Create Your Own Recipe Book with the instax mini 11

Written by Mollie Rose

Are you inspired by all the banana bread bakes you're seeing on social media? Me too! I usually don't have any time to bake, and to be honest, it doesn't come very naturally to me. However, with some time (and brown bananas) on my hands, I wanted to give it a try.

Now is a great time to be getting creative with whatever you have in your cupboards and reducing your food waste. So I've been using up whatever I could find in my cupboards and documenting my favourite bakes using my instax mini 11, then putting them in my own mini recipe album.

Unless I'm following a professional recipe (which doesn't happen often – I'm much more of the bit of this, bit of that, let's try this, whack that in type!) I rarely have any visual record of what the food I'm making should look like. That's why I really enjoyed taking photos of my (very homemade) bakes and popping them into an album, with the ingredients list on the back; to jog my memory for when times get busy again.

NB – In aid of reducing waste and ensuring I'm eating everything I'm baking I've kept the ingredients list to bake for 1 or 2 people. If you'd like to make more – just double or even triple it!

1. Pecan Chocolate Chip Cookies (ve)

Ingredients (makes 6 large cookies)

1 cup Plain Flour
1/2 tsp Baking Powder
1/4 cup Caster Sugar
1/4 cup Brown Sugar
1/4 cup Water
1/4 tbsp Melted Coconut Oil
1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract
Pinch of salt
1 cup Vegan Chocolate Chips
1 cup Pecans

These cookies are so easy to make and they're vegan too! Best eaten when they're still a little warm & gooey.

1. Mix the flour, baking powder, salt and chocolate chips into a bowl
2. In a separate bowl, tip the sugars, oil and water and whisk until completely combined.
3. Add the flour mix to the sugar mix and stir until it forms a dough.
4. Chill the dough in the freezer for 30 mins and preheat the oven to 180C Gas 4
5. Scoop the dough into mounds with an ice cream scoop and place onto a baking tray 2 inches apart from one another.
6. Cook for 12-15 mins

2. Marble Chocolate and Banana Bread

Ingredients

1/3 cup Melted Butter
1 cup Mashed Banana
1 Large Egg
1 1/2 cup Plain Flour
1 tsp Baking Powder
1/4 cup Granulated Sugar
1/2 cup Brown Sugar
1/4 tbsp Cocoa Powder
2 tbsp Milk
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
Pinch of salt

Banana bread is such a comfort food and a great way to use up bananas that are overripe – the browner the better. If you opt for the marble option, ensure you only gently tap the sides of the pan and don't stir – this will alter the marble effect!

1. Whisk banana and melted butter together
2. Beat in the sugars, egg and vanilla
3. Add the flour, baking powder and salt and whisk until fully combined
4. Take 2/3rds of a cup of batter and place in a separate bowl. Add the milk and cocoa powder to this part and whisk. (If you don't have cocoa powder or simply don't fancy the chocolate – skip this part)
5. Grease a loaf pan and preheat the oven to 180C / Gas 4
6. With a wooden spoon add 2 large spoonfuls of plain batter to the pan. Then add 1 large spoonful of chocolate. Continue this pattern until you have used up all your batter.
7. Bake for 40-45 minutes (keep an eye on it though!)
8. Allow it to cool and enjoy!

3. Homemade Granola (ve)

Ingredients

4 cups Oats
1/2 cup Agave Nectar
2 cups of Raw Nuts and Seeds (I used pecans, almonds and pumpkin seeds)
1/2 cup Dried Fruit (I used sultanas)
1 tsp Ground Cinnamon
1/2 cup Coconut Oil

Nothing beats the smell of homemade granola! I made quite a big batch of this as I can store it in a Tupperware and eat it with yoghurt and berries for my breakfasts. This recipe is a vegan granola using agave nectar, however, if you have honey or maple syrup in your cupboard this will also work perfectly.

1. Preheat the oven to 180C Gas 4.
2. Combine the oat, nuts and seeds and cinnamon in a large mixing bowl
3. Add the agave nectar and melted coconut oil and stir until the dry mixture is completely coated.
4. Pour the granola mix onto a prepared baking tray and bake for about 20 minutes (until golden). For bigger clumps of granola make sure you press down on the granola to form an even layer.
5. Once completely cooled, stir the granola and add in the dried fruit

4. Toffee and Sea Salt Chocolate Mug Cake (ve)

Ingredients

3 tbsp Plain Flour
1/2 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tbsp Granulated Sugar
1 tbsp Cocoa Powder
3 tbsp Coconut Milk
2 tbsp Olive Oil
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
Pinch of salt
Dark Chocolate Chunks
Sauce of choice (I chose toffee!)

Fancy a vegan cake ready to eat in under 5 minutes? This one's for you. I decided to top my cake with some toffee sauce I had in the cupboard, but icing sugar, melted chocolate, ice cream or leaving it plain also work. Use a mug similar to a 'cup' measurement size to ensure your bake doesn't overflow!

1. Spoon the flour, baking powder, sugar and cocoa powder into your microwave-safe mug and mix completely
2. Add the milk, vanilla extract and oil and stir until fully combined. The batter consistency should be quite runny (somewhere in between a normal cake batter and melted chocolate)
3. Stir in the chocolate chunks and ensure they are fully coated in batter
4. Place in the microwave for 70 – 80 seconds at 1000w. Watch your cake to see it rise and make sure it doesn't overflow.
5. Leave to cool for a couple of minutes. Drizzle sauce and sea salt over the top of your cake.

5. Blueberry and Banana Healthy Pancakes

Ingredients

1 cup Rolled Oats
1 Medium Banana (browning is best)
3 tbsp Coconut Oil
2 tbsp Oatmilk (or similar)
1 large egg
1/2 cup of Blueberries

Optional Toppings
Berry Compote (I used raspberries, blueberries and brown sugar)
1 Banana
Coconut
Honey

My favourite brunch option – and it's miraculously healthy!? I would highly recommend adding blueberries to the pancake batter whilst they're cooking for extra deliciousness.

1. Blend oat, 1 banana, egg, 2 tbsp coconut oil and milk together
2. Heat final tbsp of coconut oil in a frying pan on medium heat
3. Spoon heaps on batter into a pan (I cook 2 or 3 at a time) and plop blueberries onto the batter
4. In a separate pan, heat your compote mix on a very low heat and use a wooden spoon to mix and mash fruit.
5. Flip your pancakes every few minutes until a light golden brown colour.
6. Serve in pancake stack, pour compote, banana pieces, berries and coconut on top. Drizzle honey. Delicious!

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