Classic Banana Bread

As a child my mother had a cutting board in our kitchen that had printed on the front, a recipe for Bermuda Banana Bread. A trinket I am sure she picked up to remember a vacation she took and good times she had. We grew up on that banana bread. Now, still one of my favorite treats,  I make banana bread with my own daughter.  I have come across a lot of recipes over the years, but my favorite is still the straight forward, no hiding the banana flavor with a million ingredients Classic Banana Bread.

Here is my spin on that recipe printed on the cutting board from my childhood kitchen.  The only variation to the original recipe is it called for shortening... which I never use and white sugar, which I replace with brown sugar.

Before we go any further, let's talk about the bananas.  You may think these bananas are ready for the compost bin.  NO WAY... these are PERFECT for banana bread.  The darker the sweeter.  So, please - NO MORE THROWING AWAY BANANAS.

Recipe

1/2 cup butter

1 cup brown sugar

3 eggs

3 or more very ripe bananas mashed

2 cups flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 cup chopped nuts

*For the banana bread pictured I used 5 bananas because they were a bit on the small side

*I prefer pecans, but walnuts are great and almonds are an unexpected treat

*I usually add a little cinnamon and nutmeg to turn the flavor up a notch

*I used 6 mini loaf pans, but you can use 1 large loaf pan or muffin pans

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Cream together butter and sugar.  Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Mix in mashed bananas.  Sift in flour and baking soda. Mix well, then fold in nuts.  Pour into pans sprayed lightly with baking spray.

Depending on the size of your pans, bake from 40 - 55 minutes.  A wooden skewer inserted in the middle coming out clean will let you know the bread is completely cooked.

*I chose to add a little variety in the toppings. 

Back left - Banana Fosters - banana and caramel          

Back middle - chopped pecans                                     

Back right - plain                                                          

Front left - brown sugar and cinnamon

Front middle - brown sugar, cinnamon, pecans
Front right - caramel