.

In a small bowl, mash the bananas.
In a medium bowl, mix together the flours, baking soda, and salt.


In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large bowl with a hand mixer, cream together the butter and the sugar until pale, light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.  Add the eggs one at a time, beating well until fully incorporated, then stir in the vanilla.  Alternately add the buttermilk and the flour mixtures to the bowl of the mixer, mixing until combined and smooth.  Stir in the mashed bananas.


Transfer the batter to the prepared bundt pan.  Bake in the preheated oven for about 1 hour 40 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean.  
Immediately transfer the pan to the freezer for about 1 hour.  Remove the pan from the freezer to a rack for at least 3 hours.


When ready to serve, invert the cake onto a serving plate or cake stand and prepare the glaze.


Simple Cocoa Glaze

Ingredients:
1/2 cup powdered sugar
3 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp pure vanilla extract (I used Mexican vanilla)
2-3 tbsp half and half or whole milk


Directions:
Combine powdered sugar and cocoa powder in a bowl and whisk together thoroughly.  Switch to a spoon and add vanilla.  Gradually add the milk or half and half until a thick but pourable glaze is formed.  Spoon over the top of the cake and allow the glaze to drip down the sides.  Give it an hour or so to set slightly, then slice and serve.  Enjoy!

Banana Bread French Toast

Remember this?

And how I told you to stick around because I'd do something fun with it?

Well...voila!

Banana. Bread. French. Toast.

I have to confess...half the reason I made the bread was to turn it into French Toast after seeing Jessica's recipe.  I was a woman obsessed!  The whole wheat blueberry banana goodness was left virtually untouched (except for a teeny tiny bit that I tasted by itself) for two days after I baked it because I was saving it for its higher purpose.

And oh.my.Lord.

The next time you're having a craving for an over-the-top breakfast, make this.  Plus, if you use the blueberry oat banana bread, you'll be packing yourself with tons of fiber and fruit at the same time!  I don't want to think about the overall calorie count in that plate...especially since I ate it all...but hey, that's what exercise is for!  Just keep thinking about all that whole-wheat-fruit-and-protein goodness while you're at Zumba ;)

Banana Bread French Toast
Source: barely adapted from How Sweet It Is

Ingredients:
6 slices banana bread (such as this)
3 large eggs
1/2 cup milk or heavy cream (I used soy milk)
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
butter for the pan

Directions:
Slice the banana bread to your desired thickness (we went super thick, but you can be as conservative as you want).  In a wide bowl, combine the eggs, milk or cream, and cinnamon, whisking until smooth.  Heat a griddle or skillet over medium heat and brush with butter.  Soak each piece of bread for about 30 seconds per side, then transfer to the heated griddle.  Cook for about two or three minutes on each side until golden and a bit crispy on the outside, then transfer to an oven-safe plate in the oven, warmed to 150-200˚ to keep the French toast warm as you finish the rest of the slices.  Serve with toppings of choice - I recommend sliced bananas and pure maple syrup, but seriously?  Go crazy.  And most importantly, ENJOY!

Blueberry Oat Banana Bread

The wedding is coming up SO SOON!!

We're talking less than two months now.  And I couldn't be more excited to finally call Jon my husband!

Of course, this means that I have less than two months to get everything done, which is a bit intimidating.  Now don't get me wrong - we're almost there!  But those last few things that remain unfinished are killers.  Like...planning the ceremony with my pastor.  And doing premarital counseling.  And making sure I have someone to do my hair.  And seating charts...oh Lord, seating charts...

SO FUN.


I also have to get dress alterations done because (feel free to hate me for this next part) I lost too much weight for the wedding gown I ordered!  I focused on eating right and toning up for shows and auditions, and in the process I dropped a dress size - woohoo!  So when I went to what I hoped would be my final gown fitting, I discovered it needed to be taken in quite a bit.  What complicates this even more?  The gown is in Virginia...and I'm in Buffalo.  So I have to fly back home in April to make sure everything's perfect.  An added expense and an added stress, but worth it!

And everything will get done!  It will.  Eventually.

Oy.


Two months till the wedding also means that I am down to my last two months to bake with bananas whenever I want, since the future husband is allergic to them.  I'm not going to give them up - uh, I kinda live off of them - but I will have to be very careful about when and where I eat and bake with them.

One day, I just wanted banana bread, a craving that was spurred by the three very ripe bananas I had sitting on the counter.  I was blog browsing, found this recipe on The Picky Eater, realized that I had every necessary ingredient on hand, got SUPER excited, and made it!  After I made the kitchen smell incredible and tortured myself by waiting till the next day to taste it, I was very happy that I gave into my craving!

This banana bread is about as guiltless as banana bread can get.  It's loaded with nutty whole wheat flour, hearty rolled oats, and tons of fruit in the form of banana puree and blueberries.  It also happens to be delicious.  I will recommend that you err on the side of too much mashed banana, though - I think I'd increase the amount I used for the future just for added flavor.  But if you're in the mood for banana bread that won't kill your calorie count for the day, bake this one up - you won't be disappointed!

Whole Wheat Blueberry Oat Banana Bread
Source: The Picky Eater

Ingredients:
1 cup buttermilk (I used buttermilk powder and water)
2 large eggs
1 cup mashed ripe banana - about 2-3 medium bananas (I say aim for 3)
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup canola oil
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
1-1/2 cups blueberries, fresh or frozen

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 375˚F with a rack positioned in the middle.  Coat a 9x5 loaf pan with cooking spray and lightly flour.  Or use Baker's Joy and do it all at once! 
Whisk together the buttermilk, eggs, mashed banana, brown sugar, and oil in a large bowl until uniform and smooth.    In a separate bowl, combine the flour, oats, baking powder, cinnamon, salt and baking soda.  Stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until just combined.  Gently fold in the blueberries.
Transfer the batter into the prepared loaf pan, smoothing out the top.  Bake for approximately one hour, until browned and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.  Transfer pan to a wire rack to cool for 15 minutes, then remove the bread from the pan to the rack to cool the rest of the way.  Enjoy!


**And stay tuned - I had fun with this bread that I'll share soon :)

Banana Nut Steel Cut Oats

This, ladies and gents, is by far my favorite winter morning breakfast.

Unless you include pancakes or waffles or french toast.  So by "favorite" I mean "the best possible thing I can afford to eat all the time."  Which this definitely is.

If you're an oatmeal fan, then chances are you've tried steel-cut oats.  If you're not an oatmeal fan, then by all means TRY STEEL CUT OATS!

Sorry.  Didn't mean to get scary on you for a second.  But seriously - if you hate regular rolled-oats oatmeal, these could change your mind.  The oats, instead of being steamed and rolled, are steamed and then cut into small pieces with a steel blade.  Hence steel-cut oats - oh hey!  As a result, they retain more of the oat husk and have even more of those great whole-grain properties.  For those of you who aren't health nuts and don't give a rat's patoot about health values, they maintain a chewy texture - no mush here!  More good news: most steel-cut oats, especially Irish oats, are gluten-free!  Just check whatever brand you find to make sure they are, if that's a concern.  They do take a bit longer to cook, but there's a quick version of steel-cut oats too.  Which is what I use.

I have several variations of my Friday morning oatmeal, and this one is definitely my favorite so far.  I cook the oats with a combination of water, vanilla soy or almond milk, and Stevia, and I add sliced bananas, crushed or chopped walnuts, a nice sprinkle of cinnamon, and just a touch of light brown sugar to finish.  They're creamy, wholesome, sweet, and chewy with highlights of rich banana and crunchy nut - exactly what I want to eat when I see snow out my window in the morning :)

Banana Nut Steel-Cut Oats
A Dancer Bakes original!
Serves 1

Ingredients:
3/4 cup water
1/4 cup quick-cooking steel-cut oats (such as McCann's)
1 packet stevia (I use Stevia in the Raw)
1/4 cup vanilla soy or almond milk, with more as needed or desired
1 medium to large banana at desired ripeness, sliced
1/4 cup walnut pieces
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tbsp light brown sugar

Directions:
On the stove:
Heat the water in a small (2-3 cup) saucepan over medium-high heat till it reaches a rolling boil.  Add the oats and stevia.  Allow to cook uncovered for 5-7 minutes, stirring often, until the water has been mostly absorbed by the oats and the oatmeal has thickened.  Stir in the soy or almond milk and continue to cook until the milk is absorbed and the oatmeal is creamy.  Add the cinnamon, walnuts, and banana slices, stirring well to incorporate.  If the oats are too thick for your taste, add more of the milk and cook until your desired texture is reached.  Allow to sit for 1 minute.  Pour the oats into a bowl, sprinkle with brown sugar, and serve.

In the microwave:
Pour the oats, stevia, and water into a deep, microwave-safe bowl.  Cook on high for 2.5-3 minutes, stir, and return to the microwave for another 1-2 minutes, checking and stirring frequently.  Remove from the microwave and stir in the almond or soy milk, followed by the cinnamon, walnuts, and banana slices.  Add more milk and return to the microwave if necessary until desired consistency is reached.  Allow to sit for 1 minute.  Sprinkle with brown sugar and serve.
Microwave note: if your microwave runs hot and tends to make things boil over, consider adding 1/4 cup raisins to the oats and water before cooking them.  The dried fruit will absorb some of the excess moisture, which will keep the oats from boiling over - just remember you'll probably need more milk than the recipe calls for later!  And the oatmeal's just as delicious with raisins in the mix :)

Banana Walnut Muffins

I love bananas.  My snack pretty much every day is a banana with a tablespoon of peanut butter.  When I feel the urge to bake, I usually have ripe bananas on the counter.  Banana breads, cakes, muffins, cookies, or, well, basically anything banana - you name it, I probably love it.  And want to make it.  May have already made it, in fact.

