So my all-time guilty (but not so guilty) pleasure is banana bread. So weird, but I absolutely love banana bread (and also banana muffins, I don’t discriminate) as any type of snack or breakfast. I have had so many different recipes and variations, but this is by far my favorite recipe ever.
My friend’s aunt showed me this recipe, which is a twist on one from an old ’90s cookbook. So first thing’s first, turn the oven to 350 degrees. Then take a loaf pan and lightly brush butter or margarine over it. After this, I like to add just a little bit of flour around the pan because this makes it so much easier to remove the bread and not let it get all crumbly.
The next thing is to add about ½ cup of softened butter and 1 cup of sugar to a medium-sized bowl and mix with an electric whisk. Hand whisking here is not a good idea because it can take a good while, and electric mixers just make it so much fluffier. After the butter and sugar are creamed and light, add an egg and continue to beat with a mixer on low to medium speed. In the same bowl, add ¾ teaspoon of baking soda, 1 tablespoon of baking powder, ½ teaspoon of salt and 1 ½ cup of flour through a mesh strain. The mesh makes sure the dry ingredients don’t get super clumpy, and also helps to mix them better.
Now is the fun part: mashing 3 bananas. I prefer super ripe bananas in this recipe because it makes it a little sweeter, and they’re easier to mash. So this recipe is perfect if you ever find your bananas ripened just a little too fast! Of course, peel the bananas and add to an empty bowl. I like to take just a large fork and press down on the bananas until they are a good, mushy consistency. Then, I just take a spatula and fold everything together. I try not to fold too much just because I like a really light and fluffy bread. But this isn’t too important, so don’t worry if you throw in a couple of extra folds.
This part is completely optional, but you can totally throw in some extras. My roommate loves dark chocolate chips, but I love pecans. Throw in as many as you like and give the batter an extra couple folds. And then, just pour the batter into the greased/floured loaf pan and sprinkle your pecans/chocolate chips/etc. The last thing, just bake it for 50 to 60 minutes.
If you’re looking for a recipe to whip up to distract you from finals, this is the perfect one. It’s delicious, easy, and, at least for me, reminds me of home when I need it most.