Big Spoon Roasters

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Recipe – Banana Bread with Nut Butter

“Life is full of banana skins. You slip, you carry on.” – Daphne Guinness

As a nearly zero-waste business, there’s nothing we love more than a recipe that’s as good for the planet as it tastes for us! This banana bread (adapted from the recipe used at Zingerman’s Bakehouse in Ann Arbor, Michigan) ticks all those boxes, using the banana peel right in the batter. Sounds weird, but tastes delicious. The perfect combination of toothsome texture, with warm, pillowy soft sponge and an undercurrent of sweet banana flavor?—well, the only thing that could make it better is a smear of our nut butter. We’re partial to a hefty spread of our Lemon Coconut Cashew Butter (topped with tropical fruit—trust us on this one!) or Chai Spice Peanut & Almond Butter, but it’s pretty delectable with any of our recipes. Mix it up how you wish, but it certainly won’t last long—don’t say we didn’t warn you!

Ingredients:

  • 2 large organic bananas (at least 12 ounces/340 grams total), mottled with black spots and well scrubbed
  • 10 tablespoons (140 grams) unsalted butter, melted and cooled, plus more for greasing the pan
  • 1 1/2 cups (300 grams) granulated sugar
  • 2 large eggs, at room temperature
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 cups (250 grams) all-purpose flour
  • 6 tablespoons Tuxedo sesame seeds (half black, half white sesame seeds), divided
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
  • 1 cup (95 grams) walnut halves
  • 1 tablespoon turbinado sugar
  • Any assortment of fruit and Big Spoon Roasters Nut Butter

Preparation:

  1. Wash the bananas, cut off both ends and freeze them at least 8 hours, or overnight. Defrost at room temperature for at least 3 hours or in the refrigerator for at least 8 hours. As the bananas defrost, they will turn dark brown or black.
  2. Position a baking rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 375 degrees. Grease an 8-by-4-inch loaf pan with butter or cooking oil spray, then line with parchment paper, leaving at least 1 inch of overhang on each of the long sides; grease or spray the parchment.
  3. Weigh the bananas; you want 11.2 ounces (320 grams). Cut off any extra and refreeze for another use. In a food processor, puree the bananas and peels until smooth. (You may see tiny dark specks of the peel; that’s okay.)
  4. Transfer the puree to a large bowl. Add the granulated sugar, melted butter, eggs and vanilla and stir to mix well.
  5. In another large bowl, whisk together the flour, 4 tablespoons of black sesame seeds, the baking soda and salt until combined. Add the dry ingredients to the banana mixture and stir just enough to incorporate, scraping down the bowl and spoon with a rubber spatula and stirring in any streaks. Fold in the walnuts.
  6. Scrape the batter into the prepared loaf pan and smooth the top. Sprinkle the top with the remaining 2 tablespoons of sesame seeds and the turbinado sugar.
  7. Bake for 1 hour 15 minutes, until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean and the top is deeply browned.
  8. Let the loaf cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then use the parchment paper to gently lift it out and transfer to a cooling rack. Serve the slices warm or at room temperature, topped with generous spreads of Big Spoon Roasters nut butter and toppings of your choice.

May Featured Jam – American Spoon Apricot Jam

“Honey-sweet May: when the birds come back, and the flowers come out, & the air is full of the sunrise scents and songs of the dawning year.” – Samuel Scoville Jr.

American Spoon’s Apricot Jam is a quintessential summer spread. Delightfully sweet, bright, and packed with gorgeous stone fruit and citrus flavor, it reminds us of laughter-filled park picnics, barefoot walks through warm grass, and sun-kissed skin: the ideal May day. We love it spread generously on crusty bread, swirled into homemade baked goods, or as the perfect topping for vanilla ice cream.  

Since 1982, American Spoon has preserved exquisite locally grown fruit in their Petoskey, MI, kitchen. Their crew of skilled cooks prepare fruits by hand and cook them with care using wooden paddles and small-batch copper kettles. They work directly with a dedicated group of Michigan farmers who grow the varieties of fruits they love – those bred over generations specifically for their unparalleled taste and unique character. Their Apricot Jam, made from crushed apricots grown on Michigan’s Leelanau Peninsula and accented with just a splash of orange juice, honey, and orange blossom water, is one of our very favorites. 

We’re so excited to offer American Spoon’s Apricot Jam as our May featured jam, available on our site á la carte and in curated PB&J and AB&J pairings while supplies last. 

Recipe: Lemon Coconut Cashew Cookie Ice Cream Sandwiches

“Ice cream is happiness condensed.” – Jessie Lane Adams

Vegan, Gluten-Free Blueberry Compote Ice Cream

1 14 oz. can full-fat coconut milk
1 5.3 oz can unsweetened coconut cream
¼ cup agave syrup
½ tsp. pure vanilla extract
Pinch salt
1 cup frozen wild blueberries
1/8 cup fresh lemon juice
Splash water
1 tsp. fresh lemon zest
5 tsp. coconut sugar
½ tsp. cornstarch

  1. Mix coconut milk, coconut cream, agave, vanilla and salt in a large bowl.
  2. Pour into frozen bowl of ice cream maker. Churn for 25 minutes.
  3. Pour into a freezer-safe container and freeze for half an hour.
  4. In a small saucepan, combine blueberries, lemon juice, water, zest, coconut sugar and cornstarch. Heat over medium heat until simmering and thickened – you’ll want the consistency of a thick jam or preserves. This should take 5-10 minutes, depending on the power of your stove. Let cool.
  5. Once cooled, remove the ice cream from the freezer and make inch-deep indentations with the back of a spoon in the (still soft) ice cream. Spoon blueberry compote into indentations, and swirl into ice cream with a knife. Place ice cream back in the freezer until solidified, about 3-6 hours, or overnight.

Paleo, Vegan, Gluten-free Lemon Coconut Cashew Cookies

1 flax “egg” (1 Tbsp. ground flaxseed and 3 Tbsp, lemon juice or water)
1 cup Big Spoon Roasters Lemon Coconut Cashew Butter
¼ cup + 2 Tbsp. coconut sugar
¾ Tbsp. baking soda
½ tsp. pure vanilla extract
1 tsp. fresh lemon zest (optional)

  1. Make flax “egg” in a small bowl. Combine 1 tablespoon of ground flaxseed and either lemon juice or water (or a combination of the two, depending on how lemony you want your cookies). Whisk and let sit until thickened, about 15 minutes.
  2. Preheat oven to 350 F.
  3. In a medium bowl, combine all ingredients. Mix until combined.
  4. On a parchment-lined baking sheet, scoop rounded tablespoons of dough.
  5. Bake for 10-14 minutes. Check at 10 minutes, as every oven is different!
  6. Remove and let cool on baking sheet for at least 20 minutes. The cookies will still be rather fragile when removed from the oven, but will set nicely as they cool. Let cool completely before assembling into ice cream sandwiches.

Ice-Cream Sandwich Assembly

Fifteen minutes before assembling (or 20, if ice cream froze overnight), sit the ice cream out to thaw slightly. If still not easily scoopable, you can microwave the ice cream in 10-second intervals until workable. Once cookies are completely cool, scoop 1/3 cup ice cream onto the bottom of one cookie, and sandwich with another, so the tops of each cookie are facing out (like any normal ice cream sandwich). If the ice cream gets too messy, freeze the assembled sandwiches for an additional 10 minutes or so before serving, so they firm up slightly.

Serve immediately after assembling.

(For a fun decorative twist, we like rolling one half of the sandwich in decorative vegan sprinkles! The sandwiches can be made a day before serving. Store in an airtight freezer-safe container.)