Oh, Yes! We Have...."ONE"....Banana......

I don't know about your house, but in our house it seems that there is always that one lonely banana left, and it seems to get very ripe very quickly and nobody wants to eat it, and it turns darker and darker by the hour.   What to do with that one lonely  banana??  One banana isn't enough for banana bread.  Muffins?  Maybe, but we have those too often.  Over the years I have researched and tried out several ideas for what to do with small amounts of banana.   And so I will offer here three of our favorites.  I know........I said a while back that writing articles with recipes wasn't quite what I had in mind for this blog, but these are too good not to share.   And besides, at this time of year, baking is a good idea - it warms up the house on these really cold winter days! 

First of all, here's a good coffeecake.   This makes a small cake, but this cake is best served warm and fresh anyway, so small is good. The topping sinks a little into the cake, making little dents of crunchy topping.

BANANA STREUSEL COFFEECAKE

1/4 c. butter

3/4 c. sugar

1 egg

1 medium banana, mashed

1/4 c. milk

1 1/2 c. flour

2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

     Grease a 9 x 9 x 2 pan.  Cream the butter and sugar.   Add the egg, banana and milk.  Combine dry ingredients and add to banana mixture.  Sprinkle streusel mix over batter in pan.   Bake at 350 for 30 min.

Streusel Topping 

1/4 c. white sugar

1/4 c. brown sugar

1/3 c. flour

1/4 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 c. butter

Combine dry ingredients and cut in the butter until mixture looks crumbly.

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Next, is a recipe for a yummy bar cookie.  I make this in a 13 x 9 pan and the bars are fairly thin, but we like a thinner bar anyway.  If you like a thick bar cookie, use a smaller pan.   These are cake-like bars and very tasty, and they use a really small amount of fruit, so if you have a small banana left here's a good use for it! 

SPICY BANANA BARS

1/4 c. butter

1/3 c. mashed banana

1/4 milk

1 egg

1 c. flour

3/4 c. sugar

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp. baking soda

3/4 tsp. cinnamon 

1/4 tsp. cloves

1/4 tsp. allspice

1/3 c. chopped nuts

Heat oven to 350 and grease and flour a 13 x 9 baking pan.  Cream the butter and sugar, then add the banana.  Mix well.  Add milk and egg.  Add all remaining ingredients.  Spread in the pan.  Bake for 25 min or until it tests done. 

     When cake is cool, frost with the following: 

2 T. melted butter

1 c. powdered sugar

2 tsp. lemon juice (or you can use pineapple juice )

1 or 2 tsp. water

Combine frosting ingredients and thinly frost the bars.

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And finally here is my husband's favorite use for that one lonely banana:  cinnamon rolls!

BANANA CINNAMON ROLLS

1 T. (or 1 pkg) dry yeast

1/4 c. warm water                     Let this proof until foamy.

1/2 tsp. sugar

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In a bowl: 

2 T. sugar

1 tsp. salt

1/2 c. milk

3 T. butter                            Heat this in a microwave for 1 1/2 min until hot.

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1 egg

1 tsp. vanilla

1/2 c. mashed banana

About 3 c. flour

Combine everything in a large bowl and add flour as needed until you have a dough that can be kneaded.  Knead gently for a few minutes until smooth.  Put in a greased bowl and cover with wax paper and a towel and let rise until double. 

Punch down, and roll out into a 10 x 15 piece.  Smear with 2 T. softened butter. 

Combine: 

2 T. sugar

1/4 c. brown sugar

1 tsp. cinnamon                       Sprinkle this over the butter on the dough.

Roll up and cut into 12 pieces and place in a greased 13 x 9 pan.  Let rise until almost double.   Bake in a 375 oven for 22 minutes or until lightly browned. 

When cool, frost with a mixture of :

1 T. butter, softened

1 cup powdered sugar

1/2 tsp. vanilla

2 T. milk.  

I made some of these tonight and here is what they look like: