Super Snacks

Next Sunday is the Super Bowl (in case you weren't aware). Last Sunday, on Championship Sunday (when the Giants beat the Niners and the Patriots finished off the Ravens to punch their tickets to the big game) - the Brave Astronaut clan had a Super Bowl Rehearsal Party. We made nachos, little hot dogs and veggies and dip. We ate in front of the TV and watched the game(s) and we will likely do much of the same next Sunday.

Mrs. BA always asks that we try and find something nutritious for LBA and SoBA (hence the vegetables) but I usually just look at her funny when she says that. C'mon, it's the Super Bowl. You're supposed to eat crap. Where are the pizza rolls? The question is, can I get her to make Super Bowl Cake again? Epicurious did a bunch of Super Bowl party recipes. Here's just one.

Bacon Banana Cookies
Epicurious | December 2011
by Libbie Summers
The Whole Hog Cookbook

Ginger, my mother, never liked a bunch of kids in her house. Even as a young girl, I could feel her angst when too many neighborhood kids were around. Her clever solution was to bake a plate of my favorite Bacon Banana Cookies and leave them on the front porch, locking the door behind her. I never minded being sequestered outside with my food loot in the summer because the porch concrete cooled my skin.

The winter—that was a different story. When I bake these cookies now for my son, Anthony, I'm secretly baking them for myself. I wonder if my mom did the same thing? I'll be sure to ask her...as soon as she unlocks the front door.

Yield: Yields 30 cookies

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 4 bananas, mashed (about 1 1/3 cups)
• 1/2 pound bacon, cooked crisp, chopped

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, 1/2 teaspoon of the cinnamon, and the salt.

In a medium mixing bowl, use a hand mixer to cream together the butter and 1 cup of the sugar. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, until they are fully incorporated. Beat in the vanilla. Add the butter mixture to the flour mixture, then stir in the mashed bananas, beating well after each addition. Fold in the bacon.

Stir together the remaining 1/4 cup sugar and the remaining cinnamon.

Drop the dough by heaping tablespoons onto the prepared baking sheet 1 inch apart. Sprinkle generously with the cinnamon-sugar and bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until slightly browned. Allow the cookies to cool completely before storing in an airtight container. Cookies will keep for 5 to 7 days.

Rock-hard bananas? Ripen them quickly for Bacon Banana Cookies by placing the peeled fruit on a parchment-lined baking sheet and cooking them in a 400°F oven for 10 minutes until they are soft.

Next time you make banana bread, try stirring 4 slices cooked and chopped bacon into the batter.

Source Information
From The Whole Hog Cookbook: Chops, Loin, Shoulder, Bacon, and All That Good Stuff by Libbie Summers. © Libbie Summers; photographs © Chia Chong. Published by Rizzoli International Publications, Inc.