Banana White Chocolate Chip Biscotti Recipe

Oh my! It's been a few months since I've posted here on my sweet lil blog!  So sorry.  With so many social media outlets it seems we just superficially skate around the web.  One place I spend considerable couch-time at night "working" (lol, that's what I call it--though they never send me a paycheck!)  is Pinterest.  I realized that most of what I pin or re-pin does come from blogs, so it's our duty as individual bloggers to put out there some good content.  I'll try harder...  *wink*.

The day before Valentine's Day I attended a ladies luncheon.  I didn't want to arrive empty handed and woke up early that morning thinking of something I could bring for the hostess.  Remembering our school days of bringing Valentines for all our classmates I then decided to bring "Valentines" for each of the ladies.  With only about two hours to work with I quickly decided to make some  biscotti cookies and package them up for each of the ladies.



With some ripe bananas on the counter I knew just what to make, "Banana White Chocolate Chip Biscotti" cookies.   I photo-copied this recipe from a cookbook I checked out at the library years ago, neglecting to make note of which cookbook it was.  The original recipe calls for chocolate chips, but I've always used white chocolate chips, which I think blends better with the banana flavor.

Here's the recipe:

Banana White Chocolate Chip Biscotti

1 cup sugar

½ cup butter (softened)
½ cup mashed ripe banana (1 medium)
1 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs
3 cups flour
3 tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp salt
¾ cup white chocolate chips

Heat oven to 350°. Great large cookie sheet.

Beat sugar and butter in large bowl. Beat in banana, vanilla and eggs until smooth. Stir in flour, baking powder and salt. Stir in white chocolate chips.

Divide dough in half. Shape each half into 10x3-inch rectangle on cookie sheet with greased hands (dough will be sticky).

Bake about 25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.  Cool on cookie sheet 15 minutes

Cut crosswise into ½ inch slices. Turn slices cut sides down on cookie sheet. Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown and drop on top. Turn cookies. Bake about 10 minutes longer or until golden brown. Remove from cookie sheet to wire rack to cool. 

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For the "Valentines", I just packaged up two biscotti per bag and topped with a vintage sheet music heart, folded over the top.

This was a fun project and could be changed up for any event or holiday. I loaded them all up in a tote I had made a few years ago:

So next time you have some ripe banana's on the counter, instead of making banana break, make a batch of "Banana White Chocolate Chip Biscotti", they last a long time, too!

So go enjoy a biscotti and a cup of coffee!
         Blessings,
                   ~Heidi

Mark's Valentine Gift to Me

You must just know my Mark, he's the sweetest person on earth. When Valentine's Day comes around I can always count on him to bring me Haagen Dazs Rocky Road Ice Cream.  (He's precious---he picks it up on the way home from work, then I eat it right away!)  He's never sent flower to me.  Well, except the ONE time he did:  It just didn't work out---the florist was SO busy, they delivered the roses the DAY AFTER Valentine's Day!  It was supposed to be a surprise; it was!  But being the person I am, I refused the flowers, and made sure the florist credited Mark.  We both agreed after that experience, that the only way to be sure I was happy was to stop and buy the chocolate ("any chocolate", I told him) on the way home. 

But this year is different.  You see, today he bought this for me:

Because we love adventure, he bought one for himself as well!  We'll take them when we go camping.  Plus there are a number of great trails around here for us to explore. Now isn't this the Valentine's Day gift you always wanted?  I love my Mark!

I told him it needs some pink and he sent me the link to this eBay item:

"I am a grandma,", I said!  He said, "Age doesn't matter!"  He has so much confidence in me, I'm honored.  So, OF COURSE, I took it out for a few test rides on our road.  I did fine, luckily our old Lab Sarge MOVED out of the way at the last second, but that was a close call!

My question for you all:  What unusual gift has your loved one given you for Valentine's Day?

Hugs, Hearts, Love and Blessings,

                    ~Heidi

I *heart* you!

Some Pinterest Interest here...
In looking for some Sunday School kids crafts via Pinterest I found this paper heart. I've seen this around, probably for years, but never have tried myself to make one.  They are called "Swedish Hearts".

I cut the paper a few times and sure did feel like a dummy...it's not as easy as it looks.  Maybe I needed better instructions than the site gave.  I'll keep working on that.

But through this I found a lovely new-to-me blog called "Three Pixie Lane".  I just love the home decor photos she blogs about.  I'll be spending more time on Christie's blog for sure! Here is her header photo:

If you like to blog-surf I think the best time of the year to do that is February, there are SO MANY yummy Valentine's photos and ideas posted this month! I'm inspired now to decorated for Valentine's Day. (Yes, I'm way behind so many of you!) I just stacked a bunch of red and/or romantic books in a corner.  And I'm hanging my vintage sheet music hearts together as my window banners. 

I *heart* you all!  Here's a heart you can cut out for a card:

(Directions: Copy to computer and enlarge as desired.

Only cut the SOLID lines, fold dotted lines.

Can be sandwiched in a solid paper to make the

pop out "I *love* you" show up even better.)

And you all know, "Love is Sweet"...

Now to get my hands on some chocolate!

        Hearts and Hugs, Heidi

(the Google search I did for hearts and cuts outs was very helpful, too!)