fridge find

It's a challenge for me to be creative. Some people can naturally come up with magical, surprising, clever, and innovative concoctions as well as amazing execution and presentation of said concoctions, but not this gal. I need to be prompted.

To make matters worse, I get bored easily--I like a little variation in the things I bake. So it's a vicious cycle--I want to make and eat new combinations of flavors, but I can't come up with them. Vicious, I tell you.

My latest inspiration came in the form of some primordial ancient archaic old caramel dipping sauce lingering in the deep recesses of the fridge. What to do with this thickened and gloppy goop? I daren't actually use it as a dip--that'd be just asking for trouble. I opted for mixing it into a muffin batter, as I'm wont to do.

These turned out better than I ever could've hoped. There was just enough caramel flavor to be detectable, and the crumb was moist yet cohesive.

I got some rave reviews from a couple of handfood connoisseurs, so I think I might be on to something with this use for aged caramel dipping sauce. The only problem is that I have to wait another year or two for a tub to reach the ideal point of almost-rankness.

Close-to-Crusty Caramel Banana Bread
(based loosely on this recipe)

2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter, melted
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup caramel sauce or topping
2 bananas, mashed
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup pecans, chopped

Preheat oven to 350F.
Lightly grease a muffin, mini-loaf, or 9x5-inch loaf pan.
In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, and salt. In a separate bowl, stir together the melted butter and sugar. Stir in the eggs, caramel, mashed bananas, and vanilla until well-blended. Stir this banana mixture into the flour mixture; stir just to moisten. Fold in the pecans and pour or spoon the batter into prepared pan.
Bake for 18-20 minutes for muffins, 25-30 minutes for mini-loaves, or 60-70 minutes for a large loaf, or until a toothpick inserted into center of the loaf comes out clean.