There's only one problem: Jon is allergic to bananas.
I can't eat them anywhere near him or he'll get nauseous.  And the super-ripe ones I use for baking make him feel even worse.

Long story short, these muffins were not for him.  This is my go-to muffin recipe and I made them when I wasn't going to see him for a few days.  And I was blissfully happy whenever I was eating one of these moist, sweet, sporadically crunchy, moderately healthy treats.  Particularly if it was topped with mascarpone cheese and a little bit of honey...heaven.  If you're not a walnut fan, substitute anything you want - pecans, blueberries, peanut butter or chocolate chips, shredded coconut...or add in any of the above to make these muffins even more stellar than they already are!

Banana Walnut Muffins
Source: barely adapted from For the Love of Cooking
Yield: 12 muffins

Ingredients:
1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup white whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 egg whites
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup vanilla yogurt (I used nonfat)
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 large, very ripe bananas
1/2 cup of walnuts, crushed a bit

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350˚F and make sure a rack is centered.  Spray a 12-cup muffin tin with cooking spray and set aside. 
In a medium bowl, combine the flours, baking powder, salt, baking soda, and sugars and whisk them together.  In a large bowl, mash the bananas until they are smooth, then add the egg whites, vegetable  oil, yogurt, and vanilla extract and whisk until smooth.  Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients without overmixing - the batter should still have a few lumps in it.  Fold in the walnuts with a rubber spatula.
Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups and bake for 20-22 minutes, or until a tester inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean.  Transfer pan to a cooling rack until cool enough to handle.  Serve muffins slightly warm with toppings of choice - though they don't need toppings to be delicious!  Enjoy!
 

Banana Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

Story time:
Once upon a time,  a young girl new to the blogging world had two ripe bananas to use up.  She thought and thought, tossed and turned, and still couldn't come up with a unique way to use them.  First she tried to find healthy recipes, but those wouldn't satisfy her sweet tooth.  She thought of a bundt cake, but then realized her bundt pan was far, far away in the land of Buffalo.  Whatever could she do?
But then, she stumbled upon a magical cookbook.  It was small, but within its pages it held recipes of every flavor and taste she could imagine.  And inside this book, she found a recipe for Banana Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting - the answer she had been seeking!
She followed the recipe directions to the letter, scooped the batter into the pan, and slid the pan into the oven.  When the DING of the oven timer came, she took them out...only to discover 12 strangely colored, misshapen little cakes!  She began to despair, but then remembered that they were meant to be quite brown, and their shape would not matter once they were topped with swirls of rich and creamy frosting.  Just a few twirls of her mixer later, the cupcakes were finished.
And my, were they delicious!


Another GEM from Alice's Tea Cup.  I'm convinced the Fox ladies can do no wrong.  Just remember - they're supposed to get darker than most cupcakes.  And honestly, who cares what they look like underneath the frosting?  The flavor combination most definitely makes up for the oddness of their shape, and they actually only get better with time!

Banana Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting
Source: Alice's Tea Cup by Haley and Lauren Fox
Yield: 12-18 cupcakes
Ingredients:
For the cupcakes:
2 very ripe bananas
3/4 cup canola oil
1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract (I used Tahitian vanilla, but you don't need to be that fancy)
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp kosher salt

For the Cream Cheese Frosting:
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups (12oz) cream cheese, at room temperature
3 cups confectioners' sugar

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350˚F. 
Mash the bananas in a small bowl, then set aside.  In the bowl of an electric mixer, or in a large bowl with a hand mixer, combine the oil and sugar until fully mixed.  Add the eggs one at a time, followed by the vanilla; mix until smooth.  Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt in a medium-sized bowl.  With the mixer running on the lowest speed, add the flour mixture a little at a time, mixing until it's all combined and the batter is smooth.  Fold in the bananas with a rubber spatula.
Fill a nonstick or paper-lined muffin pan half-full of batter and bake for 15-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of a cupcake comes out clean.  Set aside to cool completely in the pan.
As the cupcakes are cooling, make the frosting.  In the bowl of an electric mixer, or in a large bowl with a hand mixer, cream together the butter and cream cheese until fully combined and smooth.  With the mixer set on its lowest speed, slowly add the confectioners' sugar, mixing until it is completely incorporated and the frosting is smooth (and delicious!)
Use an offset spatula or piping bag to frost the cupcakes generously with the cream cheese frosting.
Enjoy!