easy baking recipes

With the New Year, my main mission for 2015 is a simple one: Getting and Staying Happy.

In order to achieve this lofty goal I applied a START-STOP-CONTINUE approach. Cooking is good for the mind, heart and soul. Especially when shared with others. And so I’ve decided to START cooking more – using recipes I’ve never tried before and sharing my culinary mis/adventures on the blog once a month.

I’ve even created a sub-menu on my homepage under REVIEWS for you – my readers – to find them easily…and hopefully try a few yourself all year 🙂

JANUARY’s recipe: Banana Pecan Mini Muffins

Note: In an effort to share my baking with friends – I took a simple Banana Loaf recipe and poured it into mini-muffin pans instead. Which means my ‘muffins’ aren’t super sweet. FYI.

The best bananas to use for banana bread are those that are over-ripe – i.e. black ones. The yellow peels should be at least half browned, and the bananas inside squishy and browning.

Ingredients (approx. 4 dozen mini muffins):

2-3 very ripe bananas, peeled
1/3 cup melted butter
1 cup of sugar (can easily use 3/4 cup, or drop it down to 1/2 cup if you want it less sweet)
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon baking soda
Pinch of salt
1 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour
1 cup of pecan pieces

STEP 1: Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C), and spray butter a mini muffin pan OR use muffin papers like I did.

**STEP 2:** Mash the ripe bananas with a fork until smooth. **STEP 3**: Stir in melted butter, baking soda, salt, sugar, egg, pecans, vanilla extract, and flour. There’s no need for a mixer for this recipe! And to make clean-up is easy too – mix everything in one bowl … like me 🙂

10923474_10152651145009072_5928559235009821354_n — **STEP 4:** Pour the batter into your prepared mini-muffin tins OR into your mini papers on a cookie sheet – like me 🙂 Now…these ones may not keep a ‘proper muffin shape’ …but they’ll be just a delicious.

**STEP 5:** Bake for 15-mins at 350°F (175°C), or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove from oven and cool completely on a rack. Remove the banana bread from the pan.

10906226_10152651172474072_5812997238489960370_n — **STEP 6:** Get them ready to share with friends … caring means sharing … and sharing means calories don’t count 😉 WIN:WIN

“Cooking is good for the soul”… I’m sure you’ve heard that before.

I have to say, I’ve forgotten how much fun cooking/baking can be. My confidence in the kitchen is slowly building up and it is pretty satisfying seeing the results of these (so far mostly) delicious experiments. This is why I’m determine to continue showcasing one monthly recipe, complete with step-by-step pictures, here on the blog …as it seems to be in the right direction of getting and keeping me happy! 🙂

What do you think of this recipe? Do you think you’d give it a try yourself? How would you improve or change it for the better? Tell me your thoughts in the comments section below.

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