Sesame-Oat-Pecan Cookies - by Summer

Finally - I am finishing up the last recipe for May.  I know I have been so slow to finish up these last few.  I don't have any reason other than the fact that I haven't felt like baking and am so tired.


I got everything ready this morning and pulled out the food processor.  Immediately my son started panicking and crying.  Apparently he will still traumatized from the last time I used it.  So, I actually had to wait until he went down for his nap before making the cookies.  The dough was very, very sticky. 

 I remembered Lisa's post about having issues with the cookies spreading, so I took Beth's advice and chilled the dough.  I was only going to chill it for about 30 minutes, but it ended up being more like a few hours.  I was worried the dough would be really hard, but it wasn't.  It scooped up just fine.

The cookies baked for 11 minutes and fortunately they didn't spread too much.  They are rather chewy and definitely have a unique flavor.  I can't say that I love them, but I have never had another cookie like them before.  My husband also thought they tasted interesting and commented on the after taste.  My son, who saw my husband eating the cookies, wanted a bite and he seemed to enjoy them quite a bit!

Lisa and I will be taking a hiatus this summer.  I am due (overdue to be exact) to have my second child any day now and Lisa is getting ready to move back to the Midwest (HURRAY!!)  We'll be back in September after things have settled down for both of us.  Have a great summer!

Caramelized Banana Bread Pudding - By Summer

Oh dear - I am so behind in making the rest of the May recipes.  My only excuse is that I am 9 1/2 months pregnant and desperately trying to get ready for baby number 2.  I think we are finally ready, so now I can get back to the baking.  Unfortunately at the beginning of this week, the weather was in the 90's and 100's!!  Craziness!  I could not justify turning on the oven during those temps.  But it's nice and cool now, ad nI am hoping to finish up in the next couple of days!

I was really excited that Lisa picked this recipe.  I was very close to picking it for this month myself.  I haven't ever had bread pudding, but the caramelized and banana part sound really good to me!  The recipe calls for a 9 x 13 pan, which I know is far more than we could ever go through, so I decided to cut the recipe in half and made it in an 8 x 8 pan instead.

It's actually quite easy to make this, so I don't know why I was putting it off.  I didn't have any trouble finding the Challah bread.  My only problem is that the loaf was really big (24 oz) and the recipe calls for 12 oz.  But never fear - I would not let that bread go to waste.  I figure it would be perfect for French toast and it was!  I also realize as I am typing up this post - I did a great job of halving everything in the recipe, but the amount of bread!  I used the full 12 oz, so it may not have as much pudding . . .

 Mine didn't cook for quite 60 minutes, which probably isn't surprising given the fact that I had way more bread than needed and the pan was smaller.  I liked the taste of the bread, but I wasn't a fan of the bananas in it.  They were way too sweet for me (I know - shocking - too sweet!).  I am definitely interested in trying this again, but with the right proportions and maybe minus the bananas.