I Bake for God

Tonight is the beginning of our church's Fall festival. We've been there about two months, now, and we really love it. Last month, as I was flipping through the church bulletin, something caught my eye in a way that no other blurb or announcement in a church bulletin has ever before caught my eye. It jumped out of the page, reeling me in with it's e'er so charming illustration. The question it posed spoke to the core of my being and my heart raced with anticipation as I read further:

Hallelujah!! A BAKING ministry?!?! Oh, heck, yeah! I could do this, I thought to myself! What better way to jump right into being an active parishoner than to provide food for the hungry! So, hastily I made my way to the hospitality table and signed myself right up.

For the next few weeks, I tossed around recipes that I could use, searching the web for recipes of the best "carrot cake", "chewy cookie", "moist banana bread", etc. I scoured Recipezaar , Epicurious, FoodTV, hit my favorite cooking blogs. As time was quickly running out, I finally settled on two of my go-to recipes and all-around palate pleasers: "Big, Chewy, Chocolate Chip Cookies" and "Very Moist Banana Bread". These have been in my arsenal for a couple of years now and they are the best of both that I have ever tried. I wanted to do a Fall-ish pumpkin spice bread, but it was going to be a new recipe for me, so I decided to stick with tried and true.

So I baked all last night, doubling both recipes and waiting for everything to cool off before wrapping up each individual cookie and each loaf of bread. They turned out great. The cookies were big and chewy and chocolate-y (I had to try one to make sure they were suitable for consumption, of course!). The banana bread was perfectly browned and dense but moist, just like I like it. Needless to say, I'm pretty exhausted, but it really is for a good cause. It's a wonderful feeling to volunteer and know that I'm helping out my parish. The Lord works in mysterious ways . . .

So without further ado, I present to you my baker's delights:

BIG, CHEWY CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

(from AllRecipes)

INGREDIENTS

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 egg
1 egg yolk
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).

2. Grease cookie sheets or line with parchment paper.

3. Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.

4. In a medium bowl, cream together the melted butter, brown sugar and white sugar until well blended.

5. Beat in the vanilla, egg, and egg yolk until light and creamy.

6. Mix in the sifted ingredients until just blended.

7. Stir in the chocolate chips by hand using a wooden spoon.

8. Drop cookie dough 1/4 cup at a time onto the prepared cookie sheets. Cookies should be about 3 inches apart.

9. Bake for 15 to 17 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the edges are lightly toasted.

10. Cool on baking sheets for a few minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.

* * * * * * * * * * *

VERY MOIST BANANA BREAD

(from Recipezaar)

INGREDIENTS

2 cups sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 1/4 cups flour
3/4 cup vegetable oil
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/3 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 cup buttermilk (I use milk and a splash of vinegar)
1 cup chopped pecans
4-5 bananas (use completely black bananas, this is very important--I always have bananas overripe bananas in the freezer specifically for this bread. Just thaw them slightly before mashing and it adds the perfect banana flavor)

DIRECTIONS

1. Heat oven to 350°. Grease or spray 2 loaf pans.

2. In a large bowl, mash bananas with a masher or by well washed hands.

3. Dissolve soda in buttermilk-- use a larger container as it will foam up quite a bit.

4. Mix all ingredients by hand and add in 1 cup chopped nuts.

5. Bake at 350° for 1 hour, or until toothpick comes out ALMOST clean.

6. Totally clean will mean a dryer loaf.

7. Let cool 15 minutes after removing from oven and remove from pans.

8. Or, let cool, cover with foil, slide into freezer bags and freeze.

Read More 0 comments | Posted by Rachelle @ Sweet Home Pasadena

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