Nutella Banana Bread

remember how i have a problem with bananas? specifically with how I buy way too many of them? enter project banana bread: nutella style!  

mmm nutella...  I've been told that nutella is an integral part of most people's childhoods.  Personally, I spent most of my childhood eating hummus sandwiches and fiber granola bars (thanks, mom) so i didn't have my Nutella epiphany until I came to college and met my more culinarily relaxed friends.  

It was totally worth the wait though, because now I just want to eat nutella with ALL of the foods!

Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Banana Cookies

After a week of school, i can now safely say that i'm tired.

i would like to say that i'm tired because all of the homework i have, and all of the things i have to get done (seriously, who doesn't enjoy complaining about their busy schedule?) but really, it's because i've been hanging out with friends. In the past two weeks, we've been catching up on each other's lives by watching movies, having impromptu Monday night dance parties, and watching more movies.  so that is why i'm tired:)

furthermore, since i believe the best way to connect with friends is through food, i recently purchased an industrial sized bag of chocolate chips from Costco.  if those 72 ounces don't buy a friendship i don't know what will.   in any case, you may be seeing a lot of chocolate on this blog in the coming months...

these are the chocolate chip oatmeal banana cookies i made over the weekend:)

since i always seem to have more ripe bananas than i can eat, i tend to incorporate them in my baked goods and then share them with the world.

mashed banana. the stuff that babies' dreams are made of.

anyways, these cookies were fairly simple.  they had a slightly cakier consistency than regular chocolate chip cookies, but the banana definitely added a level of moisture that you don't find in a lot of other cookies.

glitter nails!

my friend Carmen took advantage of my frantic picture-taking to show off her gorgeous glittery gold nails. oh, and if you aren't blinded by the dazzling gold spectacle, that's the cookie batter in the background.

ok, it's probably time to get back to work now.  Happy Wednesday to everyone!

Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Banana Cookies:

1/2 cup of unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg, room temperature
1 cup of mashed bananas (about 2 ½ large bananas)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon of baking soda
2 cups of flour
pinch of salt
1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
2/3 cup chocolate chips
2/3 cup oatmeal

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  In a medium-sized bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.  Set aside.  In a large bowl, cream together the butter, white sugar, and brown sugar until fluffy.  Incorporate the egg, mashed bananas, and vanilla extract sequentially.  Fold the flour mixture into the larger bowl in small increments, until all of the flour is incorporated.  Lastly, fold in the chocolate chips and oatmeal.  Spoon cookies onto an ungreased cookie sheet or a silicone mat, and bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown.

Peanut Butter Banana Nutella Crepes

So this is what happens when I have extra milk, and nutella is on sale:)  This was my first time making crepes, so i pretty much stuck to this recipe.

if i had to summarize in one word: NOMS.

making crepes was the best Sunday morning decision i've made in awhile.   usually, i 

Chocolate Chip Muffins with Banana Topping

For the millionth time this year, I found myself in possession of black bananas.  I should really just plan ahead and buy less bananas, but where's the fun in that?  Being in a "brinner" kind of mood, I settled on making muffins with banana topping :) and being a chocolate addict, they obviously had to be chocolate chip muffins.

 Yay, bananas.  Also, a very very big thank you to Sylvia for

Banana Bread

 

Question: what's the best thing to do with ripe bananas?  spoiler alert, it's banana bread! In the past two years, I've used pretty much all of my ripe bananas trying to achieve The Ultimate Banana Bread.  My lovely floormates have dutifully tried every single loaf of bread I have made, including the one where I forgot to add baking soda. Thanks guys, you're the best :)

Anyhow, the special ingredient that I've incorporated in my banana bread is...