Cornflakes "Touch of Honey" Banana Bread

I LOVE Super Target! It's become an obsession lately! Everything just seems to taste better from Super Target. If you don't have one near you or aren't sure what one it, it is just like a regular Target only with groceries and a much bigger/better selection of products! I especially love their produce. Every time I go, it seems like I end up finding new products that I don't normally see in other grocery stores...Like these cornflakes I found on my last adventure...

I don't normally buy cereal like this (I usually eat only Fiber One Original), but when I see a new exciting cereal, I often find myself thinking that it would be great if I could bake/cook with it. Remember these bars! Man those were good! I actually think I want to try using these cornflakes on chicken. Doesn't that sound delicious!

So I bought the cereal, brought it home, opened the box and tried a handful...or two or three!!! ;o) I was so good! I immediately thought it would make a great banana bread! So I went to Kellogg's website to see if they had a recipe for banana bread, and sure enough they did. The recipe they had called for regular cornflakes, but I just used the Touch of Honey in place. I couldn't believe how good this recipe turned out. Hands down the best banana bread recipe I have tasted! I even used less sugar than the recipe called for (thinking that the cereal had enough sugar already) and it was still fantastic! It was incredibly moist and I loved the little bits of cornflakes throughout. If you are looking for a new twist on banana bread, definitely give this a try!

Cornflakes "Touch of Honey" Banana Bread

(from Kellogg's)

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups mashed, ripe bananas
2 1/2 cups Kellogg's Cornflakes Touch of Honey
1/2 cup margarine or butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar (I used only a 1/2 cup of sugar)
2 eggs
1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts (optional - I omitted)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Stir together flour, baking powder, soda and salt. Set aside.

In medium mixing bowl, combine bananas and Kellogg's Cornflakes Touch of Honey cereal. Let stand 5 minutes or until cereal softens. Beat well.

In large mixing bowl, beat margarine and sugar until combined. Add eggs. Beat well. Mix in cereal mixture and nuts. Stir in flour mixture. Spread batter evenly in 9 x 5 x 3-inch loaf pan (or use a muffin pan like I did) coated with cooking spray.

Bake at 350° F about 1 hour (my muffins only took about a 1/2 hour, just keep an eye on them if you do muffins) or until wooden pick inserted near center comes out clean. Let cool 10 minutes before removing from pan. Cool completely before slicing. Wrap with plastic wrap.

Starbucks Banana (minus the walnuts) Bread

The hubs and I really love Banana Bread, so when my mother-in-law was visiting a couple of weekends ago and brought a recipe card from Starbucks featuring their Banana Walnut Bread, we got so excited! The hubs L-O-V-E-S Starbucks and all their pastries, so any recipe we can get our hands on gets him all giddy!


Unfortunately, the hubs doesn't like any kind of nut what-so-ever in his bread...NONE! He says it is a texture thing for him and therefore he won't even try it. So I attempt to stay away from all recipes that call for nuts, or I at least omit them when I can. I wish I would have spilt this batter and made one with walnuts just to see what it would have been like. Maybe next time, as I am sure I would have loved it!


This Banana Bread recipe was very tasty and VERY moist! I can't really recall a time that I was at Starbucks and saw their Banana Bread, but maybe I just don't go enough! So I don't have anything to compare it to, but I can tell you that it was delicious and you should give it a try! If you have had Starbucks version, maybe you can tell me how close in flavor it really is!

Starbucks Banana (minus the walnuts) Bread

(courtesy of Starbucks)

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 egg

1 1/8 cup sugar

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 tablespoons buttermilk ** See below for tips**

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract (I added 1 full teaspoon of mexican vanilla!)

3 ripe medium/large bananas, mashed

1/2cup + 1/3 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

Grease a 9x5x3 loaf pan and dust with flour. ** See tips below** Blend together the flour, baking soda and salt and set aside. Mix together the egg, sugar and vegetable oil until combined. Add the flour mixture and when blended add the buttermilk, vanilla and mashed bananas. Mix until combined.

Fold in 1/2 cup of chopped walnuts, if desired, and pour batter into prepared loaf pan. Top batter with remaining 1/3 cup chopped walnuts, if desired.

Bake for 45 - 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cook for about 10 minutes on a wire rack before removing from pan.

** When it comes to recipes that call for buttermilk, especially only 2 tablespoons, I often don't buy it in the store, I just make some at home. You can do this by using milk and vinegar (I hear lemon juice works too, but I have always used vinegar). Just take a 1/2 cup of milk and add about 1/2 teaspoon or so of vinegar. Stir to combine and let it sit for about 5 minutes before adding to the rest of your ingredients.

** Also, another tip I want to share with you all is how I dust pans when I make bread. Most recipes call for you to dust a pan with flour so it will come out more easily. Try using cinnamon sugar next time you make bread. I do that will all my bread recipes and it adds an additional element of flavor! I also sprinkle a little cinnamon sugar on top of each loaf! It adds a nice crunch to the top, and a sugary cinnamony burst to every bite!

Garlic Butter Cheddar Cheese Twists

I LOVE BREAD! Seriously I do. Bread has to be one of the best comfort foods out there...next to dessert! These little guys were so yummy!!! I wanted some type of bread for my Easter dinner, and came up with this idea. I actually used crescent rolls to make them, just to save me a step. They were so easy and everyone really loved them. These would be a good party appetizer, especially if you need something quick and easy!

Garlic Butter Cheddar Cheese Twists

(recipe from the kitchen of Liesl)

1 package of reduced fat crescent rolls

1 tablespoon butter, melted

garlic salt

cheddar cheese

cooking spray

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Spray a muffin pan with non stick cooking spray. This part is kinda tricky to explain, but when you open a can of the crescent rolls notice how two of the crescent triangles make a square...try to keep those together. You want to separate the crescent rolls into 4 squares, which is two of the crescent rolls together. Press the part of the square that has the perforation (where you would separate them) together. You don't want to dough to come apart when you twist it. Once you have pressed the seam together, cut each square into thirds longways. Then take one of the thirds and twist it up, tucking one end underneath so it doesn't come apart. Place into the greased muffin pan. Continue process until you have finished all the twists.

Combine the melted butter with a couple dashes of garlic salt. Brush the tops of the twists with the garlic butter mixture. Sprinkle tops of twists with cheddar cheese.

Place in oven and bake for about 10 to 12 minutes or until nice and golden.

~Photography by Kristen Wiltse

Cheese Bread Appetizer

These were so delicious and the perfect finger food for a party!! I found this recipe on Bunny's Warm Oven and thought it would be great to have something like this at the Superbowl Party. She actually served it on bread rounds, but I thought it would taste better on toasted french bread slices!!

Cheese Rounds

(adapted from Bunny's Warm Oven)

1/2 c. lite mayonnaise

1/2 c. grated Parmesan cheese (from the green container)

1/4 c. finely chopped red onion

Sliced French Bread

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine mayonnaise, cheese and red onion; mix well. Spread a good amount (about 1 tablespoon) on each slice of french bread. Place on an greased baking sheet. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until light brown and bubbly. Serve immediately.

-Photography courtesy of Kristen Wiltse