Banana Bread

My husband and I dream of owning a coffee shop.  We'd have great music, great drinks, and of course, fabulous baked goods.  If we ever got that coffee shop, this banana bread would be on the menu.  I love using overripe bananas (I don't like eating them plain if they even have the slightest brown marks) to bake up a loaf of this moist, hearty banana bread on a Sunday morning.  We brew a pot of coffee, pull out our laptops and just sit at the kitchen table and enjoy the last few moments of our weekend.  The best part is that I can reheat a slice the next day and enjoy it with my coffee during my commute.   I also don't feel to guilty eating this bread because it has a minimal amount of sugar and it's made with whole wheat flour.  (It does have a stick of butter, but...)

In a large bowl, mix 1 stick of softened (room temperature) butter with 2/3 cup of brown sugar and 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract (use the real stuff, it's better).  Use your electric hand mixer and beat it until it's smooth and fluffy.

Then, add the bananas.  (Peeled and broken into chunks.)  Beat the mixture for a few more minutes.

Add two eggs and beat for one additional minute.

Now, work on the dry ingredients.

Sift together flour and baking soda.  Mix the dry ingredients into the wet mixture by hand.  At this point, you could add some nuts.  Toasted walnuts would be great.  I decided to just top my loaf with almonds, 'cause that's what I had on hand.  It's really good with or without nuts.  

Prepare a loaf pan by spraying it with nonstick spray (even if it has a nonstick coating) and lining the bottom and sides with parchment paper.

Bake for 65 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.  This bread is really dense and could take up to 90 minutes to bake.  Just don't burn it. 

Banana Bread
adapted from this recipe

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon flour
2 eggs, beaten
2 1/3 cups mashed overripe bananas (about 4-5 bananas)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan. (I spray mine with Pam and line it with parchment paper.)

In a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt. In a separate bowl, cream together butter and brown sugar. Stir in eggs and mashed bananas until well blended. Stir banana mixture into flour mixture; stir just to moisten. Pour batter into prepared loaf pan.

Bake in preheated oven for 60 to 65 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of the loaf comes out clean. Let bread cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack.