Hi. I'm Joanne. But you can call me Jo.
You can usually find me in a bookstore or in the company of good friends. And I like to laugh. A lot.
Passions include: photography, fashion, media, good music, and good food. I especially love where creative meets business.
![BANANA BREAD
Last month my aunt told me she loved banana bread so I made it for her birthday. And it was delicious … so this week I decided to make some more. This time for my community group. Even though I couldn’t go that night, my roommate brought it to them. And she reported that it was a ROARING SUCCESS. Everyone loved it.
And that made my heart happy.
So now - I’m going to share that recipe to you. It yields two loaves, just FYI. One for you to eat right away (which I’m sure you will!) and one to gift to someone else. Enjoy!
* * *
3 cups white sugar, 3/4 cup butter (softened), 3 eggs, 2 cups mashed bananas, 1/2 cup sour cream, 3 1/2 cups all purpose flour, 1 tsp baking soda, 1/2 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon, 1 1/2 cups chopped pecans (optional)
in a large bowl mix sugar and butter
stir in eggs one at a time; beat well with each addition
stir in banana and sour cream
in a separate bowl: flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and pecans
stir dry mixture into the other bowl
pour batter into prepared pans
bake for 55-65 minutes at 325 degrees
cool, eat, enjoy!
[FOR MORE DELICIOUS RECIPES CLICK HERE]](http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m4lgcvL2E61qjorc3o1_500.jpg)
BANANA BREAD
Last month my aunt told me she loved banana bread so I made it for her birthday. And it was delicious … so this week I decided to make some more. This time for my community group. Even though I couldn’t go that night, my roommate brought it to them. And she reported that it was a ROARING SUCCESS. Everyone loved it.
And that made my heart happy.
So now - I’m going to share that recipe to you. It yields two loaves, just FYI. One for you to eat right away (which I’m sure you will!) and one to gift to someone else. Enjoy!
* * *
3 cups white sugar, 3/4 cup butter (softened), 3 eggs, 2 cups mashed bananas, 1/2 cup sour cream, 3 1/2 cups all purpose flour, 1 tsp baking soda, 1/2 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon, 1 1/2 cups chopped pecans (optional)
- in a large bowl mix sugar and butter
- stir in eggs one at a time; beat well with each addition
- stir in banana and sour cream
- in a separate bowl: flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and pecans
- stir dry mixture into the other bowl
- pour batter into prepared pans
- bake for 55-65 minutes at 325 degrees
- cool, eat, enjoy!
[FOR MORE DELICIOUS RECIPES CLICK HERE]
![CHRISTMAS COOKIES :: SNOWBALLS
Along with the Pizelles each year, we bake snowball cookies. These are perfect for the holidays because they look very wintery. The powdered sugar just adds that special touch.
It’s pretty easy to make. Just remember to roll the balls pretty small. If they’re too big, they’ll fall flat and lose that round shape. And you can try it with or without walnuts. Both my brother and sister like it without nuts, but I personally love it with the walnuts.
[I know right … 2 recipes in one week? Yes. Only because it’s the holidays and I did some mad baking recently. S’all good. Makes for good blogging!]
Here’s the recipe:
1 cup softened butter (not margarine), 1/2 cup sifter powder sugar, 2 tbs honey, 2 cups flour, 3/4 cups walnuts, 1 tsp vanilla, 1/4 tsp salt
mix: softened butter, powdered sugar, and honey
fold in: flour, vanilla, walnuts, and salt
roll the dough into balls (about 1 inch in diameter) and place onto cookie sheet
bake for about 12-15 minutes at 350 degrees
let cool
place some powdered sugar in a Ziploc bag
and shake up each cookie in the baggie … about 4-5 at a time … until fully coated in powdered sugar
Easy Peezy! Enjoy & share with friends and family.](http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lwfkgpmfdh1qjorc3o1_500.jpg)
CHRISTMAS COOKIES :: SNOWBALLS
Along with the Pizelles each year, we bake snowball cookies. These are perfect for the holidays because they look very wintery. The powdered sugar just adds that special touch.
