Thursday, September 25, 2008

Best Ever Banana Bread






2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt


1 teaspoon ground cinnamon (optional)
4 overripe bananas
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter,
melted and cooled
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup pecans, finely chopped *
Brown sugar


* Can substitute chocolate chips, or omit altogether.


Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and lightly grease a 9" x 5"-inch loaf pan.
In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, cinnamon (if desired) and salt; set aside. 


Mash 2 of the bananas with a fork in a small bowl so they still have some texture.

With an electric mixer fitted with a wire whisk, beat the remaining bananas and sugar together until you have a light and fluffy cream.



Add the melted butter, eggs, and vanilla; beat well and scrape down the sides of the bowl.





 Mix in the dry ingredients just until blended; do not overmix.






Fold in the nuts (or chocolate chips) and the mashed bananas with a rubber spatula.



Pour the batter into prepared loaf pan. Sprinkle brown sugar across top of batter, if desired.

Tap pan on counter to get air bubbles out.


Bake for about 1 hour and 15 minutes, until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean. (Don't worry if the bread has a crack down the middle of the top.) Rotate the pan periodically to ensure even browning.



Cool the bread in the pan for approximately 10 minutes, and then cool completely on a wire rack before slicing.



9 comments:

andrea said...

funny...i was just looking for a yummy loaf recipe!this looks so good! i'll definitely try it!

Lianna Knight said...

This looks SO good! My dad used to make banana bread for me all the time! Unfortunately, I've been doing too much working and not enough cooking!! So this is on my to do list next week :)

Laura Ann said...

Guess what? We have lights and we are having meatloaf for dinner tonight too. Yummy...I am so excited and can not wait to have a good ole home cooked meal. I also got cilantro this time, opposed to parsley. We will have to try the banana bread sometime soon. That looks like a Saturday project to me. I have been looking at your other blog and Miss Emma is so CUTE!

Casey said...

I cannot wait to make this. I am a little intimidated by making bread of any kind but this looks fairly simple. I may try it with chocolate chips and nuts. That sounds amazing.

Heather said...

YUM! This looks so good I can almost taste it! I would have never thought to substitute choc. chips! Thanks, Mimi! I am going to make this this week!

Jenna said...

Oh. My. Goodness.

andrea said...

hey! just letting you know that i made it again!mmmmm

The Patterson 5 said...

Stacy let me know about your yummy cooking blog! I'm going to try this recipe out tonight! Thanks!

The Patterson 5 said...

I'm back again to make banana bread-it was the best I've ever made last time! Thanks so much for posting this recipe!