Banana Bread

Banana Bread

This is an Oliver approved recipe; my boy simply can not get enough of this stuff. If he knows it's in the house, he refuses to eat anything else. I tend to triple the recipe, then bake it in those smaller foil loaf pans they sell at the grocery store (just decrease the time in the oven by about 15 minutes, and check on them more frequently) and freeze them.

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour, 15 minutes + cooling (if you can wait)
Makes: 1 x 9" loaf

Ingredients:

2 c flour

¾ c sugar

¾ tsp baking soda

½ tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

3 very ripe bananas (the browner the better! It means the natural sugars have released and they'll be sweater)

6 tbl butter, melted

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

¼ c plain yogurt (I've substituted sour cream frequently and it's just as good)

1 tsp vanilla

1¼ cup toasted walnut pieces (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F and grease (hello Pam) a 9” x 5” loaf pan.

2. Whisk the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt and cinnamon together in a large bowl. In a smaller bowl mash the bananas and mix with melted butter, eggs, yogurt and vanilla. Fold the banana mixture into the flour mixture until just combined. Fold in the nuts (if using). Don’t over mix, it's supposed to look thick and chunky.

3. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 55 minutes, until golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean.

4. Let the loaf cool in the pan for 10 minutes before flipping out onto a wire rack.