Growing up, my mom and gram always made the most delicious treats for our family. From pies to muffins, I could always count on a mouthwatering, made-from-scratch dessert at any family event. I’m divulging my family’s secrets and giving you the recipes to make our favourite sweets!
Banana Cake
This sweet and dense banana cake is perfect for any occasion. Failed a midterm? Banana cake. Got an amazing internship? Banana cake. Trust me, you can never go wrong with this recipe.
Ingredients:
- ⅓ cup butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 eggs (it says “2 egg eggs” in my Gram’s cookbook, which makes me laugh)
- 1 ½ cup flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 4 bananas (overripe)
- ½ cup sour milk (trust the process)
- Walnuts (optional)
- Powdered sugar (optional)
Steps:
- Preheat the oven to 350° F or 180° C.
- Using a mixer, cream together the butter, vanilla, sugar, and eggs.
- Mix the bananas and sour milk into the creamed mixture.
- In a separate bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- Combine the two mixtures.
- Stir in chopped walnuts as desired.
- Pour the mixture into a greased baking pan. (My gram typically uses a standard-sized (10-inch) bundt cake pan.)
- Bake for 40 to 50 minutes. Keep in mind that different-sized pans will require different cooking times; it’s a good idea to check your cake continuously. To tell if it’s ready, take a skewer or knife and poke it through the cake. If batter is left on the knife or skewer when pulled out of the cake, it needs more time. If it comes out clean, it’s done!
- Top with powdered sugar as desired.
Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies
To me, this is THE chocolate chip cookie recipe. I believe the corn syrup is what makes them so perfect and rich. Plus, this recipe is super easy.
Ingredients:
- 1 ½ cup flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 stick butter (aka ½ cup)
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon corn syrup
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup chocolate chips
Steps:
- Preheat the oven to 375° F or 190° C.
- Cream together the butter and brown sugar.
- Mix in the corn syrup, egg, and vanilla extract.
- Mix in the flour, baking powder, and salt.
- Stir in the chocolate chips.
- Roll the dough into balls and place them on a sheet pan. Make sure to grease your pan or use a baking sheet.
- Cook for 12-15 minutes, depending on how soft or crispy you like your cookies.
Pecan Tassies
Pecan tassies are essentially cute bite-sized pecan pies. Need I say more?
Ingredients:
- Dough:
- ½ cup margarine
- 3 oz cream cheese
- 1 cup flour
- Filling:
- 2 tablespoons melted butter
- ¾ cup brown sugar
- 1 ½ cup chopped pecans
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Steps:
- Let the margarine and cream cheese come to room temperature.
- Beat the margarine and cream cheese together.
- Mix in the flour. Now you have the dough.
- Let the dough chill for at least one hour in the fridge. (It can be left in the fridge overnight.)
- Preheat the oven to 350° F or 180° C.
- Using a greased mini muffin pan, place a ball of dough in each cup and press down the middle of the ball with your thumb to create your tassie crusts.
- Now it’s time for the filling. In a bowl, mix the melted butter, brown sugar, egg, and vanilla.
- Mix the chopped pecans into the filling.
- Fill each tassie crust with the filling.
- Cook for 15-20 minutes until light brown.
If you’re looking to impress your loved ones or make yourself a delicious study treat, any of these recipes will hit the spot!
Disclaimer: I am unaware of the original creator of these recipes, and I do not take credit for them, nor does my family. I found these recipes hand-written in my gram’s recipe book.