Fast, Simple, and Delicious Banana Bread

As a child, one of my favorite things about going to my grand parents house, was my grandmas banana bread. When I would walk in the house, there was the loaf, just waiting to be eaten. It's for this reason, banana bread still reigns as my favorite quick bread.

That said, I wish I could say "this fantastic recipe that I'm passing on, was handed down from my grandma", however I can't. After many years of telling my kids how amazing her banana bread was, I finally found out that it was simply the magicblue box Jiffy mix".

While the news did surprise me a bit, it didn't change my wonderful memories of her banana bread. It did however inspire me to create my own. So, after years of trial and error, this recipe is my go to when I want banana bread (or when we have really ripe bananas).

It's fast, simple, and always tasty!

I hope you enjoy it!

*Even better, you can substitute many different fruits with very little adjustment (check out my blueberry bread recipe here).

1/4 Cup Butter (1/2 Stick) Softened

3/4 Cup White Sugar

1/4 Cup Brown Sugar

2 Eggs

2 Cups Self Rising Flour

1/2 Tea Spoon Salt

1/2 Tea Spoon Baking Soda

3-4 Mashed Banana's

*You can also add 1 cup of your favorite chopped nuts.

**Mash the bananas to your desired consistency. I tend to leave it chunky, so there are larger pieces of banana in the bread.

Cream together the butter, sugar, and eggs.

Add the flour, salt, and baking soda. Stir until combined.

Next add the mashed banana's and continue to stir until they are thoroughly incorporated.

*If using nuts, incorporate 1 cup of your favorite nuts and stir.

**I have used plain pecans and candied pecans, and though my kids prefer the candied variety, both have tuned out amazing.

Finally transfer the mixture into a well greased loaf pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until the top is brown. You can also do a toothpick test by poking the center of the loaf. If the tooth pick is clean when removed, it's done.

*I used coconut oil to grease the pan, however most cooking sprays will work.

**This recipe also doubles as a great muffin recipe. Just pour into a muffin tin (cups optional) and bake at 350 degrees for about 20-25 minutes or until brown.

Remove the bread from the oven, let sit for about 5 minutes and remove from the pan. Cool on a wire rack, until you can't fight the temptation to cut into the loaf and devour the entire thing...one slice at a time.

I truly hope you've enjoyed this Instructable and the fantastic bread you make because of it.

OK...This is a bonus recipe. My banana bread makes some of the best french toast I've ever eaten. It's the kind of thing that dreams are made of, but better. It's soooo good, I figured why not share:

The french toast dunking mixture has always been roughly an Equal mix of eggs to cream for the base (for the cream element I have used whole milk, half and half or heavy whipping cream…whatever you have on hand). The amount needed depends on how much toast you wish to make.

For example: For roughly 8 average slices of homemade banana bread – I beat 3 large eggs and then add cream that roughly equals the amount of egg. Whisk the two together well, then add about a teaspoon or so of sugar, plus any spices that you prefer – I usually add cinnamon (about a 1/4 tsp) and sometimes allspice, nutmeg and or ginger – Mix well.

To make the toast, heat a griddle or pan to medium-medium/high. Dip each slice into egg/milk mixture coating completely and place on hot pan. Cook 2-4 minutes, until golden brown – flip and cook for 1-3 minutes more, until golden on opposite side.Serve with butter/coconut oil, maple syrup and/or powdered sugar and enjoy.

*Just a tip…if you have Any bit of time before you cook, lay your bread slices out on the counter to dry out. Even with store bought loaf bread, the time drying out before cooking Does make a difference.*