hollaback: b-a-n-a-n-a-s

 L-A-Z-Y.  That is how I felt when I wanted to make something but didn't want to head to the grocery store and face the lovely people there for a second time today.  I am practically on a first name basis with a guy at Stop and Shop who meekly says "hello" and waves when I come in looking all frazzled after the gym.  I must seem like a nut: work out like mad, schlep over to S&S in my grossness, stock up for the week and inevitably do it all again in a few days because I forgot something or have a need to bake.  For someone who loves fashion as much as I do, I spend a lot of time in sweats, hoodies and the dreaded gym sneaker.

I am going to make a somewhat catty confession.  I have a huge pet peeve about wearing gym sneakers as every day shoes and will only wear them if I am coming directly from the gym.  My best explanation is that I feel gym sneakers are clunky and ugly and do not even look good with a pair of jeans (on both guys and the lady folk).  There are so many beautiful choices out there, why limit yourself to that one sweaty, stinky pair and parade it around town?  Hell, I'll take a freaking rubber flip flop over them.  Thank you for letting me get that out of my system and feel free to tell me you hate brown hair or something.

Back to bananas.  As I stated in the last banana-themed post, why do you always have to make the same loaf with those overripe potassium goldmines?  I still had some overripe ones sitting around and I also had some mayo in the fridge that will never get eaten unless I bake with it because we just don't consume it straight in this household.  In fact, I probably bought it to make the more traditional chocolate mayonnaise cake that my mommy dearest covets so.  So I had two things I wanted to use up I also have to admit that I honestly did not want to have peanut butter as a major player in these but I had a frosting snafu and due to the above mentioned indolence, I did not have confectioner's sugar and was trying to do a thick frosting without it.  So, after some wasted ingredients, money, and time, I came up with these and was pretty happy.  The fact that Torren has eaten three and is supposedly "watching what he eats" is a decent indication that they are edible.

Banana Mayonnaise Cupcakes

Yield: 12 regular sized cupcakes

INGREDIENTS
cupcakes
2 medium-small overripe bananas, mashed
1/2 C brown sugar (I often use dark brown sugar for added moisture and a deeper molasses taste)
1/2 C granulated sugar
1 egg or 1/4 C liquid egg
1/2 C mayonnaise (I used Hellman's Low Fat without an issue)
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 C flour
1/4 C peanut butter

frosting
3/4 C brown sugar
2 T cream or half and half
1 1/2 T unsalted butter
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 T peanut butter

DIRECTIONS
cupcakes
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Prepare muffin pan with grease or papers.
1. Beat bananas, sugars and eggs until smooth.
2. Add mayo and vanilla until no streaks are visible.
3. Carefully add flour and baking soda,  little at a time until fully incorporated.
4. Evenly distribute batter among cups (about 1/2-2/3 full)
5. Drop a teaspoon of peanut butter onto the center of each batter-filled cupcake liner.
6. Bake for 18-22 min. or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

frosting
1. Combine brown sugar, cream and butter in a saucepan over medium heat until sugar dissolves into liquid.
2. Bring mixture to a boil for about 3 min. (softball stage, 235-240 degrees F)
3. Remove pan from heat and add vanilla.
4. Place pan in a sink or bowl of cool water to bring mixture temperature down and keep stirring.
5. Stir in peanut butter.  If mixture cools too quickly and begins to harden, add a little extra cream.
6. Frost cooled cupcakes

Nutrition: 226 cal, 6g fat, 241mg sod, 43g carb, 12g sugar, 1g fiber, 3g protein