Growing up, I wasn’t in the kitchen much with my momma. Once in a while, I would help her ice some whoopie pies or make nachos and cheese on Sunday nights. I remember making pizza Triscuits with her, too. But when it came to cooking dinner or baking, I didn’t help much other than setting the table and cleaning up.
Momma says to this day she takes no credit for my cooking abilities — but that’s not fully true. I watched her pack lunches each morning for her family as we sat at the table eating the breakfast she made us. I watched her in the kitchen each night preparing a meal for us to sit down to. I love how she always puts mandarin oranges on a slice of iceberg lettuce to make the plates pretty.
I never got to bond in the kitchen with her, but I got to watch my momma all those years growing up, and she made me the wife and mother I am today.
We may have been water and oil in the kitchen together, but I still learned from her. We definitely are more in the kitchen together now that I am older, doing our canning in late summer and fall and then making Christmas cookies together.
I love cooking. I could spend all day in the kitchen preparing meals for our freezer or spend all day making one fancy dinner for my family.
Baking. Well, let’s just say I don’t love it. I’m really good at it, though! I can make some slappin’ homemade cookies, sticky buns, and some decent cakes like a blueberry buckle.
My momma, she loves baking. We are the complete opposite. She will make batches of cookies almost every week or every other. You don’t usually walk into her house, and there aren’t some kind of homemade sweets. I give all the credit to her sweet tooth. Momma loves her sweets.
Ten years ago, I gave birth to a mini version of my mother. Kenzy Mae is a sugar-oholic! She does not necessarily drink sweets but eats her favorite things like Oreos, puddings, gummy bears, and brown sugar droppings left over from my homemade sticky buns.
She’s always loved helping me in the kitchen — especially when it comes to sweets. I’ve always saved the spoons and spatula for my girl to lick since she was little. The older she got, the more she wanted to be hands-on. For the past few years, she has helped me make lots of pumpkin rolls for Thanksgiving Eve. This year, she learned to make my sticky buns all by herself, and boy, is she so proud about that.
Last Saturday, we were going to my Aunt Stacie’s for a Valentine’s party with our Liddick family. We didn’t get to see each other at Christmas, so she planned a gathering at her home for a little love party. I volunteered to make broccoli salad and banana brownie cake. That Friday, I surprised Kenz by picking her up at school and getting her McDonalds for a snack. (Can I just say that she wanted a slushy and Oreo blizzard at first!?) Proof that she loves sugar! I told her one or the other, so she settled with a cheeseburger and slushy. We went for a walk with our dog Bear out in our woods and visited with my dad, who lives right below us, for a few minutes.
When we finally got inside, Kenzy insisted on helping me with food.
I said, “Would you like to make the cake, and I’ll make the broccoli salad?”
“Yeah!!!” she said with excitement.
I was on the left side of our stove, chopping broccoli and frying. Kenzy to the right side of the stove with an apron on, mixing up her cake. Hair pulled back, laptop on for the recipe, and measuring cups everywhere. She looked so grown up standing there with the mixer as batter flung onto our coffee pot. It was a bittersweet moment. I love cooking; she loves baking. It’s a perfect match.
Her cake was a hit that day. Everyone enjoyed it, and we sent pieces home with everyone. A whole sheet pan, and we came home with what was in the picture. Three slices. She loved knowing that her cake was a hit. It tastes like banana bread but even better. If you love bananas, give this a try. You are sure to love Kenzy’s Banana Brownies! I love that she added three different kinds of sprinkles and made them festive — just because. Just like her momma.
Kenzy’s Banana Brownies
Ingredients:
• 1 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 2 eggs
• 3 or 4 ripe bananas, smashed
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 2 cup flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 3/4 tsp salt
Brown Butter Frosting:
Ingredients:
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 4 cups powdered sugar
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 1/4 cup of milk (or more if needed)
Directions”
Heat oven to 375°. Grease and flour a 15×10 jelly roll pan.
For the bars, beat together the sugar, sour cream, butter and eggs until creamy. Then add the bananas and vanilla. Add the flour, baking soda, salt, and blend for one minute.
Spread batter evenly in pan. Bake 20-25 minutes until golden brown.
Meanwhile, cream together butter, powdered sugar, vanilla and milk. Mix until creamy, adding more milk if needed. Spread over cooled cake.
