I know banana bread isn’t considered a typical holiday treat, but this is my grandma’s banana bread recipe.  I am making some banana bread for her this weekend for Christmas.

1 1/4 cup oil
2 cups sugar
3 cups flour
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 cup coconut ( I never knew there was coconut in it until I got the recipe from my mom. You can leave it out if you don’t like coconut.  You can replace with nuts if you want.)
3 eggs
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups mashed bananas
about that much cinnamon ( My mom said that this would probably equal out to a teaspoon or two. About that much is honestly what was written in the recipe.)

Mix together and bake at 350 degrees until done. 

All of her recipes are short and sweet like this.  My mom said that this is because most of them were either old camp recipes or trial and error recipes. 
I will be putting up pictures of my finished banana bread on Sunday.

Later this week I will be starting to bake banana bread and make puppy chow.  I am also going to make some fudge. I thought this fudge recipe sounded good.  A little different but it still sounds good.

Cranberry Fudge
Ingredients
2 cups (12-oz. pkg.) NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels
1/4 cup light corn syrup
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup NESTLÉ® CARNATION® Evaporated Milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups OCEAN SPRAY® Fresh or Frozen Cranberries
1/3 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
Directions
LINE 8-inch-square baking pan with plastic wrap.
MELT morsels and corn syrup in medium, heavy-duty saucepan over lowest possible heat. When morsels begin to melt, remove from heat; STIR. Return to heat for a few seconds at a time, stirring until smooth. Remove from heat.
STIR in powdered sugar, evaporated milk and vanilla extract. Stir vigorously until the mixture is thick and glossy. Stir in cranberries and nuts; mix well. Pour into prepared pan; cover. Refrigerate until firm, about 8 hours. Lift from pan; remove plastic wrap. Cut into 48 pieces. Store covered in refrigerator. Serve at room temperature.

Cinnamon Cupcakes

Ingredients

1 cup milk
 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
 2 cups all purpose flour
 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
 1/4 teaspoon salt
 4 large eggs
 1 3/4 cups sugar
 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line two 12-cup muffin tins with cupcake liners.
Heat milk and butter in a small saucepan over medium heat until butter melts. Remove from heat. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt.

Using a stand mixer with a whisk attachment, beat eggs and sugar until thick ribbons form, about 5 minutes. Add flour mixture and beat on low just until incorporated. Add milk mixture and vanilla, and beat until blended.
Divide evenly among baking tins. Bake at 350°F for 16-18 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool in pans for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

2/3 cup all purpose flour
16 1/2 oz. rool refrigerated sugar cookie dough

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Knead 2/3 cup of all-purpose flour into a 16 1/2-oz. roll of refrigerated sugar-cookie dough.

2. Tear off a piece of dough and roll it in your palms to form a 3/4-inch ball. Roll a slightly larger piece into a 1-inch ball, and a still slightly larger piece into a 1 1/4-inch ball. Repeat with remaining dough. Place 1 of each size ball close together on parchment-lined baking sheets; flatten balls slightly.

3. Bake cookies for 12 minutes. Cool on rack. Pipe frosting for scarves and to attach M&M’s Minis buttons, mini-chocolate-chip eyes, snowflake sprinkles and Hershey’s Kisses for hats. Makes 18.

Same as usual click to enlarge.  Then right click to save to your computer.

Chocolate-Almond Fudge Squares
Prep: 10 min.
Chill: 4 hr.
Yield: 64 squares
Cost per serving: 42 cents
1 lb. bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
3/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
Pinch salt
1/3 cup sliced almonds
1. Lightly oil an 8-inch square baking pan and line bottom with waxed paper.
2. Melt 12 oz. chocolate with cream in a heatproof bowl set over a medium pan of 1 1/2 inches of simmering water, whisking until smooth (do not let bottom of bowl touch water). Remove pan from heat and whisk in vanilla and salt until smooth. Set aside.
3. Melt remaining chocolate in another bowl set over same pan of simmering water, whisking until smooth. Pour plain chocolate into prepared pan and spread to coat bottom evenly. Refrigerate for about 10 minutes to set chocolate.
4. Spread chocolate and cream mixture over set chocolate. Sprinkle evenly with almonds and gently press into chocolate. Let cool to room temperature, and then refrigerate, covered, until very firm, 3 to 4 hours, or overnight.
5. Run a thin, sharp knife around edges of pan. Turn mixture out onto a cutting board and peel away waxed paper. Turn fudge right-side up and, with a sharp knife, cut into 64 (1-inch) squares. Let stand at room temperature for a few minutes before serving.

Ultimate Reeses Cheesecake Brownie Bars
1 pkg. brownie mix
1 pkg. (8 oz.) cream cheese
2 tbsp. butter, softened
1 can (14 oz.) sweetened condensed milk
1 tbsp. cornstarch
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
Reeses candy bars
Preheat oven to 350*. Mix brownies according to package. Spread in greased 9×13 pan. Chop up as many reeses candy bars as you think best for your taste. (save the reeses pieces for later) Beat cream cheese, butter and cornstarch until fluffy. Beat in milk, egg, and vanilla until smooth. Stir in your chopped candy bars. Spoon cheesecake batter on top of the brownie batter. Bake 40-45 minutes. Cool. Cut into bars and drizzle with peanut butter and chocolate candy melts and sprinkle reeses pieces on top of that. Keep refrigerated….if you have any left:-)