It’s pretty easy to make. Just remember to roll the balls pretty small. If they’re too big, they’ll fall flat and lose that round shape. And you can try it with or without walnuts. Both my brother and sister like it without nuts, but I personally love it with the walnuts.
[I know right … 2 recipes in one week? Yes. Only because it’s the holidays and I did some mad baking recently. S’all good. Makes for good blogging!]
Here’s the recipe:
1 cup softened butter (not margarine), 1/2 cup sifter powder sugar, 2 tbs honey, 2 cups flour, 3/4 cups walnuts, 1 tsp vanilla, 1/4 tsp salt
- mix: softened butter, powdered sugar, and honey
- fold in: flour, vanilla, walnuts, and salt
- roll the dough into balls (about 1 inch in diameter) and place onto cookie sheet
- bake for about 12-15 minutes at 350 degrees
- let cool
- place some powdered sugar in a Ziploc bag
- and shake up each cookie in the baggie … about 4-5 at a time … until fully coated in powdered sugar
Easy Peezy! Enjoy & share with friends and family.
CHRISTMAS COOKIES :: PIZELLES (also known as Snowflake cookies)
Every Christmas growing up my Aunt Mindy would come to the house with a batch of Snowflake cookies in hand. They were HUGE - the size of my head. And they were delicious! So light and yummy.
After making it each year for almost a decade and half, my aunt finally got us our own Pizelle Iron (they work just like a waffle iron). So now we make it every Christmas, along with our Snowball Cookies. They’re a bit smaller but still mega delicious.
I’ve included them in the cookie packages this year. So hopefully they’ve kept their shape … they’re a bit fragile. Anywho, I’d like to share with you the family recipe. Although you’ll need your own Pizelle Iron.
6 eggs, 1.5 cups sugar, 1 cup melted butter, 3.5 cups sifted flour, 2 tbls vanilla, 4 tsp baking powder
- mix in a large bowl: eggs, sugar, butter
- fold in: flour, vanilla, baking powder
- mix until the batter is like pancake consistency
- heat up your pizelle iron and spray with Pam
- scoop up the batter in a large pastry bag
- squeeze a 1 oz. dollop in each cookie spot
- let cook for about 20-30 seconds (until light light golden brown)
- when ready, peel off the cookies with a fork and let cool on a paper towel
- feel free to decorate with chocolate syrup, powdered sugar, or fruit
- eat & enjoy!
[first photo by me, second photo provided by Christina Sizemore]
JANET’S FAMOUS CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES
So I like to bake. Preferably from scratch and in little portions at a time, so that everything is freshly baked upon consumption.
And obviously a tall glass of milk is in order with any baked good.
I think I’ve found the perfect chocolate chip cookie recipe. My friend Janet had tweaked around with a number of recipes until she came up with this one. And lemme just say, this cookie is perfect if you do it right.
* * *
1 cup shortening, 1 cup butter, 1.5 cup sugar, 1.5 cup brown sugar, 1 tsp vanilla, 2 tsp baking powder, 2 tsp baking soda, 1 tsp salt, 4 eggs, 5 cups flour, 12-18 oz chocolate chips
- cream: butter, shortening, and sugars by hand
- mix in: vanilla, baking powder, baking soda, salt, eggs
- scoop in: flour and mix in gently with silicone spatula
- fold in: chocolate chips
- roll into one inch balls and place on cookie sheet. lightly flatten them so that they’ll be round
- bake 10-12 minutes at 350 degrees. pull out when golden brown.
- let sit for a few minutes. serve with glass of milk. eat. enjoy.
Actually I never know how long I actually bake them or at what degrees. I just always wing that … I have one of those baker’s internal clocks.
You can refrigerate it and bake it a few at a time. That’s what I always do! Perfect consistency for baking again later (feels like play-doh) and very delish!
WHAT ARE YOUR GO-TO SWEETS?
