Browned Butter & Honey Banana Muffins & Peets Coffee

Usually we go through a lot of bananas in a week, but for some reason last week we have a bunch leftover. They passed the point of being edible in my opinion and moved onto the point where there is only one thing you can do with them - bake with 'em. And that is exactly what I did.

I contemplated a cake or bread or even cupcakes but ultimately decided to go with a muffin. Perhaps this was due to the fact that I nearly ran myself off the road today drooling over the thought of a cup of coffee and a blueberry muffin from Dunkin Donuts. So a muffin indeed is what was due.

It doesn't hurt that I just received this awesome package from  Peet's Coffee containing an awesome coffee mug and two bags of their newest coffees Cafe Domingo and Cafe Solano as a part of the FoodBuzz Tastemaker Program. And this mug promises a big cup of coffee, maybe even one that constitutes my eating two muffins. Thank you Peet's Coffee, this came just in the nick of time and really is there any better combination better than a steaming cup of coffee and a delicious muffin on a cool October morning?

French Macarons

I learned about real macarons during our visit to France last year and then I spent an entire year wishing a local bakery sold them and that they would taste even a quarter as good as the ones I had in France. They didn't, in fact no one did and the closest I found was frozen ones at Trader Joe's which were good but not quite right. Then one day I decided it was time to buckle down and make them myself, get over my fear of them and take on the challenge. And you know what I found out? They weren't so difficult after all, in fact they were quite easy to make. French macarons require patience and following very precise directions. There are multiple steps involved and they all need to be followed exactly, don't skip or try to rush the process, do it all, do it right and you will be amazed at how delicious these little cookies are, you will amaze all your friends too with your talents.