Banana Bread Heaven

Come in really close! Even closer! I'm about to share a recipe that I've held close since I was a child, if not for how light and spongy the outcome is, then how simple the recipe itself is, making it the first thing I baked when I moved out of my childhood home. Even when set aside and frozen for another day, (which happened a lot for us growing up), it was still always my first pick.

A little backstory.

I’m from a big family, both in number, and in size (vertical). My father worked two jobs, and my mother briefly had a baking business, in which her main wares were pies, cobblers, and cookies. It did fairly well at the time, as her baking talent was and still is exquisite, and she ended up selling to stores and individuals across the country.

She had a system: A day dedicated to making crust, a day dedicated to prepping the mix, a scheduled day and time to actually make all of this in an industrial kitchen, and lastly, a day designated for shipping and local deliveries. All of this, she did with us in tow. Most of the time, I even helped, which amongst other elements, made it a true family business.

This is where the banana bread comes in. Amongst other breads, muffins, and seemingly random sweets, my mom’s classic banana bread was something no one could keep their hands off of. While she didn’t sell it to anyone other than very close relatives, she still made it in multiple batches to then freeze, so that my siblings and I were able to just grab some and go whenever we liked. That way, it gave her a bit more time to do what she needed to do, and it kept us fed. If she ever couldn’t bake it for us, we knew to look into her recipe binder (quite a large compilation, I’m sure you can imagine) to find it and make it for ourselves. We always just had to remember to double the recipe, something that became a bit of an issue for me now, as I live in a small apartment with my husband, and I always make way too much, even to freeze.

As mentioned earlier, this recipe became the first that I baked after moving away from my large family, not only for nostalgia’s sake, but because of what we had at the time. However, after biting into it, I remember feeling disappointed. Not because it tasted any different, or it didn’t give me the same feelings, but because I couldn’t share it with my family right then and there. Surely, there will be more opportunities, as that first time has opened the floodgates of baking for me, but nothing could’ve beat that feeling of being an adult in my own home, baking for myself, and then having my family taste it to prove that my skills aren’t as bad as everyone jokes they are. It was ONE TIME.

Don't tell my mother, but the recipe that I will always rave about is as follows:

1 ½ cup Flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

10 tablespoons Butter (1 1/4 stick)

½ cup Granulated Sugar

½ cup Brown Sugar

2 eggs

2 Bananas; very ripe (the more ripe, the better)

1 cup shredded coconut (optional)

1/2 cup Walnuts (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350F. Prepare 9x5 pan.

Sift the flour, baking soda, and salt together in a medium bowl, set aside.

Cream butter and sugars in a large bowl until creamy. Slowly add eggs and bananas while mixing. Then slowly add the dry ingredients.

Mix in any optional flavored ingredients, leaving 2 tablespoons to sprinkle on top.

Bake loaf for 60-70 minutes, until nicely browned on top.

Take out to cool, and enjoy.

This can also be turned into muffins for an amazing breakfast! But be careful! Though it is filling enough, it's very easy to eat more than originally planned.