These Amazing Salted Tahini Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies Have a Healthy Twist

What's the secret to these potatoes?

Two things… first, the roasted garlic. Roasting the garlic adds just the right amount of garlic flavor that's delicious but not over powering.

Second, cook the potatoes together with the milk and herbs. This means no boiling the potatoes, no extra steps, nothing fancy. It turns out that creating almost perfect mashed potatoes is actually really easy.

The Steps — Roast The Garlic

Start with the garlic since it takes time to roast in the oven. If you've never done it before it really adds a layer of deliciousness to your recipes.

Simply slice the top portion of the garlic head off to reveal the cloves. Then place the garlic on a small piece of foil, drizzle with olive oil, and wrap the garlic up. Roast for about forty minutes, until the garlic is deeply golden and soft.

Then simply squeeze the cloves out of the garlic skin.

Meanwhile, Make The Potatoes 

Combine the potatoes with the milk and cream in a large pot on the stove. Add the herbs, then cook until the potatoes are tender. This will take about twenty-five minutes or so. Once the potatoes are cooked, drain them, BUT, be sure to save the cream – you'll need it!

Now, the potato ricer…it's key to making ultra-smooth mashed potatoes. Do you have to have a potato ricer? No, a good ole masher works too. But if you want the smoothest mashed potatoes, a ricer works really well.

Take the mashed potatoes and those roasted garlic cloves and put them right back into the pot. Then add back the cream and also add some butter. Cook until the butter is melted…and that's it…the most perfectly flavored creamy mashed potatoes!

Honest these are the BEST – classic, but with amazing flavor and texture.

The added bonus is just how easy these are to make…and that you can make them ahead of time. Steps for warming in the oven, slow cooker, or on the stove are listed in the directions!

Make Ahead Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Ingredients:

• 1 head garlic
• extra virgin olive oil
• 4 pounds yukon gold or russet potatoes, peeled and quartered
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 2 cups whole milk
• 8 fresh sage leaves
• 3 sprigs fresh thyme
• 6-8 tablespoons salted butter, at room temperature
• kosher salt and black pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400° F.
2. Slice off the top portion of the garlic head to expose some of the cloves. Place the garlic on a piece of foil. Drizzle with olive oil, wrap it up, and bake for 40-55 minutes, until deeply golden and very soft.
3. Let the garlic cool, then squeeze out the cloves.
4. Meanwhile, In a large dutch oven, combine the potatoes, heavy cream, milk, sage, and thyme. Bring to a gentle boil over medium heat and cook 20-25 minutes, until the potatoes are fork-tender.
5. Drain the potatoes, reserving all of the cream. Discard the thyme and sage. Press the potatoes and roasted garlic cloves through a potato ricer. Then add them back to the warm pot. Alternately, you can add the potatoes back to the pot and mash with a potato masher.
6. Over low heat, add 1 1/2 cups of the reserved cream and the butter. Continue to add more of the cream until your desired consistency is reached. Season the potatoes with salt and pepper.
7. If desired, brown a little butter with sage or thyme and swirl into the potatoes before serving. Serve warm and creamy.

To Make Ahead:

• In the Oven: Prepare the mashed potatoes as directed through step 6. Spoon the potatoes into a large baking dish. Cover and refrigerate for up to 3 days. To reheat in the oven, preheat the oven to 325° F. Pour 1/2 cup milk or cream over the potatoes and add 2 tablespoons butter, do not stir. Cover the potatoes tightly with foil and transfer to the oven. Cook for 20-25 minutes, or until the potatoes are warmed through. Stir before serving.
• Slow Cooker: Prepare the mashed potatoes as directed through step 6. Spoon the potatoes into the slower cooker, cover, and keep on low for up to 4 hours. About 30 minutes before serving, turn the heat to low or high, add 1/2 cup heavy cream and 2 tablespoons butter, do not stir. Cover and let the cream warm and the butter melt. Stir before serving.
• On the Stove: Prepare the mashed potatoes as directed through step 6. Add 1/2 cup cream and 2 tablespoons butter. Place the potatoes over low heat, gently stirring until warmed throughout.

The quick details.

This banana bread cake comes together in five minutes tops, so the details are pretty darn quick.

Start with your wet ingredients. I like to use coconut oil for these cakes. Melt it in the microwave in a microwave-safe bowl. Once melted, add a very overripe banana and give it a good mashing with a fork. The key to any sweet banana recipe is to use bananas that are way past their prime and pretty black all over. Black bananas create the best sweet recipes due to their natural amount of sweetness.

When you have the banana all mashed up, whisk in a squeeze of honey, a single egg, and a splash of vanilla. I personally like to use honey as my sweetener as I've found it creates a perfectly soft, tender, and moist banana bread cake. But maple syrup works well too.

Once the wet ingredients are combined. Stir in the flour, baking soda, a pinch of cinnamon, and a pinch of salt. At this point, the cake is almost ready for "baking".

But I have a couple of secrets.

First, chocolate chunks…and a generous helping too. The chunks are a must and create the most luscious banana mug cake. You will fold them into the batter as the final ingredient. As the cake bakes, the chocolate sinks in, melting as it sinks. It leaves you with a puddle of warm melted chocolate throughout your cake. And with every bite, a little of that melted chocolate is scooped up.

