Fall Recipes

Today, I am going to get my fall decorations out. I think... maybe... It's on my to-do list, at least.

Anyway, I noticed some of our bananas have turned pretty brown, so I was digging around for my banana bread recipe and came across a few recipes I am definitely planning to make this fall season. I thought I'd share them with you. They're listed in order from easiest to more time-consuming. But they're all pretty simple and GREAT-TASTING!

Banana Bread
Ingredients:
2/3 C sugar
1/4 C butter
2 eggs
1 C mashed banana (or more)
1/4 C water
1 2/3 C flour
1 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
1/2 t baking powder

Beat sugar and butter together. Add eggs, mashed banana and water. In separate bowl, mix dry ingredients together. Add to wet mixture. Mix well, pour into greased bread pan. Bake at 350 for 1 hour.

Pumpkin Cheesecake (I had this at a party at a friends' house last year and it's AWESOME! The name is a good description for it, because it's a good cross between the taste of pumpkin bread and cheesecake...It's amazingly wonderful! I think the pecans in the crust make it taste great and you definitely need whip cream to top it with!)
Ingredients:
Crust:
1 C flour
1/2 C brown sugar
1/2 C pecans, chopped
5 T butter, softened
Combine flour, brown sugar and pecans. Cut in butter until crumbly. Press into greased 8 x 8 pan. Bake at 350 for 15 min.
While crust is baking,
Filling:
8 oz cream cheese, softened
3/4 C sugar
1/2 C pumpkin
2 eggs
1 t vanilla
1 1/2 t cinnamon
1 t allspice
Cream cream cheese until smooth and fluffy. Mix in sugar and pumpkin. Mix well. Add in eggs, vanilla, spices. Mix until well blended. Pour over crust. Bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes.
Optional: Reserve 3/4 C of crust to crumble over crust before baking. Serve with whip cream!

Date Squares (This is a recipe that my sisters and I definitely got when we moved out that we've all been making and inhaling for years! It's not too sweet, but it's not too fruity, either. You'll love the brown sugar and oatmeal crust!)
Crust:
1 1/2 C flour
1 3/4 C quick cooking oats
1 C brown sugar
3/4 C butter, slightly softened
1 t baking soda
Crumble together with hands and pat half of mixture into greased 11 x 7 pan.
Filling:
1 pkg (1/2 lb) dates, chopped (the packages I buy at Wal-Mart in the dried fruit section come already chopped)
1/2 C sugar
1 T flour
3/4 C orange juice
Cook over medium heat until thick, stirring often. Pour thickened mixture over crust in pan. Sprinkle and pat remaining crust over filling. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes. Crust should be lightly browned. Great alone or with ice cream or whip cream.

Let me know how they go if anyone tries them. I'm off to make some banana bread!