Banana Cookies with Brown Sugar Glaze

It's just a few days before Halloween, I had overripe bananas so I made some delicious Banana Cookies with a brown sugar glaze.  I topped them with pecans and will be delivering them to some neighbors tonight for Family Night. If you have a young family or you're just young at heart, you may have heard of the "Boo Your Neighbor" tradition.  Here is one of many websites with free pintables for "booing" your neighbors!  It's fun to pass around the Halloween spirit and be neighborly at the same time! And most children love the "doorbell ditching" part of this activity!

I won't be being so anonymous this year because my neighbors might be suspicious of some random plate of cookies on their doorstep! I'm pretty certain they have never been "booed" before!

A note about the glaze: If you decide to sprinkle the pecans on top, be sure to do it before the glaze sets up.

BANANA COOKIES WITH BROWN SUGAR GLAZE

makes 2 1/2 dozen

 

 

Cookies:

1 1/2 sticks butter (3/4 cup)

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 egg

2 large bananas, mashed

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 cups flour

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

 

Cream the butter and sugars. Add the egg, mashed bananas and vanilla, and blend well with electric mixer. Gradually add the salt, baking soda and flour, mixing until fairly smooth.

Drop by cookie scoop onto ungreased baking sheets. Bake for 8 minutes. The bottoms should be a golden brown.

Remove cookies from baking sheets and place on a cooling rack. I place my cooling rack inside a large baking sheet to catch any glaze drips.

 

Glaze:

1/2 stick butter (1/4 cup)

1/4 cup milk

6 Tablespoons brown sugar

1 1/2 cup powdered sugar

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

pinch of salt

1 cup pecans, roughly chopped (for garnish)

 

Combine the butter, brown sugar, and milk in a small saucepan. While stirring, (I use a whisk) bring mixture to boil on medium heat. Continue to boil for 2 minutes, stirring (whisking) constantly. Remove from heat and cool slightly. Gradually add the powdered sugar slowly, while whisking, until smooth, with no lumps.

You can adjust the desired thickness of the glaze by adding more powdered sugar or more milk.

Drizzle glaze by spoonful, over the cooling cookies. Immediately top with pecans, if desired.



When Dad hands me lemons, I make Lemon Cupcakes

 

 

Living in southern California, we get spoiled with our fabulous weather and wonderful citrus trees. My father has two lemon trees which are producing lots of juicy fruit right now! On each of my visits, he loads me up with these beauties.

I am bringing him a treat tomorrow. I have tried several lemon cupcake recipes and this one is my favorite so far. The flavor comes from fresh lemons and lemon zest - no artificial flavoring or extracts in this recipe!  I found it  here .

 They make 10 - 12 regular sized cupcakes. I have made them regular size and mini cupcake size. Be sure to adjust the baking time according to the size you make. You may only need to bake the minis about 9 minutes.  Don't over bake or they may be dry.