And it is delicious.

Second, instead of mixing the batter in the mug you plan to "bake" in, mix the batter up in a small bowl, then transfer to a microwave-safe mug. Yes, it's one additional dish to dirty. However, I found this ensures that the batter is more easily mixed up and in turn bakes up nicer too.

But the real key to success?

Eat this mug of banana bread warm, just after cooking. This isn't a cake you want to eat leftover, it's meant as a quick chocolate fix. It should be eaten right away and preferably with a small pat of butter, a drizzle of honey, and a sprinkling of sea salt on top. Nothing is better.

I will say that that every microwave is different, so the cooking time is a little tricky. That said, I tested this on two different microwaves and found two minutes to be just the right amount of time. You may need to adjust slightly by fifteen seconds, give or take.

Soo, have I convinced you that you need a banana bread mug cake in your life tonight?

This is the best afternoon pick me up…warm after-dinner dessert…or late-night treat while cozied up by the fire. AND if you happen to have a snowy weekend in the forecast, you really need to bake this up. It's great any day, but it's best enjoyed on the coldest of days.

How To Make Your Own Chocolate Chip Banana Bread Recipe

INGREDIENTS

• 1 medium overly ripe banana, mashed (about 1/3 cup mashed)
  
• 1 tablespoon melted coconut oil (or butter)
  
• 1 tablespoon honey or maple
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour, or all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 cup semi-sweet or dark chocolate chunks

INSTRUCTIONS

1. In a bowl, stir together the mashed bananas, coconut oil, honey, egg, and vanilla until combined. Add the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt, mix until just combined. Fold in the chocolate chunks.
2. Pour the batter into a (10-12 ounce) microwave-safe mug. Microwave on full power for 1 minute and 35 seconds to 2 minutes (I always do 1 minute 35 seconds, but it's better to under "bake"). Eat warm with a smear of butter and a drizzle of honey (you should do this!). Enjoy!

Who's returning to the One Tree Hill sequel?

One Tree Hill Sequel Cast

According to Variety, Sophia Bush and Hilarie Burton would return as Brooke Davis and Peyton Sawyer, respectively. Daneel Ackles would also return — and all three would serve as executive producers on the TV show alongside Warner Bros. Television, who was behind the original show.

When asked if he would return as Lucas Scott, Chad Michael Murray simply responded with “No clue." Considering previous reports suggested he had "no plans to return," this is promising news to me! He then added he hopes the sequel series “comes together for the fans.”

“I mean, this fandom that has grown, I mean, literally, I was just in Halifax a week ago and, sure enough, I’m running into 11, 12, 13-year-old kids who are in love with Tree Hill,” he continues. “They’re seeing it on Hulu and they’re going, ‘Oh, my gosh.’ It’s stood the test of time and I think to have some new stories, whatever iteration of the show that’s created, I want it for the fans.”

Will One Tree Hill have a season 10?

One Tree Hill Sequel Plot

One Tree Hill doesn't have a season 10, and it's unclear what kind of sequel this new One Tree Hill series would be. But it looks like star Hilarie Burton is confident the new series would be told through the female experience. "What has been really cool for [the entire cast and crew], they're all really proud of the work that we did back then too," she told Brit + Co in September. And so to see the public support this little show we made 20 years later, that's so special and it's so rare."

“Being able to work with a team of women and look at these stories [and] these characters through a female lens is something that — whether I was doing a reboot or a brand-new show or a different movie at this phase in my life, female teamwork is something that is so vital to me,” she adds in an interview with People. “It is the core of anything I've done that's successful...So I'm excited to be able to team up with people that I look up to, people that I love dearly.”

After the One Tree Hill finale featured all of our favorite characters' kids, I've always wanted to see a One Tree Hill next generation series that brings the kids into high school, which is something other fans have been wanting too!

One viral TikTok imagines an intro for a fictional Next Gen series starring Dylan O'Brien, Candice King, and Vanessa Marano. "Could you imagine this as a reboot with the kids though," one comment reads. "We can only dream."

And good news for OTH fans! Jana Kramer, who played Alex during the later seasons of the show, teased she thinks Peyton and Brooke "are coming back as moms."

"I had spoken to Hilarie about it, about Alex making an appearance when I knew about it," she tells People. "We had discussed it before the news broke...I think their intention is to bring back people that make sense. And Hilarie was like, 'I never got to meet Alex, so it'd be fun to have us meet,' and I'm like, 'I would love that. Sign me up.' So, we'll see. TBD."

Brooke having to deal with her kids' TikToks? Peyton thinking about the future of art and AI? Mouth leading the Tree Hill podcast empire? There is so much to dive into here. But all in all, One Tree Hill is one TV show that gives me so much hope, no matter how many times I watch it. And I know that bringing back our favorite found family is the perfect way to bring some of that hope right back into today's TV.

One Tree Hill also starred Chad Michael Murray, James Lafferty, Austin Nichols, Bethany Joy Lenz, Paul Johansson, Barbara Alyn Woods, Lee Norris, and Antwon Tanner. Check back here for the latest updates on the One Tree Hill reboot cast!

What do you think about the One Tree Hill sequel?! Stay tuned for the latest news and read up on how This One Moment Proves Brooke Davis Is The Best Character On One Tree Hill.