I’ve already posted about my go-to banana bread, but I think this new banana bread recipe might have taken that top spot. I can’t be sure until I bake them both and taste them side by side, but as it stands right now, I’m pretty much in love with this banana bread.

I was looking for a banana bread recipe that used vegetable oil instead of butter, since I had a whole lot of bananas, but absolutely no butter. The original recipe was a bit lacklustre, so I added cinnamon and vanilla to it. Then I figured, why stop there? My favourite cereals are always of the maple-nut variety, so I candied some pecan with maple syrup and added those, and then when the loaf was done, drizzled maple syrup over the whole loaf.

The end result is a great one! The bread is very moist, even at the ends, but not so much that it’s undercooked in the middle. The candied pecans not only add crunch, but a sweet, candy-like crunch. The maple syrup at the end makes the top all crunchy, and is definitely the best part of the bread.

I’m definitely pleased with this bread, and with the ease that it comes together. I love finding new go-to recipes!

Maple Pecan Banana Bread
adapted from All Recipes
Printable Recipe

2 eggs, beaten
1/3 cup buttermilk (I used milk with lemon juice)
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 1/4 cups mashed bananas
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup chopped, maple-candied pecans
6 tablespoons maple syrup, divided (recipe follows)

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Spray one 9×5 inch loaf pan with non-stick spray coating.

2. Blend together the eggs, buttermilk, oil, vanilla and bananas.

3. Sift together the sugar, flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Add to banana mixture and stir in candied pecans. Mix well.

4. Pour into prepared loaf pan and bake 1 hour and 20 minutes or until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Drizzle 3 tablespoons of maple syrup over the top while it’s still hot.

Maple-Candied Pecans

3/4 cup pecans
3 tablespoons maple syrup

Place pecans on foil-lined baking sheet. Drizzle maple syrup over them.

Toast lightly for 3-4 minutes. Toss pecans and toast lightly again for another few minutes. Be careful not to burn them though!

Remove from pan, and chop coarsely.

(My apologies for the photos lately. Our tripod is currently unavailable, which leads to…well, the photos you’re currently being subjected to!)

The second dessert I made for Thanksgiving was an upside-down-apple-pecan pie, which was a breeze to make and, more importantly, a pleasure to eat.

I know that every time I try to make a pie with pastry on the top, it ends up tasting fine, but looking a bit like a disaster. I’m definitely not one of those people that can make food look pretty. This pie takes away that challenge though, as it’s baked like a regular pie, but once it comes out of the oven, it’s flipped upside down. Because of all the sugar, butter and pecans you put on the bottom of the pie plate, a caramelized syrup of buttery, candied pecans covers the whole thing. Inside, there’s a thick layer of spiced apples, which cuts the sweetness of the crunchy and gooey topping.

The recipe asks for refrigerated pie crusts, which I used (and enjoyed just fine!), but I’m sure you could use your own homemade crust if you prefer. I liked how easy it was just to pop a piece shell into the plate and then another shell right on top, so I do recommend using that method, unless you’re a vehement homemade crust lover.

This is a great variation on the typical apple pie, and that pecan topping is magical. Oh, and definitely serve this thing warm!

Upside-Down Apple Pecan Pie
adapted from The Cutting Edge of Ordinary
Printable Recipe

6 tablespoons butter, melted & divided
½ cup packed light brown sugar
¾ cup chopped pecans
2 refrigerated pie crusts
1 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
5 large firm apples, peeled, cored and cut into ½ inch slices

1. Preheat the oven to 375.

2. Coat a pie plate with nonstick cooking spray and line it with parchment or waxed paper. Coat the paper with cooking spray also.

3. In a small bowl combine 4 tablespoons of melted butter, the brown sugar and the pecans. Mix well and spread evenly over the bottom of the pie plate. Place one of the crusts in the pie plate, pressing it firmly against the nut mixture and up the sides of the plate. Set aside.

4. In a large bowl, combine the granulated sugar, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg and the remaining 2 tablespoons of melted butter. Mix well. Add the apples in and toss gently to coat. Spoon into the pie crust.

5. Place the second crust over the apple mixture. Trim and fold the edges together to seal. Cut some slits in the top of the crust for venting.

6. Position a cookie sheet on the bottom oven rack to catch any juices that may leak from the pie while it’s baking. Bake 1 to 1 ¼ hours or until crust is golden brown. (Watch the baking time; I made two of these pies, and the first one almost had a topping of burnt pecans!)

7. To invert the pie, please a plate on top of the pie, and flip it over. Remove the pie plate then gently lift the paper. Serve while still warm, or reheat gently when it’s time to serve it.

Whenever I want to make a bundt cake, the first place I check for possible recipes is The Food Librarian‘s blog. She has an abundance of bundts, and I’ve never been disappointed with any of the ones I’ve made. This chocolate cinnamon one, which I made for Thanksgiving this year, is no exception.

