Richard Kaloust Recipes

4 ripe avocados
3 tomatoes
1 lime, zested
2 limes, juiced
1/2 bunch of cilantro, washed and dried
1 red onion, finely chopped
2 green onions, diced
1 serrano chiles, finely diced
2 cloves of roasted garlic
Salt

I’ve tried lots of brownie recipes: Boxes, scratch, frosted, plain, nuts, chips, fudge … Each of them has something to like, but depending on my mood I might want a change of pace.

Not any more. My wife found this recipe, and it’s perfect. I’m done looking. Thisis the brownie recipe that I’ll use from now on.
Worried that baking these will make your kids fat? Click hereand take two minutes and go answer the poll question.

Ingredients

1½ cups sugar
¾ cup flour
¾ cup cocoa powder (see note below)
3 eggs
¾ cup butter, melted
¾ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (see note below)

Directions

A NOTE ON CHOCOLATE: You’ll notice the list of ingredients is very short. That means the quality of the chocolate makes a huge difference. The chocolate flavor is front-and-center — not the sugar, not the richness, the chocolate. I used Ghirardelli unsweetened cocoa powder, and Ghirardelli semi-sweet chocolate chips.

The assembly is about as easy as you can get. Combine the sugar, flour, cocoa, eggs and melted butter and mix.

Do this by hand, until the dry ingredients are just incorporated into the wet, and stop. You don’t need to beat it, and in fact want to avoid producing gluten from the flour. (Kneading flour produces gluten, the springy protein that makes bread chewy.)

Stir in the chocolate chips.

Line a 9×13 baking dish with parchment. I over-did it a little bit here, because I wanted to be absolutely sure it didn’t stick. As long as you cover the bottom you should be good, as it will pull away from the edges while baking.

Pour the batter and spread it out. Don’t try to spread it like mayo on bread, or you’ll move the parchment around. Poke at it with the tip of a rubber spatula.

Bake at 325° for 20-30 minutes. It’s done when a toothpick inserted in the tallest part comes out clean. Keep in mind you’ve got chips in there. If you hit one with the toothpick it will have melted chocolate on it. You might need to poke a couple of spots to make sure you aren’t hitting a chip.

Very carefully lift the parchment out of the baking dish. Get a spare set of hands if you can.

Peel the edges and let cool for a few minutes before slicing.

Pour yourself a glass of milk, and that’s it.

Ingredients:

2 ripe bananas, mashed
2 egg whites
1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1.5 c. all-purpose flour
3/4 c. whole wheat flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice
1 tbsp. white sugar
2 tbsp. chopped walnuts (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425F and grease baking sheet.

2. Beat bananas, egg whites, oil, and brown sugar in large bowl. Add flours, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice. Mix until well blended.

3. Let stand for 5 minutes to let dough rise.

4. Scoop out heaping tablespoons (my scoops were probably 2-3 tbsp’s each doughnut) and place on baking sheet equally spread apart. Take a buttered knife and finger to form doughnut holes in the centre of each. Smoth edges of dough into a round doughnut as much as possible. It will be difficult as the dough is sticky. Do not feel discouraged- they don’t have to be perfect (see mine below for proof!). Sprinkle with 1 tbsp of white sugar.

5. Place in oven for 7-8 mins. at 425F.

Yields: 12 Doughnuts @ 165 calories each

After cooking about 5 mins, I took them out of the oven because I forgot to sprinkle the sugar on them! Oops.

With my leftover Maple Cream-Cheese Icing from the carrot cake (Eric’s doughnut- mine was plain):

My opinion?

These Baked Banana Doughnuts are a great way to satisfy a doughnut craving without resorting to the deep fried, fat-laden kind. I was shocked that the recipe only called for 1 tbsp. of oil!  At 165 calories per doughnut (without icing and nuts), these are a great way to have a treat without breaking the bank.

If you are a dough-lover, you will love these. They were doughy and moist (from the bananas).

The centre near the hole was almost like raw dough! SO good!

I prefer a little crunch, so next time I would definitely add some nuts and I would probably subtract a 1/2 of white flour and add 1/2 cup of oats. I know oats aren’t supposed to be in doughnuts, but I think I would love it. 

This recipe can also be turned into ‘Baked Pumpkin Doughnuts’ by substituting 8 oz. of packed pumpkin puree for the 2 bananas. I must try this!