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This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at SBU chapter.

I love cooking! It’s something I love to do when I’m bored or sad. My family loves when I bake for them and will always sneak into the kitchen to see what I’m making. Baking helps me to be in a peaceful mindset, as I need to focus on what I need to do next for the recipe to come out as I want it to.

One of my favorite recipes is for cookies. I don’t particularly like chocolate chip cookies, but I enjoy when other things are in the cookie. Below I will share a recipe for coconut chocolate chip cookies.

Ingredients: 1 1/4 cups all purpose flour, 1/2 tsp baking soda, 1/4 tsp salt, 1/2 cup butter, 1/2 cup brown sugar (packed), 1/2 cup sugar, 1 egg, 1/2 tsp vanilla extract, 1 1/3 cups coconut flakes, and 1 cup chocolate chips

Instructions for baking:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

2. In a mixing bowl, add the flour, baking soda, and salt. Mix and set aside.

3. In a separate bowl add the butter, brown sugar, and the sugar. Cream them together until smooth.

4. Add the egg and vanilla next. Beat until it is light and fluffy.

5. Add the original flour mixture a little bit at a time, until it is fully incorporated. Finally, mix in the coconut and chocolate chips.

6. Then, grab an ungreased cookie sheet and place the cookie dough a bit apart.

7. Bake until lightly toasted, about 8 to 12 minutes.

8. Finally, move them to a wire rack until they cool.

A recipe that I recently found but want to try is for banana chocolate chip bread. I don’t like bananas on their own, but I love eating banana bread and could eat the whole loaf if I wanted to. When I do make banana bread, it’s always out of a box mix, but I want to learn how to actually bake it. Below I will share a recipe that I found online for banana chocolate chip bread.

Ingredients: 1/2 cup unsalted butter (softened), 2/3 cup granulated sugar, 2 large eggs (room temperature), 3 bananas (very ripe), 1/2 tsp vanilla extract, 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, 1 tsp baking soda, 1/2 tsp salt and 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Instructions for baking:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Butter and flour a bread loaf pan (9.25″L x 5.25″W x 2.75″D).

2. In a mixing bowl using paddle attachment, cream together 1/2 cup softened butter and 2/3 cup sugar. Add 2 lightly beaten eggs.

3. Mash bananas with a fork until consistency of chunky applesauce and add them to the mixing bowl along with 1/2 tsp vanilla extract. Mix until blended.

4. In a separate bowl, whisk together dry ingredients: 1 1/2 cups flour, 1 tsp baking soda and 1/2 tsp salt. Add to mixing bowl and mix until incorporated.

5. Fold in 3/4 cup chocolate chips then transfer to prepared bread pan. Sprinkle remaining 1/4 cup chocolate over the top and bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 55-65 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let banana bread rest for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool.

I hope you enjoy these recipes and that you get ideas for what to bake next. Maybe you could even bake these for any holiday get-togethers that you may be going to.

Chocolate Chip Banana Bread Link: https://natashaskitchen.com/chocolate-chip-banana-bread/

Celeste Robbins is second-year member of the Her Campus chapter at St. Bonaventure University. She plans to write about relationships, pop culture, music, lifestyle and sports. Besides Her Campus, Celeste is part of the SBU Dance Team, Bona Buddies and WSBU The Buzz and which is the school's radio station. She also works in the school's center for the arts. Throughout middle school, high school and college Celeste has volunteered at local animal shelters, soup kitchens and for Special Olympics of Connecticut. She is currently a second-year student who is majoring in Cybersecurity. In her free time, Celeste enjoys spending time with friends, drinking coffee, crafting, listening to music, dancing, cuddling her pets and watching football. Her favorite musicians are Taylor Swift, Chappell Roan, The Weeknd, Harry Styles, Zach Bryan, Morgan Wallen, Noah Kahan and Tyler Childers. She is also an avid Kansas City Chiefs fan.