today i made... banana bread!

and not just banana bread...
peanut butter banana bread! yum!

ok to be honest banana bread is not my favorite thing in the world but apparently joey likes it, so when i saw three perfectly overripe bananas i figured a loaf of banana-na-ny goodness was called for. i used a simple bare bones recipe from the pillsbury family cookbook. i love this old thing and want to use it a lot more. we picked it up at a church book sale, besides having some really simple classic recipes the beginning chapters on technique and meal planning are retro-wonderful.

(yeah i just said that)

i used basically the same recipe as the book with a couple of changes... i added a little over 1/4c. of creamy peanut butter and skipped the vanilla & the nuts.

ingredients:

2c. flour
1tsp. baking soda
1/2c. milk
3tsp. baking powder
1/2c. butter
1/4c. peanut butter (be generous!)
1c. sugar
2 eggs
3 medium bananas

(you can add 1/2c. of nuts if you'd like!)



preheat oven to 350.
mash bananas.
sift flour & baking soda in one bowl.
combine milk & baking powder in another bowl.

in another BIG bowl:

mix together (hand whisk is easiest, no need to get your mixer dirty!) butter, eggs, & peanut butter until creamy. then add your sugar a bit at a time until your mix is pretty smooth.

fold in your mashed bananas & mix well.

now add your dry ingredients and milk to the banana mixture. the trick here is to add a little of each alternately. as you get to the end of your milk & dry ingredients be sure to check the consistency of your batter... if it seems too runny add a little more flour, if too thick add milk.


{at 30 min. bake time}
bake at 350 for 45-65min.
bread should be springy when done
have a nice golden/honey crust
and a wooden skewer/tooth pick should come out clean

quick baking tip: your butter, eggs, peanut butter, & milk should be at room temperature before mixing together... makes for a much nicer smoother batter.

joe arrived home and immediately started eating the bread so he approves! little miss tried some earlier but was unimpressed... we'll try a little again tomorrow and see what she thinks. it usually take two tries for her to commit to an opinion on tastiness.

hope you give it a try... OR if you have a favorite banana bread try changing up some of the ingredients! add peanut butter, or nuts, 1/2c. seasonal berries, or even chocolate chips (okay must try that next time... it might convert me into a banana bread lover!)

love.

p.s. while reading this joe said "banana bread with chocolate chips, ew" so maybe he wouldn't like it... but since when does adding chocolate chips to something do anything but make it more fabulous?