Recipe For Breakfast, Lunchboxes, and After-School Treats, Struesel Topped Banana Nut Bread

Going back to school usually brings the need for new breakfast ideas, lunchbox treats, and healthy after-school snacks. If you have any of these needs, here is a great recipe for you. Struesel Topped Banana Nut Bread has healthy oats, bananas, and nuts among its ingredients. With a glass of milk it can serve as a quick breakfast as well as a healthy after-school snack. A slice in the lunchbox is also a good idea. Adults love it too with a good cup of coffee, hot tea, etc. When the weather turns cold, the children may want to enjoy this bread with hot chocolate rather than milk.

STRUESEL-TOPPED BANANA NUT BREAD

1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar*
7 tbsp uncooked regular oats
1/3 cup flour
1/3 cup cold butter or margarine, cut into pieces
2 small ripe bananas, mashed (1 cup)
2 large eggs
1/2 cup sugar*
1/3 cup butter or margarine, melted
1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup chopped toasted pecans
1 tsp vanilla extract

Combine the light brown sugar, oats, and flour. Cut in the 1/3 cup cold butter with a pastry blender until crumbly; chill this struesel.

Beat banana and eggs, sugar, butter in a large mixing bowl at medium speed with an electric mixer for 1 minute or only until smooth.

Combine the 1 1/2 cups flour and baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add to the banana mixture, beating just until the dry ingredients are moistened. Stir in the vanilla and pecans.

Spoon batter into 3 greased mini loaf pans. Sprinkle each loaf evenly with the struesel. Bake at 340 degrees for 35 minutes. Cool in pans on a wire rack for 5 minutes. Carefully remove bread from the pans and cool completely on wire rack.

*Diabetics can enjoy this bread by substituting 1/4 cup Splenda Brown Sugar Blend for the brown sugar and 1/4 to 1/3 cup of Splenda sugar blend for the sugar.

Enjoy!

Fun Baked Birthday Treats

The traditional birthday cake isn't the only yummy option you have when it comes to baked goods for your child's birthday party. We have come up with some other ideas that are more than just a substitute for a birthday cake. They are creative, delicious and just plain different.

Decorate A Cookie

· Sugar Cookie Dough
· Cookie Cutters
· Wax Paper
· Confectioner's Sugar
· Water
· Food Coloring
· Assorted candies
· Colored Sugar (different colors)
· Sprinkles

Prepare a batch of your favorite cookie dough, or purchase some refrigerated sugar dough. Roll it out and place it on the wax paper. Let the kids cut out cookies using the cookie cutter, then bake them according to the baking instructions for your dough.

Allow the cookies do cool. Prepare "Glue" by mixing the confectioner's sugar with water to form a sticky paste. You can add food coloring to turn it into different colors. The kids can paint the cookies with this glue, then add candies sprinkles and colored sugar.

Allow them to dry and either let the kids eat them at the party, or place them in plastic bags so they can take them home after the party.

Magic Wands

· Refrigerated Sugar Cookie Dough
· Star Cookie Cutter
· Popsicle Stick
· Confectioners' Sugar
· Hot Water
· Food Coloring

Roll out the sugar cookie dough and cut using a star-shaped cookie cutter; bake according to package instructions.

As soon as the cookies come out of the oven, and are still soft to the touch, carefully push a Popsicle stick between any two points of the star. This makes the handle for your wand.

Frost the cookies with glossy icing. To make glossy icing, simply sift confectioners' sugar into a bowl. Slowly add hot water, while mixing, until it becomes a smooth paste. Add a few drops of food coloring to make extra colorful treats. These wand cookies are somewhat fragile, but they're delicious and a lot of fun to eat!

Dessert Pizza

· Sugar cookie dough, store bought
· 8-ounce package cream cheese, at room temperature
· 1 cup sugar
· 1 teaspoon vanilla
· Fruit slices like banana, strawberries, apples and blueberries
· Greased cookie sheet or pizza pan

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.
Slice up the dough like you're making cookies.

Press the dough into a pizza pan. You should end up with thin, sweet pizza dough. Bake it for about 8 minutes and cool it on a rack.

Combine the sugar, vanilla and softened cream cheese. Spread it all over you pizza crust.

Top with the fruit slices.

There you have it ... Three fun baked treats that not only make a great addition to any birthday party, whether you are serving cake or not. They are also a fun activity for the kids during the party. Give one of these a try at the next child birthday party you throw.