I always grab bananas at the store to throw in smoothies or have for breakfast. This week I guess I forgot to eat them because they were brown and mushy before I knew it. I’d much rather life hand me brown bananas than lemons because bananas are a lot more fun to bake with. I couldn’t decide on making banana blondies or banana bread and ended up settling for something in between.

I intended these to be a healthy afternoon snack, but then covering them in chocolate and peanut butter seemed a lot more fun. They actually aren’t bad for you with their whole grains, fiber, natural sugars and a little bit of healthy fats. The squares are definitely sweet enough on their own—adding a drizzle on top just makes them that much better.

The topping I used was just a chocolate ganache made with 1/4 cup chocolate chips, 2 Tablespoons of maple syrup, and a Tablespoon of water and a peanut butter sauce made with 2 Tablespoons peanut butter, 2 Tablespoons of maple syrup, and a Tablespoon of water all mixed and drizzled on top. This would also be really delicious with a vanilla or peanut butter buttercream.

Whole Grain Banana Cake Squares

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 30 minutes

Ingredients(Makes one 8 x 8 pan):

• 1 cup(2 large) mashed bananas
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup peanut butter
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup(80g) brown rice flour
• 1/2 cup rolled oats
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Method:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and grease an 8 x 8 baking pan.
2. In a large bowl, beat together the mashed banana, sugar, peanut butter, oil, eggs, and vanilla.
3. Add in the brown rice flour, oats, and baking soda and mix well.
4. Pour the batter into the pan.
5. Bake for 25-30 minutes until the center has set.
6. Remove and let cool. Cover with frosting, ganache, or leave plan to serve.

A jar of Nutella never lasts very long in our kitchen. One of my favorite snacks is to take a spoon and just dig in. That’s probably reason enough to stop keeping a jar of Nutella around all the time.

I’ve seen cheesecake-stuffed strawberries online for years now and never tried them before these. I think they’re originally a Paula Dean invention. It’s incredibly convenient if you’re looking for a gluten-free dessert because the strawberries take care of the crust for you; besides, you can convince yourself that a little bit of fruit makes it all healthier.

Filling these can be frustrating; a lot of the first ones came out lopsided and a couple of them even got thrown away. But don’t worry! It’s an easy skill to pick up as you do more and more.

Nutella Cheesecake Strawberries

Prep time: 20 minutes

Cook time: 0 minutes

Ingredients(Makes about 24 servings):

• 1lb strawberries
• 3/4 cup Nutella
• 1/2 cup cream cheese, room temperature
• 3/4 cup powdered sugar, sifted

Method:

1. In a large bowl, beat together the Nutella, cream cheese, and powdered sugar until smooth. Move the filling to a pastry bag or Ziploc with a corner cut off.
2. Using a sharp knife, slice each strawberry twice perpendicularly along the tip almost all the way through, leaving a little bit uncut.
3. Separate the 4 tips of the strawberry and gently push the filling in until it reaches the top.
4. Repeat with all of the strawberries.
5. Store in a refrigerator until ready to serve; leave at room temperature for 30 minutes before eating.

If you’re scared off by filling them or get too frustrated you can always cut up the strawberries and serve the filling as a dip. That was how I used up the leftover filling and it was just as good.

A lot of the time when it comes to food blogging there’s usually a pressure to make everything homemade. Homemade cake. Homemade frosting. Homemade powdered sugar. Homemade butter. Everything.

This recipe has just about nothing homemade. If you want to make your own Nutella and brownies from scratch that’s fine; invite me over when you do. But if you’re in a rush or just alone on a Friday night and feel like making brownies this is probably a better choice because it’s more convenient and you can eat Nutella off of a spoon while you’re waiting for the brownies to cook.

You can use any brownie mix for this recipe as long as it’s for an 8 x 8 baking pan. I used the gluten-free kind pictured below and they came out delicious. Ignore the suggested egg and oil mix-ins and use the amounts listed below.

Easy Nutella Brownies

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 25 minutes

Ingredients(Makes one 8 x 8 pan):

• 1 16oz brownie mix
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup Nutella
• 1/4 cup cooking oil
• 1/4 cup water

Method:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a large bowl, combine all of the ingredients and mix well. If the batter is too thick, add an extra 1/4 cup of water to thin it to a brownie batter consistency.
3. Grease an 8 x 8 baking pan.
4. Pour the batter into the pan and spread it into an even layer.
5. Bake for 25-30 minutes until the center of the brownies has set.
6. Remove from the oven and let the brownies cool before cutting.

Frosting choice should be obvious.

I find it very easy to get addicted to certain ingredients. Lately for me it’s been white chocolate baking chunks from Whole Foods. I try not to eat them straight out of the bag and actually make recipes with them, but these kind of things happen.

To finish off the bag and keep myself from eating them with spoonfuls of Nutella(highly recommended by the way) I made these cookies with the last 1/2 cup. I didn’t know white chocolate and peanut butter went so well together until I tried Peanut Butter & Co.’s White Chocolate Wonderful and they opened my eyes. These cookies have all the goodness of nutty peanut butter with creamy white chocolate—what more could you ask for?

This is basically your grandmother’s easy peanut butter cookie recipe with white chocolate mixed in. You could use white chocolate peanut butter or some earthy spices to mix it up but I think they’re just as addictive when they’re done simple.

White Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 12 minutes

Ingredient(Makes a dozen cookies):

• 3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup + 2 Tablespoons sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 cup white chocolate chips

Method:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a large bowl, beat together the peanut butter, sugar, egg, vanilla and baking soda.
3. Fold in the white chocolate chips evenly.
4. Roll the dough into 1-ounce balls. Lightly press down on the balls with a fork in a criss-cross pattern to flatten it to about 3/4-inch thickness.
5. Bake for 12-14 minutes until the tops are firm to the touch and the edges begin to brown.
6. Remove the cookies from the oven and let them cool before moving to a separate plate.

I don’t often try to mess with perfection when I think I’ve found it. For almost two years now I always return to this brownie recipe because I haven’t tried any that are better. But lately I’ve been on a white chocolate kick and needed a way to enjoy that along with my favorite brownies.

These are basically that same brownie recipe with some white chocolate thrown in. I also added peppermint because even though it’s almost March the temperatures have been below freezing and there’s snow on the ground so it feels a lot like December. Besides, white chocolate and peppermint just go together; I’m pretty sure there are about 10 Starbucks drinks that confirm that.

These grain-free brownies are made with almond flour to keep them moist and fudgy. They’re very rich and keep well refrigerated or frozen for an anytime treat.

White Chocolate Peppermint Brownies

Prep time:

Cook time:

Ingredients(Makes one pan):

• 3/4 cup almond flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon peppermint extract
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/2 cup semisweet or bittersweet chocolate chips
• 1/4 cup white chocolate chips

Method:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
2. Mix together the almond flour, salt, cocoa powder, and baking soda and set aside.
3. In a separate bowl, melt together the 1/2 cup chocolate chips with the butter.
4. While the chocolate is melting, beat together the eggs, sugar, and peppermint extract.
5. Slowly pour the melted chocolate and butter into the egg/sugar mixture while whisking until fully incorporated. Don’t go too fast so that the raw eggs don’t cook upon contact.
6. Add the chocolate mixture in with the dry ingredients and mix completely.
7. Pour the batter in an 8 x 8 pan.
8. Sprinkle the top with the white chocolate chips and gently press them into the batter.
9. Bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick poked into the center comes out clean. Let these cool completely before cutting in.

Perfection