Oh, my Nana Banana Bread!

A bundle of bananas we’re turning brown, so I put them to use for my über-moist Nana Banana Bread. Crazy delish for breakfast or afternoon snack! It’s bananas! My father calls it “monkey bread” because its so moist and banana-rich; he prefers it nutty with a handful of walnuts. On that note, this tasty recipe can be modified to suit your taste buds, cravings, or seasonal palette. See variations listed below the recipe for ideas.

INGREDIENTS

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 to 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/2 cup butter, softened (1 stick)
• 1 cup brown sugar or 1 1/2 cups white granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs, beaten
• 4 medium-sized overripe bananas, mashed

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 9×5 inch loaf pan with butter or baking spray.
2. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt. In a separate bowl, cream together butter and sugar. Stir in eggs and mashed bananas until well blended. Add cinnamon and vanilla extract. Stir banana mixture into flour mixture; stir just to moisten. Pour batter into prepared loaf pan. Any excess batter can be poured into muffin or mini-muffin pan.
3. Bake loaf pan in preheated oven for 60 to 65 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of the loaf comes out clean. Muffins will be done after 20 to 30 minutes and mini-muffins after 12 to 15 minutes, depending on size. Let bread cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack.

VARIATIONS

• Go nuts and add 1 cup chopped walnuts to batter before pouring into pan.
• Or, fold in 1 to 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips. After all, chocolate makes everything better.
• Also, you can add 1 to 2 cups of raisins for additional texture.
• Instead of sugar, use 1/4 cup of honey with 2 tablespoons brown sugar.
• Or, go really rich and use 1 cup molasses in lieu of sugar.
• To inspire autumn leaves to turn, add 1 to 2 teaspoons nutmeg to taste.

NUTRITION

1 serving roughly estimated, 1 slice or medium-size muffin (recipe as stated above made with 12 oz bag of chocolate chips added): 142 calories, 5g Total Fat, 3g Saturated Fat, 22mg Cholesterol, 114mg Sodium, 22g Carbohydrates, 1g Fiber, 12g Sugar, 2g Protein.

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