TWD: another two-fer!

I was on vacation last week and was unable to make the Brrr-ownies chosen by Karen of Welcome to Our Crazy Blessed Life, but I wanted to try them b/c I knew that super-picky hubs loves brownies and York peppermint patties, so may love these as well.  I had planned to just bake that recipe for this week, but when I saw that Kimberly of Only Creative Opportunities chose the Lot's of Ways Banana Cake for this week I decided to make them both--I'm always looking for a reason to use up those bananas in my freezer!
After a week with my parents and sister (and without hubs) and then a kinda weird day at the office where I am only helping to train instead of doing "my job" (and i don't have a desk or computer anymore!) I was ready to get some baking therapy.

The Brrr-ownies came first so I could let the ingredients for the banana cake come to room temp.  I had read lots about peppermint patty craters in the tops and brownies sticking to the foil, so to remedy those issues, I popped the peppermint patties in the freezer for about 15 minutes before chopping and adding them to the mix so they wouldn't become overly melty, and I was extra careful to super-grease my foil.  I really think these came out perfectly!  Super fudgy and rich but with a lovely cool sensation.  joy in my heart!  Hubs isn't home yet, but I think he will love these :)

Then came the banana cake.  I had some toasted coconut in the freezer as well as some dried cherries, so I used those, and I was out of light brown sugar (gasp!) so I subbed white sugar and substituted 1/4 cup of it with dark brown sugar.  Other than that, I made the recipe as is--from the first ingredients listed.

first picture--once again full of fog!  stupid southern humidity

I really think that banana cake/bread is one of the best smells you can have in your home!  I decided to make it easy and bake it as a bundt, which would also make it easier to transport to my mom's house (I'm gonna share it w/her and my sister--I think they will be happy (:  )  I pulled it out of the oven, let it cool for a bit, and then scraped some of the bits that had stuck to the pan to try a taste.  Oh. My. Goodness.  Seriously, my eyes rolled back in my head.  This is heavenly!  I am so glad that I made it and I think my family will love it!  I'm gonna take them at least half the cake (sliced up on a platter) and will wrap & freeze some pieces for myself for those days when only banana cake can make the world right again ; ).

I hope you all enjoyed these recipes as much as I did!  Thanks so much to Karen & Kimberly for these wonderful picks, and visit their respective blogs for the recipes, as well as the TWD leave-you-link post to see who else baked along this week.