Banana Whoopie Pies

There are a lot of really amazing things about coaching cross country. The kids. The camaraderie. The competition. The bananas. 

Oh, you didn't know about the bananas? 

Hang around any runner long enough and bananas will become a staple in your diet. Every week, our parents supply snacks and it is a good bet that there will be bananas somewhere in that cooler. They are great for kids to eat before a race, but when they are done every one wants something a little more substantial. This means there are going to be leftover bananas. As coach, I often end up with what is left over at the end of the day.

This year, I was on the ball and mashed up the leftovers and stuck them in the freezer. After I made banana bread. And banana pancakes.

And these.

The Boy loves, and I mean LOVES, whoopie pies. We make them quite a bit, so we have had to try all different kinds.

These turned out to be one of my favorites yet. We had them for a snack. We had them for dessert. We had them for breakfast. They are that good.

Cream together 1/2 cup each of butter, sugar and brown sugar.

 Beat in an egg.

In a separate bowl, mix together 1/2 cup sour cream and 1/2 cup mashed banana. Does ANY one else ever start singing the crazy monkey's mashed banana song from the Lion King? Just me? Really?

 Add half the sour cream mixture to the sugar mixture.

 Add in half of a mixture of 2 cups flour and 1/2 teaspoon each of salt, baking soda and baking powder. Alternate with the banana mixture.

 I use a large cookie dough scoop to make scoops all roughly the same size. I have seen whoopie pie cookie sheets. I must have one.

For the filling, mix together two packages of cream cheese with a cup of powdered sugar. Spoon about a tablespoon onto one cookie and sandwich with another.

So I was going along, happy as can be, making delicious cookie sandwiches, when I realized that I was going to run out of filling. Instead of making another batch, I added in a half a cup of peanut butter. This turned out to be a stroke of genius.

 Banana. Cream cheese. Peanut butter. Oh my.

These didn't last long. So I made more. Make a double batch right out of the gate. You will thank me.


Click here for Printable Recipe

Banana Whoopie Pies
2 Cups Flour
1/2 teaspoon Baking Powder
1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1/2 Cup Mashed Ripe Banana
1/2 Cup Sour Cream
1/2 Cup Unsalted Butter, Softened
1/2 Cup Granulated Sugar
1/2 Cup Brown Sugar
1 Egg
1 teaspoon Vanilla
16 ounces Cream Cheese, softened
1 Cup Powdered Sugar
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment. Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a bowl. Combine banana and sour cream in another bowl. Beat butter and sugars with a mixer on medium-high speed, until creamy, about 3 minutes. Add egg and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla, beating until incorporated. Add banana mixture in 2 additions, alternating with flour mixture. Use a large cookie scoop to spoon batter into 1 1/4-inch rounds on baking sheets, spacing rounds 1 1/2 inches apart. Bake until edges are golden, about 12 minutes. Let cool.
Beat cream cheese, confectioners' sugar, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon vanilla with a mixer on medium speed until smooth, about 2 minutes. Spoon 1 tablespoon cream cheese mixture onto the flat sides of half the cookies. Sandwich with remaining cookies. Dust with confectioners' sugar, and serve immediately.

Peanut Butter-Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

When I was little, summer meant two things: Swimming Lessons and Bible School. We lived in the middle of nowhere, so this was really the only time I ever got to see anyone besides my family and the younger kids a half mile down the road.

Days of swimming lessons were the only time we ever got to go to the pool. All other swimming experiences involved muddy waters, inner tubes, rope swings, crawdad catching and fish nibbling my toes. Oh, and leeches. Not that I'm complaining...it was a great time :)

Besides playing Red Rover, what stands out most vividly in my mind from Bible School is the snacks. Specifically, the Green Goddess dressing used for vegetable dip and the slices of bananas spread with peanut butter. Yuuummmmm.

I came across this recipe from a blog I follow called Sugar Plum. I love her. She travels around to cooking competitions and creates recipes that always sound incredible (no matter how off-the-wall the ingredients sound). I flashed back to Bible School and knew I had to try it immediately.

Use a mixer to combine the peanut butter, sugars, bananas and butter.
Keep mixing. You want all the banana chunks to blend in. Add in the eggs and vanilla and mix well.
Add flour and mix gently.
Add in the milk and mix gently.
Pour in to a greased pan and bake.
Bring this out and let it cool. It's hard, I know, but if you cut into this right away, it will crumble to pieces.
Slice and enjoy.
I am making this again. I think I might up the peanut butter a little bit and cut back on the chocolate chips. I like a lot of peanut butter.

Click here for Printable Recipe

Peanut Butter-Chocolate Chip Banana Bread
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 medium ripe mashed bananas
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened, divided use
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup milk
3/4 cup semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips
1 1/2 teaspoons turbinado sugar, optional
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Coat a 9-inch loaf pan with cooking spray or butter.
In a medium sized mixing bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
In a large mixing bowl, using a mixer on medium speed, beat together banana, peanut butter, 2 tablespoons butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar until creamy, about 2 minutes; beat in eggs and vanilla extract until combined. Reduce mixer speed to low and beat in milk and flour mixture until just combined; stir in chocolate chips
Pour batter into prepared pan; bake for 50 minutes. Remove pan from oven, melt additional tablespoon butter, brush evenly over the top, and top with turbinado sugar. Continue to bake an additional 5 minutes or until golden brown.
Cool for 20 minutes before running a knife around outside edges, removing, and transferring to a wire rack to cool an additional 30 minutes before slicing.