Pie #6: Chocolate Banana Pecan

Do you know how exciting it is to have a lot of your favorite flavors combined into one dessert? Well, that's what this pie was for me: chocolate, pecans, and bananas. Mmmm good! 

Do you know how exciting it is when something is easy to bake? Very. And that's what this pie was. 

I cheated on getting a store bought pie crust, so I apologize in advance for being lazy. But because of that, I had to modify the recipe a bit and I like to think it worked out for the better. Had I made my own crust, I would've had to incorporate the pecans into it. Instead, I blended the chocolate and pecans together, which ultimately resulted in a pie with a crunch. Those are the best -- in my opinion. 

Like I said, this pie is easy and it whips up quickly. I recommend it and it tastes even better the longer you wait to serve it so make it at least a day in advance. Enjoy!

Here's the recipe!

Chocolate Banana Pecan Pie 
modified from chocolate banana pie

9 inch pie dough
1/4 cup chopped pecans + more for topping
8 oz cream cheese softened
1 cup confectioners sugar
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1/2 cup white sugar
2 large bananas sliced
3.9 oz package instant chocolate pudding

1. Bake pie crust at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes. Let cool.
2. Beat cream cheese and confectioners' sugar until smooth, and spread in the pie shell.
3. Prepare chocolate pudding according to package instructions, but use 1/2 cup less milk. Mix in pecans Set aside.
4. Whip the cream with 1/2 cup sugar. Spread half of the whipped cream over the cream cheese in the shell. Lay sliced bananas on top of the whipped cream, and cover with the chocolate pie filling. Spread the other half of the whipped cream over the bananas. Sprinkle with chopped pecans, and refrigerate at least 3 hours before serving.

Ricotta Cheese Cookies

What to do with some leftover ricotta cheese? Make cookies of course! I had a 32 oz container in my fridge, but only used up about 10 oz of it in a cooking recipe. I was going to make stuffed shells, but I am off those kinds of carbs for a few days. I decided to research cookies with ricotta and found an excellent recipe.

These cookies are SO delicious. I had 4 in a row. Then I had to cut off my fingers to prevent me from grabbing more. Well, not really, but it may come to that point so I decided to update this blog instead to keep my fingers busy. These are really that good. Very light, very moist, very Italian. It taste very similar to the S-shaped Italian lemon cookies you get in bakeries. These were a heck of a lot easier to make though!

They're quick to whip up and will yield 6 dozen so great for large gatherings - or for co-workers!

Here's the recipe:

Ricotta Cheese Cookies

2 cups white sugar
1 cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
15 oz ricotta cheese
2 tsp lemon extract
2 eggs
4 cups all-purpose flour
2 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp salt

For the glaze:
1 1/2 cups confectioners sugar
3 tbsp milk
1/4 tsp lemon extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.

Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium sized bowl.

Using the whisk attachment of your blender, cream butter and sugar until smooth and fluffy - about 5 minutes. Add ricotta, vanilla, and eggs.

Using the paddle attachment of your blender, add flour, baking powder, and salt. Beat until dough forms.

Spoon dough onto prepared pans (you may have to use your fingers to get them rounded to shape), placing 1 inch apart. Bake for 15 minutes or until they are very lightly golden (cookies will be soft to the touch). Immediately remove from sheet and place on a wire rack to cool.

While cookies cool, make the glaze by whisking milk, lemon extract, and confectioners sugar. A thicker paste will form, which you can drizzle or spread over each cookie once it's cooled (I drizzled mine so the cookies weren't that sweet).

Yields 6 dozen medium sized cookies