Blueberry Banana Bread

A vivid childhood memory of mine is of when one of my best friends would bring blueberry banana bread to school. It was always wrapped up in foil and only because she was my very best friend, she would occasionally break off a little piece and give it to me. It was like those commercials where all the little kids are gathered around the one that brought a Jello pudding snack for lunch and they are all trying to be his best friend just so that he will give them the lid to lick clean. We were really best friends though, which is why she would usually break off that little piece for me. This blueberry banana bread was not easily shared.

This bread has become a Hanson family staple. In fact, I can't even really remember my mom or dad making banana bread without the addition of blueberries. I was probably upper elementary when I wrote this recipe down for the first time over the phone with my friend. That was back in my early baking days of not being able to spell (not that I'm a great speller now), so the recipe I still use calls for "surge" instead of sugar (I'm gonna blame the dyslexic tendencies on that one) and "vanille" (which I have absolutely no excuse for).

Blueberries and bananas is one of my favorite combinations when it comes to quick breads. If I ever eat just banana bread or just a blueberry muffin, then I feel like something essential has been left out. The thing that makes this bread especially nice is the hardest thing about it: the wait factor. Sure, there are few things that beat a warm slice of bread topped with some butter but wrapping this bread and letting it sit makes it even more moist and flavorful, if that is even possible. Of course, you don't have to do this, but it is the trick that made my friend's mom's bread so good. 

Blueberry Banana Bread

Makes 1 loaf

1 3/4 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1 stick or 1/2 cup butter, softened

3/4 cup sugar

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 to 4 very ripe bananas

1/2 pint fresh blueberries

course sugar, optional

1. Preheat the oven to 350°. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda. Set aside until needed. 

2. In a large mixing bowl, beat the sugar and butter with an electric mixer until light, about 2 to 3 minutes. Add in the egg and mix until thoroughly combined. Stir in the vanilla. 

3. In a separate bowl, mash or beat the bananas just until they are broken up. I like to still have small chunks instead of a cohesive mix. 

4. Add the mashed bananas to the wet ingredients. Use a spatula or a large spoon to stir the mixture together. Add in the flour all at once and fold until the batter is smooth, making sure not to overmix. Gently fold in the blueberries. 

5. Place the batter in a greased loaf pan and sprinkle the top with the course sugar, if using. Bake in the oven for 55-60 minutes, or until the top of the bread is golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the middle of the bread comes out clean. 

6. Allow the bread to cool or 5 to 10 minutes in the pan, and then remove the bread from the pan to a wire cooling rack. When the bread is still slightly warm, wrap it tightly in foil and let it rest for 8 hours or overnight on you kitchen counter or in your refrigerator. If you are not going to eat the whole loaf in a day or two, I reccommend storing the leftovers in the fridge until it is gone. Enjoy! 

Cinnamon Chip Scones

One day in March I looked up at my calendar and made a shocking discovery. You know how sometimes you get busy and forget to flip the page so your calendar is a little behind? Well, that is what had happened but to the extreme.

My calendar was turned to July.

As in July of 2013, almost 8 months before the day that I stood in disbelief staring at the wall. 

I should have thrown it away three whole months before I even noticed it said July. And that situation perfectly describes the last 10 months of my life.

In August I began my first year of teaching at a small Christian school. I love teaching English and Drama, but I am certainly looking forward to the fact that I never have to have a first year teaching experience again. I'm sure that next year and the years to come will certainly have their challenges, but at least there won't be quite the learning curve for me. There have been tears on at least three different occasions (and I am not a crier). There has also been plenty of laughter, frustration, anxiety, success, failure, and heartache (the good and bad kinds).

One thing that has really been hard for me this last year is having to completely devote my time to school, which leaves very little time for anything else. Being a teacher means being a master time manager.  There have been many things pushed to the way, way back burner for days and months. However, now that summer is here, I am planning on devoting some time to other things I love again! Like painting. And crafting.

And spending time in my kitchen.

It's funny how when you stop doing something you often fall out of practice doing it. I made scones a couple of weekend ago when my parents were visiting and I burned them. I burned them! There are few things that I hate more than over-baking something and yet I have been acting like an amateur in the kitchen the last few times I stepped foot in there. The love is still there, but I think I might have to take things slowly at first.

So without further ado, I have for you today my new favorite scone recipe (yes, the recipe for the ones I burned. Do as I say and not as I do! The ones in the pictures are not the burned ones though). They seem a little nontraditional to me since they have eggs and powdered milk, but it is sure worth it. This is the basic recipe I use and depending on how I feel at the moment and what I have on hand determines what actually goes in them.

Cinnamon Chip Scones
Makes 6 to 8

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3 Tablespoons sugar
2 Tablespoons nonfat dry milk
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 cup cinnamon chips
4 Tablespoons cold butter, cut into pieces
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup milk, plus 1 Tablespoon
Course sugar for sprinkling

1. Preheat the oven to 425°. In a mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugar, dry milk, salt, cinnamon, and baking powder. Whisk to make sure everything is evenly distributed.

2. Use a pastry cutter or two butter knives to cut the butter into the dry ingredients. Stop when the butter is the size of small peas. Gently stir in the cinnamon chips.

3. In a liquid measuring cup or a small bowl, combine the egg, milk, and the vanilla. Whisk to combine and add all at once to the dry mixture. Gently stir the mixture just until everything starts to come together. Use your hands to fold the dough over a few times in the bowl to help everything come together.

4. Drop the slightly crumbly dough onto a ungreased cookie sheet. Shape the dough into a disk that is about 1/2 inch thick. Work quickly so your hands don't melt the butter. Use a sharp knife or a pizza cutter to cut the wheel into 6 or 8 wedges (like you were cutting a pizza). Carefully pull each wedge back so that there is about 1/2 inch between them.

5. At this point, you can freeze the scones and save them for baking at a different time. Freeze them on the cookie sheet for 30 minutes, then wrap them tightly in plastic wrap and foil and place in a freezer bag. Bake as directed below, but they might take a few extra minutes. However, if you only want to wait 15 minutes or more to bake them, then place them in the freezer until you are ready to bake. (I do this sometimes if the rest of my breakfast isn't ready and I want the scones hot from the oven when everyone is ready to eat.)

6. When you are ready to bake the scones, brush the top of the scones with milk and sprinkle with course sugar. Place the scones on the middle rack of your oven and bake for 7 minutes. Then turn the oven off and leave the scones in the closed oven for another 7-8 minutes. They should be golden brown when they are finished.

7. Serve immediately as they are best when just pulled out of the oven. Enjoy!

Adapted from King Arthur Flour.