Banana “Ice Cream”

I came across this recipe on Pinterest while on my quest for finding healthy treats: One ingredient ice cream. 

Is it too good to be true?  Fortunately, no!  It came out great.  It’s a healthy and sweet treat to substitute for when you have that ice cream craving.  You can also customize the recipe to add cocoa powder, peanut butter, nutella, or anything else you would like!  I just tried out the plain version but I will definitely try adding some cocoa or peanut butter or both next time!

Frozen banana slices

The recipe is so simple.  Just peel 4 bananas, slice them up, and pop them into the freezer for an hour or two.

Ready to pulse

Once frozen, place the bananas into a food processor and pulse for about a minute or so.  You may need to scrape down the sides.  When the mixture is completely smooth and creamy, you’re done.

All mixed up and ready to eat

That’s IT!  You can try it as is (texture similar to soft serve ice cream) or freeze the mixture so that you can scoop it out.  I tried both and liked it frozen better. 

Banana mixture before putting back into freezer

Frozen banana mixture...Yum!

Healthy and cheap, how can you beat that?

The Best Cookie You Will Ever Eat

Sigh…another weekend has come and gone.  I’ve been sticking to my diet and working out, which I am proud of myself for.  But the thing about restricting your calories (for me at least) is that you start to fantasize about food that is very very bad for you.  Cheeseburgers, fries, cookies, ice cream, etc.  So of course when I get these cravings, I go to Pinterest to get my fix of looking at all the pictures of delicious recipes that I probably shouldn’t eat while I’m trying to lose some weight. 

But I caved.  I hadn’t baked in a while and had the itch to try out a new recipe, so I went for it.  I came across this recipe a while back, and knew I had most of the ingredients on hand so I wouldn’t have to pick up 20 ingredients and spend a small fortune at the grocery store. (I hate when that happens.)

I just love all of Pioneer Woman’s recipes.  They are usually fairly simple and always come out great.  I saw her make these cookies on a recent Food Network show and thought they looked delicious.  I love thin and crispy cookies, but I have never tried to make them before.  After reading through the blog post of the recipe and watching her make them on TV, I was fairly confident I could do it myself.  

I did make two modifications to her recipe: I used semi-sweet chocolate chips, instead of milk chocolate, since that is what I had on hand, and used chocolate malt powder instead of the “original” because that was all I could find.  They still came out wonderful and are the best chocolate chip cookie I have ever eaten!  The malt powder intensifies the flavor of the cookie dough and does something really special.  Definitely worth those extra devilish calories. 

Gathering all the ingredients

Measuring the dry ingredients

 

Creaming the butter

Adding the sugars

Adding the dry ingredients to the butter mixture

Try to resist licking the bowl!

Adding the chocolate chips

Just look at that beautiful cookie dough!

Ready to bake!

They spread out A LOT!

Cooling down

Ready to eat

Pioneer Woman Malted Milk Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe:

Ingredients

• 1 cup (2 Sticks) Unsalted Butter Softened
• 3/4 cups Golden Brown Sugar
• 3/4 cups Sugar
• 2 whole Eggs
• 2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
• 2 cups All-purpose Flour
• 1-1/4 teaspoon Baking Soda
• 1-1/4 teaspoon Salt
• 1/2 cup (rounded) Malted Milk Powder
• 1 bag (12 Ounce) Milk Chocolate Chips

Preparation Instructions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Cream butter, then add both sugars and cream until fluffy. Add eggs and beat slightly, then add vanilla and beat until combined. Add malted milk powder and beat until combined.
Sift together flour, baking soda, and salt. Add to butter mixture, beating gently until just combined.
Add chocolate chips and stir in gently.
Drop by teaspoonfuls (or use a cookie scoop) and bake for 10 to 12 minutes. Bake less if you want chewy cookies; more if you want crispy cookies.
Optional: Allow to cool completely, then use two cookies to make an ice cream sandwich. Add sprinkles to the sides of the ice cream, then wrap individually in plastic wrap.