It is one of the easiest bundts I’ve ever baked, and definitely one of the moistest. It takes no effort; you just boil together the butter, water, oil and cocoa, then add the rest of the ingredients. No need to dirty a ton of bowls – I didn’t even have to pull out the standmixer! The end result is a very chocolately, super-moist cake with a hint of cinnamon; it’s not overwhelming in the least. I dressed it up a bit by making a dark chocolate glaze, which made what would be a perfect coffee (or even breakfast cake) into a rich dessert.

There’s nothing I don’t love about this cake!

Chocolate Cinnamon Bundt Cake with Dark Chocolate Glaze
adapted from The Food Librarian
Printable Recipe

1/2 cup butter
1 cup water
1/2 cup vegetable oil
5 tablespoons cocoa powder
2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup buttermilk (I used milk and added some lemon to curdle it)
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Grease a large bundt pan with cooking spray. Put butter, water, oil, and cocoa in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil.
Meanwhile, whisk together flour, sugar, and salt in a mixing bowl. Pour the chocolate mixture into the bowl with the dry ingredients and mix well. Then, add the buttermilk and baking soda. Mix together the eggs, cinnamon, and vanilla in a small bowl, and add to the batter. Pour batter into prepared pan.
Bake 25 minutes. Allow cake to cool completely in the pan.

Dark Chocolate Glaze

4 oz dark chocolate (I used Ghirardelli 62% cocoa chocolate)
3 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon corn syrup

Put all ingredients in a double-boiler. Heat until melted and smooth. Glaze cake!

So what did we do with all those apples we picked? Well, not a whole lot! Not yet anyway…Thanksgiving is going to use up a bunch of them in a dessert I’m anticipating eagerly.

So while I wait for that, I decided to make a some apple cinnamon buns to tide me over. Good choice! There are many things I loved about these cinnamon buns. The dough comes together easily, though with all that rising, it does take the whole evening. It’s worth the wait though; the end result are warm, tender rolls with a swirl of apple chunks, brown sugar and lots of cinnamon. Of course, they are best right out of the oven, but 20 seconds in a microwave is all it takes to get them just as delicious the next day. I also love how these get baked in a lined muffin tin – it keeps them small (so that you don’t feel as guilty popping one, two, three) in your mouth in one sitting, and the paper-liner keeps any brown sugar/butter/apple filling pressed right up against the roll.

I didn’t make the apple cider glaze that’s included in the original recipe, but just whipped up a plain milk and icing sugar glaze that suited these buns just perfectly. I’m sure the apple cider glaze would be an amazing choice though!

I’d make some changes to the original recipe, which are reflected in the recipe below. I also halved the original recipe to make just 12 rolls, also reflected in the recipe below.

Apple Cinnamon Rolls
adapted from Paula Deen
Printable Recipe

DOUGH
1 cups 2% milk
1/2 tablespoon active dry yeast
2 1/2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoons salt
3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, divided
1 eggs
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature

APPLE CINNAMON FILLING
1/3 cup unsalted butter, melted
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons cinnamon
1/2 cup loosely chopped pecans (optional – I didn’t add these)
1 3/4 cups finely chopped tart apples

DOUGH
1. In a small saucepan or a microwave oven, warm milk to about 110 F.

2. In a large mixing bowl, dissolve yeast and sugar in the milk.

3. Add salt and two cups of flour and beat for two minutes. Beat in eggs and butter.
4. Stir in the remaining flour a half cup at a time, beating well after each addition.

5. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic (about five minutes).

6. Place the dough in a large bowl and cover it with a towel. Set in a warm place and allow to rise for 40 minutes or until approximately doubled in volume.
Roll out dough into a long rectangle about 1/4” thick.

7. Brush with about half of the melted butter.

APPLE CINNAMON FILLING
1. To make the filling, in a medium-sized bowl, mix sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, pecans, and apples.

2. Spread the pecan/apple mixture evenly over the dough, leaving about an inch empty on all sides.

3. Roll dough over itself from back to front along the long side of the rectangle to form a log. Slice the log into 12 even pieces

4. Line muffin tin with paper liners and place each piece of the log in a cupcake liner. If they don’t fit, fold the ends together to make a “C” shape. The pieces should come to about the top of the liners.

5. Cover the cupcake tins and set in a warm place to rise for another 40 minutes.

6. Preheat the oven to 350 F.

7. Evenly distribute the remaining ¼ cup of melted butter over the tops of the cupcakes.

8. Bake for 20 minutes or until the tops are golden.

APPLE CIDER GLAZE
1 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon apple cider

1. In a medium-sized bowl, mix powdered sugar and apple cider until fully combined.

2. Drizzle over cinnamon buns.