Tuesday, January 15, 2008

Banana Nut Bread.

I have made a lot of banana nut bread in my life, and they have all been very good. However, the recipe I used tonight is just simply extraordinary. It is from a Mennonite community in north Mississippi. The only change that I made was using white chocolate instant pudding mix instead of vanilla. This recipe made three 8 x 3.75 x 2.5 aluminum loaf pans (3-pack available at Dollar Tree). It is a very simple recipe, especially if you use a stand mixer.

3/4 cup softened butter
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
2 eggs
1/2 cup buttermilk
4 mashed very ripe bananas
2 & 1/4 cup all purpose flour
1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts
1 pkg. instant vanilla pudding mix (I use white chocolate pudding for a subtle flavor difference)

Cream butter & sugar until fluffy. Add eggs & beat well. Add bananas and beat well. Combine flour, baking soda, salt, baking powder, and pudding mix. Add to banana mixture alternately with buttermilk, mixing well after each addition. Add nuts and mix. Pour batter into loaf pans that have been coated well with non-stick spray. Bake at 350 for about 40 minutes. The tops will brown well before the bread is done. Just keep checking every 2-3 minutes after 35 minutes of baking. When there is no wiggling, remove from oven and cool for 30 minutes before cutting.


MODIFICATIONS, 10/21/2013:

Reduce sugar to 2/3 cup.
Increase flour to 2.5 cups
Add 12 oz. crushed pineapple
Add 1 cup shredded coconut
Add 2 tsp. vanilla extract
Increase baking time to around 50 minutes
Optional: Sprinkle 1/4 cup chocolate chips in the bottom of the pan before adding batter

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