Ever wondered what your teachers are whipping up in the kitchen on their days off? Well if you have, come with me as I rate two of my teachers’ favorite recipes. Remember that this is an honest review, and the rating won’t just factor in the taste but also the time and energy required to make it.
Baked good number one is a chocolate chip banana bread recipe from Honors Chemistry and AP Psychology teacher, Sonya Gelfand. She explained that she made this banana bread almost once a week during COVID because it was just that delicious, and I am here to honestly tell you if it lives up to the hype.
Before I get into how it tasted, let me tell you a bit about the baking process. Other than forgetting to preheat the oven until after I finished making the batter, it was one of the easiest recipes I have ever made. All you had to do was prepare the wet and dry ingredients separately and mix them together at the end. I also just plopped the bananas in the mixer even though you maybe were supposed to mush it before . . . Oops. But I don’t think it affected the overall taste because this banana bread was impeccable. The addition of the chocolate chips was the perfect finishing touch.
The one major flaw was that after I baked it the edges were a little burnt and the middle was a bit undercooked. Also, the baking time was a whopping hour long. So, considering both the baking process, the time I had to wait, and the taste of the finishing product, I would give it a 9/10!
Now onto the second recipe, a chai chocolate chip cookie recipe from AP Human Geography and World History II teacher, Ashley Bryant. Before I start with this review, I have to admit that I am not a huge fan of spices in sweet desserts, so this review may be a bit biased. When I originally looked at the ingredients list, I was a little intimidated by the use of allspice, cardamom, ginger, cloves, and even black pepper. Yet I persevered and made the cookies.
Making them was quite easy. It was basically the same as regular chocolate chip cookies, plus all the different spices. The unfortunate part was having to wait an hour for the dough to chill before putting it in the oven. Also, I was not a fan of having to use parchment paper but other than that, I have no complaints.
The taste of these cookies definitely surprised me. I was shocked that I actually kind of enjoyed the taste of the spices! However, I didn’t love them, and that is why I have to give it a 7.5/10. But for those of you who do enjoy spices in your cookies, I can imagine you will think this rating is unfair.
My reviews may have been a bit too harsh because both of these recipes are definitely delicious and fun to make. So, whether you are bored on the weekend or need to bake something to stop stressing about upcoming tests, keep these teachers’ recipes in mind! •
