Banana Bread
/lazy weekends are refreshing to my soul. and baking makes the house smell so good... and somehow inspires me to do some cleaning while there is something baking in the oven. for me, banana bread is usually the result of having a few bananas that i never got around to eating while they were fresh... so the over-ripened bananas become a heavenly-scented weekend treat!
BANANA BREAD
Makes 1 regular-sized loaf
Preheat oven to 350°
Directions:
1/2 stick (4 T.) butter, softened
2 eggs
2 or 3 very ripe bananas
2/3 cup sugar
Using a fork (or spoon), mix the banana, eggs, butter and sugar together in a bowl. Small chunks of banana are ok, but should should mostly be mixed into a mush.
1 1/3 cup flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon (optional)
In a separate bowl, combine the dry ingredients. Add the dry ingredients to the bowl of wet ingredients and blend together. And if you're feeling adventurous, add one or two of the following optional ingredients:
1/2 cup chocolate chips
**1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
**1/2 cup dried cherries or apricots
** For today's bread, I added both the chocolate chips and the chopped walnuts!
Once the optional ingredients are folded into the batter, pour the mixture into a greased loaf pan. (For the record, the "greased" part is key!)
Bake 40-50 minutes (or a regular-sized loaf), or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove from the oven and let cool.
Enjoy as it is, or with a spread of butter!
