We Love Cooking!:
baking soda

All this snow is not good for the diet. The cold weather seems to always make me crave serious comfort food so I do have to apologise for posting another seriously delicious, seriously sweet recipe! Most of yesterday was spent very busily building a snowman in my friends back garden, so there wasn't much time for cooking. Dinner last night was a quick carbonara, thrown together using the bacon I was gifted by the lads at Truly Irish our stand neighbours at the RDS, who gave me a great selection of pork products to try out! A big pasta dish and a great movie made the perfect snowy evening in!

Deep Dish Chocolate Chip Cookies
I don't think there is any question that the Americans know how to create the most overindulgent desserts, and this one ticks all the boxes.
These were created by an American chain of restaurants and have something of a cult following in the US. Put simply, it's cookie dough piled into individual serving dishes and baked at high heat, so you get a set top and edges but a ridiculously gooey interior.
When they are pulled out of the hot oven, a big dollop of vanilla ice cream is plonked on top to melt and mingle with hot, soft cookie. Makes four individual portions.

Serves 4
200g butter, softened
200g light brown sugar, packed
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
200g plain flour
1 tsp baking soda
120g good-quality milk chocolate chips
Vanilla ice cream, to serve

Pre-heat the oven to 260°C/Gas Mark 9. In a mixing bowl, using a electric hand mixer, cream the butter and brown sugar until it is light and pale. Add in the egg and vanilla extract and beat through. Add in the flour and baking soda, little by little, until you have a stiff dough. Using a spatula, stir through the chocolate chips until evenly combined.
Divide the cookie dough among four large six-inch ramekins and place in the oven on a baking sheet. Bake for seven to 10 minutes but keep an eye on them, you want them to puff up and become golden brown around the sides and just about set in the middle. Remove them from the oven and serve straight away with a dollop of vanilla ice cream on top.

There seems to be quite a lot of debate about banana bread and whether or not the inclusion of nuts is significant. I'm not really sure which side of the fence I stand on over this, so for now I'm going to plonk myself right in the middle, on the fence! It's actually quite comfortable here and I can see both perspectives. On one hand, there are those who love the combination of the crunchy nuts through the soft cake, the flavours of the two mingling together in one mouthful of wonderfulness, completely oblivious as to why you would accept anything less. Then on the other side I see all you lovely people who really can't see why you would tarnish such a pure and delightfully moist, spongy, banana flavoured loaf with the somewhat crude addition of nuts. Well I say stop your cribbin' and either way this recipe is damn good and will accommodate for both your nut or non nut needs!

Auntie Ann's Banana Bread
This recipe comes from my auntie Ann who spent a lot of time in America over the years and has picked up some really great US inspired recipes. This banana bread is deliciously moist and is extremely easy to throw together. I add a little sliced banana on top before it goes into the oven, but if you want you sprinkle some nuts on top or even stir some chopped ones through.

Makes 8 mini loaves or 2 larger loaves
110g butter
190g caster sugar
2 large eggs
240g self raising flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract
3 large bananas

Preheat the oven to 180oC/Gas Mark 4.
Cream the sugar and the butter in a bowl with a hand held mixer until light and pale. Add in one egg and a little flour and mix through, repeat with the other egg and the rest of flour and baking soda, until everything is mixed through and smooth.
Peel the bananas and mash them with the back of a fork. Add them to the bowl with the vanilla extract and mix through.
Pour the mix into a well greased loaf tin and place in an oven for approximately 50 minutes. You can cover it with tinfoil after 25 minutes to stop it browning too much on top if you need too.
Insert a metal skewer into the centre of the loaf and if it comes out clean the banana bread is ready. Remove from the loaf tin and place on a wire rack to cool.
Enjoy with a big cuppa and filthy smile!