Thursday, February 16, 2012

Banana Bread

Yes, yes, the same old story.... old bananas. Rotting on top of my bread box. My sister sent me a photo this morning of her rotten bananas wrapped up in a plastic bag in her freezer. We've all got them. What on earth do I do with these? We all know the answer... so instead of throwing them out and only wishing that you had the desire to make banana bread, I'm gonna make you have the desire to make banana bread. And it'll be the most moist, inviting banana bread you've tasted in a LONG time. Also it's the easiest of easys. ( i am aware that 'easys' isn't a word... also would 'easies' have been a better way to spell it...?)

SO- get out rolled oats or instant oats, butter, an egg, your ugly, rotten bananas, some yogurt, some flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt.

Set your oven to 375 degrees and butter and lightly flour a loaf pan.
In a medium sized bowl, mix together:
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • a little less than 1/2 cup sugar
  • 2 & 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • a little less than 3/4 cup oats

In another smaller bowl, melt 3 tablespoons of butter. Then mix in:
  • 1 beaten egg (yes, it's okay to beat the egg in the butter, it doesn't have to be whipped before mixing it)
  • 1/2 cup almond milk (yes, you can use regular milk, but almond milk is just so tasty)
  • 1/3 cup greek yogurt or regular yogurt (something about the greek yogurt is just better though)

Once that's all mixed together nicely, form a little well in the dry ingredients to pour the wet ingredients into. Pour it in and mix thoroughly.

Now let's mash up your bananas on a plate until they're nice and creamy looking... then add them to the mixture and blend well! (this is my favorite part about making banana bread... some of my funniest, fondest memories as a little girl are of my mom and me making banana bread. she'd always give me the job of mashing the bananas, which seemed like the hardest thing in the world when i was small, but there was no way i was gonna let her down when she glanced over at me to see my progress. my wrists and arms and fingers would be so so so sore by the time i was finished but i had to know she thought i was the best at it... so i mashed away til they were beat to a pulp. and she was always impressed and proud... job well done. mission accomplished... love you, momma) :)
your mixture should be thick, creamy and a little soupy at the same time. also, little known fact about me: banana bread is my favorite raw batter to eat ever in life... yes, even more than chocolate chip cookie dough.

Now pour it into your prepared loaf pan and stick in the oven for 30-40 minutes.
I checked mine at 20 minutes and it was still very light gold, like this:
So I was planning on leaving it in for another 20 minutes... however, I checked it at just under another 15 minutes, so total about 33 minutes and it was perfect... just be sure not to overcook it. Banana bread is one of those things that's easy to dry out just because of an extra 5 minutes it didn't need. So when you can stick a knife down the middle and it comes out mostly clean, with just a few crumbs, it's done. You want it to be nice and moist!
Pull it out, let it cool and serve warm with a little pad of butter or just on it's own. I prefer it all on it's own but it is pretty darn heavenly with melty butter, too. What isn't, right? Look at what a gorgeous, easy little morning treat this banana bread is paired with a pretty plate and some fresh, black coffee!

How irresistible does that look? I know. SO irresistible. I made it last night... I've already devoured 4 pieces and it's only been in existence for 14 hours. Yeah, I know that means I have a problem, but it ALSO means that this bread is OH so banana-fana-fo-fan-a-mazing and it's worth the indulgence. Also here's a hint... if you've got too much left over because you've got a husband who doesn't like banana bread, (like me) turn it into french toast to switch things up a bit!

Lots of love and rotten bananas to you all! Have the BEST Thursday... make it special for someone!

xox





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