Banana Walnut Pancakes

These gluten free banana walnut pancakes are perfect for breakfast lunch or dinner.  Bananas seem to get ripe so quickly in the summertime. Lately it seems like every time I turn around I find myself with a few bananas that look like they’re ready for the trash.  Sometimes I wish I could just toss them out but I wasn’t raised like that.  My parents always stressed the value of food.  They wouldn’t dream of throwing away something that was a few days past its prime when it could easily be transformed into something extraordinarily good.  These banana walnut pancakes are a wonderful example of that frugal philosophy in action.  So the next time that you've got a couple of bananas that look like they’re ready for the trash just give them a mash and make a quick batch of these delicious pancakes.  Your family will be appreciate this sweet treat as much as your wallet appreciates the savings.  And if you get bored with the pancakes, there's always banana bread, coffee cake or muffins to change things up.  Feel free to use the search bar for some other great ideas.   

Ingredients:

• 2  Bananas (overripe & mashed)
• 1/3 cup Milk
• 1/8 cup Heavy Cream (you could replace this with oil or melted butter)
• 1 Egg
• 1/2 tsp Cinnamon
• 2/3 cup GF Bisquick (*see below for substitution)
• 1/3 cup Walnuts (finely chopped)

* If you don’t have gluten free pancake mix in the pantry you could replace it with:  1/3 c rice flour, 1/3 cup potato starch, 1/4 tsp Gluten free baking powder & 1/4 tsp xanthan gum

Video Tutorial:

Instructions:

1. Whisk the milk, heavy cream, egg, banana, and cinnamon together until the mixture is well combined.   
2. Add the GF Bisquick and walnuts then stir to combine, but don’t over-mix. 
3. To cook the pancakes, grease a nonstick skillet or griddle with butter, then over a medium-low heat add about ¼ cup measures of the batter to the pan. I find that cooking them slowly allows them plenty of time to rise and become fluffy before getting too dark on the surface.  
4. Allow them to cook for a few minutes until you see the tops of the pancakes begin to look dry and large bubbles begin to rise to the surface.  Use a spatula to flip the pancakes.  They won’t need much time on the second side maybe a minute or so. 
5. To serve them, add some butter, a drizzle of maple syrup and a few extra walnuts.  

Notes:  This recipe made 6 fairly large pancakes but you can easily double or triple the recipe as needed. 

Chocolate Walnut Banana Bread

Chocolate Banana Bread with walnuts

Banana Bread is perfect for breakfast or a snack any time of the day.  Alright so maybe you did buy a few too many bananas earlier in the week and now you find them lingering in the fruit basket with one peel in the grave.  

This is not the time for despair.  

This is the time for action!  

It's time to give those half dead looking bananas a new lease on life.  Those over ripe bananas will ultimately make the best banana bread.  The only thing that can make this sweet treat even better is the addition of rich dark chocolate.  Now go forth and rescue those bananas.  

The Ingredients:

• 3 Ripe Bananas (smashed with a fork)
• 2 Eggs
• ½ cup Butter 
• 1 tsp Vanilla
• 1 ¾ cup G F Bisquick Baking Mix ** (see below for substitutions)
• ¼ cup Cocoa
• 1 tsp Cinnamon 
• 1 cup Brown Sugar
• ½ cup Semisweet Chocolate Chips 
• ½ cup Walnuts

**If you don’t have GF  Bisquick I’d substitute the ingredients below:

(1 ¼  cups rice flour ,  ½ cup cornstarch,  1 tsp xanthan gum, 2 tsp GF baking powder)


Video Tutorial:

Instructions:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. 
2. In a large bowl whisk the GFBisquick and Cocoa powder together then stir in the sugar and cinnamon then set this bowl aside.   
3. In a medium bowl whisk the eggs, and vanilla, melted butter and mashed bananas. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir until the batter is well combined but don’t over mix.  
4. Stir in the walnuts and chocolate chips then pour the batter into a greased 9x5 inch loaf pan.   
5. Bake at 350 for between 60 and 70 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool the banana bread for 10 minutes before removing it from the pan. cool completely and serve.

Bacon Maple Glazed Apple Fritters ... Surely the Most Decadent Way to Get Your Apple a Day.

Bacon Maple Glazed Apple Fritters

This recipe was inspired by an Episode of  Unique Eats where they featured an incredible looking Maple Glazed Brioche Doughnut topped  with Crispy Applewood Bacon.  The awesome looking confection was the brilliant creation of the Nickel Diner in LA. 

All I could do was sigh since two huge obstacles were standing in my way from ever putting their heavenly looking treat in my mouth.  One,  I live on the east coast and two, the elephant in the room ...THE GLUTEN FREE LIFESTYLE I'M FOLLOWING. 

Needless to say I've created something here to vanquish any feelings of deprivation I might have sustained when the episode ended.  Today my friends, I bring you the most indulgent way to have your apple a day… Bacon Maple Glazed Apple Fritters   Honestly, what could be better than than a warm apple fritter bathed in a sweet maple glaze then punctuated with the salty finish of crispy smoked bacon.  I assure you folks, this one takes the cake in the category of decadence. 

Fritter Ingredients:

• 1 Apple (peeled and diced)
• 2/3 cup Gluten Free Bisquick* 1egg
• 1/3 cup Milk
• 1tsp Sugar
• ¼ tsp Cinnamon
• A pinch of Salt

* If you don’t have any GF Bisquick you can substitute :
   1/3 cup of Corn Starch  & 1/3 cup Rice Flour  &  1/2 tsp GF Baking Powder & 1/4 tsp Xanthan gum 



Glaze Ingredients: 

• 1/4 cup Maple Syrup   
• 1/2 cup Confectioner’s Sugar
• 1/2 tsp Vanilla
• 2 Slices of Bacon (fried, drained, crumbled & set aside)

The Video Tutorial:

1. In a medium bowl whisk the egg, milk, sugar cinnamon and salt together then stir in the GF Bisquick then the apples.  Now set the batter aside while you make the maple glaze. 
2. Stir the syrup and vanilla into the powdered sugar until smooth and set aside while you fry the fritters.
3. You’ll need enough vegetable oil to coat the bottom of your skillet with about 1/4 inch of oil.  Once the skillet is heated to a medium heat, drop heaping tablespoons into the pan and use the back of your spoon to press down any apples that seem to be sticking up too high above the rest of the fritter. 
4. Cook for about 3-4 minutes on the first side then turn them over and cook for 2-3 minutes on the second side.
5. Remove them from the pan and place them on paper towels to drain off any excess oil.
6. Drizzle the glaze oven each fritter. You could even dunk them directly into the bowl if you’d prefer. Sprinkle with crispy bacon and serve.