Banana Bread

This feels almost like a signature dish for me. A baked good that I am known for. Something that I am an expert at making.

This mindset comes from my senior year of college, when I lived in a house with five other girls. The first semester in that home is filled with some of my favorite memories – cookie bars, cheesy Christmas movies, making amazing (a.k.a. ridiculous, but in the best way) music videos, late night conversations, and an entire collection of Webkinz. One of my regular contributions to our little household was turning leftover and forgotten about bananas into beautiful banana bread. Truthfully, I do not know why we never learned to buy fewer bananas, because there was almost always some overripe bananas sitting in our kitchen. But as long as there continued to be bananas no one wanted to eat, I continued to keep making banana bread. Often, the freshly made loaves were gone within twenty-four hours.

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When I would make this bread for my housemates in college I often put chocolate chips in it, so if you are wanting a little additional sweetness, I highly recommend the chocolate addition. However, if you are not in the mood for some chocolate, it is just as delicious on its own. It is important to use bananas that are past the point where you would want to eat them. As bananas get more ripe, they develop more flavor, and so using bananas that are not overripe could lead to bread lacking in taste.

Banana Bread

Ingredients:

• 1 cup sugar
• 2/3 cup butter
• 2 eggs
• 2-3 mashed bananas
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• pinch of salt

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 300* F and line one large (or two small) loaf pans with parchment paper and/or cooking spray.
2. Cream butter and sugar.
3. Add eggs one at a time and then add bananas.
4. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Gradually add the dry ingredients into the wet mixture.
5. Add vanilla.
6. Bake for about 1 hour. Let cool and enjoy!