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What up. Have you ever missed a simple ingredient in a recipe, and only realized your error when you took your first bite? That was me this week with the below banana bread recipe.
The ingredient in question? Sugar. I unknowingly made banana bread healthy.
Today’s PSA, banana bread without sugar is just bread.
Today’s read time: 5 minutes.
Countertop Nibbles
Ripe Bananas + Air Fryer = Instant Crowd Pleaser
The time was 10:00 P.M. — and Sean was hungry. As I looked through my freezer for something quick, I came across three frozen ripe bananas that I saved for this exact occasion.
The hardest thing about this recipe is waiting for the loaf to cool before eating it.
Ingredients
3 very ripe bananas, mashed
¼ cup (4 tbsp) unsalted butter, melted
½ cup brown sugar, packed
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1½ cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
½ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
½ tsp cinnamon (optional)
½ cup chocolate chips, plus a few extra for the top
Steps
Preheat the air fryer to 310°F (155°C) for 3 minutes. Grease the pan and line the bottom with parchment.
In a large bowl, mash the bananas until mostly smooth. Stir in the melted butter, brown sugar, egg, and vanilla.
Sprinkle the flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon over the batter. Fold gently until just combined, and a few flour streaks are fine. Fold in the chocolate chips.
Scrape the batter into the pan, smooth the top, and press the extra chips onto the surface.
Lower the pan into the basket and bake for 20 minutes, until the top is set and golden.
Loosely cover the top with foil, then bake another 15-20 minutes. It's done when a toothpick in the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs.
Rest in the pan for 10 minutes, then cool on a rack for at least 15 minutes before slicing.
Larry’s Tip: Stir in chopped walnuts or swap in dark chocolate chunks for a richer loaf. Store wrapped at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Together with Angelino’s Coffee
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Cocktail Hour
A classy drink for a classy newsletter subscriber.
Let me transport you to Friday at 6:00 p.m. The drive to the cottage was fast, dinner was amazing, and now it’s cocktail hour. With a few simple ingredients (pun intended), you can channel your inner Don Draper.
Ingredients
2 ounces bourbon
1 sugar cube (or simple syrup)
2 dashes Angostura bitters
1 tablespoons water
1 ice
1 orange peel
1 cherry
Steps
Place the sugar cube in a rocks glass, add 0.3 teaspoons Angostura bitters (about 2 dashes) of bitters and 1 tablespoons water of water, and muddle until the sugar dissolves. If using simple syrup, just stir it together with the bitters and water.
Pour 2 fluid ounces bourbon of bourbon into the glass and stir briefly to combine.
Add the large ice cube and stir for 20 to 30 seconds until well chilled.
Squeeze the orange peel skin-side down over the drink to release its oils, rub it around the rim, and drop it in. Add the cherry.
Larry’s Tip: With a full tablespoon of water, the drink will be a little lighter than a traditional one. If you want it more spirit-forward, use about 1 tsp of water to dissolve the sugar and let the ice do the rest of the dilution.
The Essentials
Lodge 6-Quart Enamelled Cast Iron Dutch Oven - The workhorse for fall cottage cooking: braises, chilli, soups, and bread all come out of one pot. It goes from stovetop to oven and looks good enough to serve from at the table. **
Swissmar Raclette Grill - A great hosting piece for chilly evenings: everyone grills and melts cheese right at the table, so the host actually gets to sit down. **
Crock-Pot Slow Cooker - A set-and-forget option for fall weekends: put a stew or pulled pork on in the morning and go for a hike. **
A message from our sponsors.* This is a product recommendation from our writers. **
A Question For The Crowd
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Until next time,
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