The Best of Brown Sugar

Brown Sugar, the sweet molasses-y concoction that is creditable for heaps of flavor in many of the desserts we all love. For example; Bananas Foster, the New Orleans creation most people have trouble getting enough of. The dessert famous for the beautiful flambe action that happens when the rum hits the pan consists of mainly brown sugar (butter too, but this post is about brown sugar). The soft and warm bananas coated in the sweet-syrup like sauce is delectable, especially when served with vanilla ice cream. Though vanilla ice cream does not have brown sugar in it, it goes great with something else that usually does... cookies! The first cookie that usually comes to mind is chocolate chip but that's not the kind of cooking I'm thinking of. The cookie on my brain makes brown sugar a star, Brown Sugar Oatmeal Cookies, the recipe courteous of the Pioneer Woman blog.

You're probably wondering where I'm going with this so I'll explain with a math equation.

Bananas Foster+Vanilla Ice Cream+Brown Sugar Oatmeal Cookies= The Best Ice Cream Sandwich You've Ever Had In Your Life

Mind blown, right?
Yeah, me too.

The inspiration came from:

1. Seeing the Pioneer Woman make the cookies on her fabulous show
2. A bunch of bananas at the grocery store
3. The hankering for some good ole' fashion ooey-gooey Bananas Foster after seeing a bunch of bananas at the grocery store

Here's how I made 'em:

First, we have to make the cookies.
The  Pioneer Woman's recipe seemed a little on the large side for me so I halved it, you may do what you please. I ended up with around 16 average sized cookies so if that info does anything for you, good.
While the cookies cooled I got to work on the Bananas Foster. The recipe I use is adapted from Emeril Lagasse's, it only has a few differences but it turns out a whole different dessert (mine is better in my opinion, no offense Emeril). I came up with my version after multiple different variations but this version is the one that I like best.
*A good rule of thumb when making it, depending on how much you want to make, is one tablespoon of butter and around three tablespoons of brown sugar per banana. It's super healthy, I know.

Ingredients:
4 tablespoons butter
3/4 cup brown sugar, packed (you can use light or dark, I like light)
1/2 to 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 pinch ground nutmeg
Juice of 1/4 of an orange
4 ripe bananas, sliced into rounds
1/3 to 1/2 cup dark rum (depends on how boozy you like it)

Directions:
Take out some vanilla ice cream and let it get nice and soft. Then, melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Stir in the brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and orange juice. Once all incorporated, turn the heat to high and add the bananas, cook till soft. Have a lighter on standby if you're not comfortable dipping the pan into the flame (watch this video from the 1:47 mark to see what I mean). When the sauce is very bubbly you know it's hot enough to flambe. Heat is a very important aspect for a perfect flame. When you think the pan is hot enough, quickly add rum and remove from heat, then ignite either with lighter or stove top. Return pan to stove, keep pan moving until the flames die out. Congratulations, you've successfully made Bananas Foster! Hopefully without burning anyone's eyebrows off.

Now back to the ice cream sandwiches.


Take your cookies and throw a generous scoop of vanilla ice cream on there. Don't be cheap with the good stuff.

Now comes the magic, take your warm Bananas Foster and spoon it over the top of the ice cream. Watch as the sauce drips down and coats the cookie. Try to contain yourself and grab a second cookie and sandwich the whole thing together.

Now this is the hardest step, ready? Take a minute and just look at it. Make yourself admire what you've just made. Enjoy the moment, it won't last long before your instincts take over and you dive into the glorious piece of food art.

Please ignore the paper plate. I got so many dishes dirty today, I didn't want to use another one.

Don't deprive yourself of this treat. Enjoy every indulgent bite of it and thank Brown Sugar for it's wonderfulness.

-Madison