Cooking Goddess' Mom's Banana Nut Bread

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Cooking Goddess

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1/2 cup shortening (butter, margarine, or "Crisco") *
1 cup sugar (can use sugar substitute such as Splenda) **
2 eggs
3 ripe bananas, mashed
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
2 cups flour, sifted
1/2 cup chopped walnuts, optional

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

Grease bottom only of loaf pan. I use a non-stick metal pan, not a dark metal.

Cream butter or margarine with sugar.
Add slightly beaten eggs; add mashed bananas.
Sift dry ingredients together. Add to mixing bowl slowly until combined.
Fold in nuts.
Bake at 325 for about an hour. Test and bake to 200-205 internal temperature.


I make this in my stand mixer, a vintage Oster Kitchen Center that was my Mom's. No wonder it tastes just like when she made it. :heart:


* I make it with half butter/half quality stick margarine (such as Land o' Lakes or Imperial) because (you guessed it) that's how Mom did it.

** I use 1/2 cup Splenda, 1/2 cup sugar.
 
You are very welcome, Cheryl. Unlike some families who refuse to give away family recipes, I'm more than happy to share the love. :heart: I'll be interested to know how you like it. There are so many different recipes for banana bread (I know, I must have tried at least 20 over the same number of years), and so many people claim "this one" is the very best. I know this one is best to my taste buds. It's OK if you only put it into your top 5 or 10. ;)

BTW, the walnuts are optional. I did try it with black walnuts recently - decided I prefer the English walnuts instead. I wanted to make the next one with pistachios, but Himself said he doesn't like them baked. He does enjoy them uncooked, though, when I toss them into salads or finished-cooking foods.
 
DH doesn't like walnuts or pecans :ohmy: so I tried banana bread with toasted pine nuts. It's more subtle but very good. I [emoji813] banana bread [emoji2]
 
While I missed National Banana Bread Day the first time it came around (1-21), it looks like I have a chance to redeem myself. According to "Days of the Year", 2-23 is also a "Banana Bread Day". :rolleyes: Nuts, right? :LOL: I do know I'll be adding walnuts to my batter on Saturday.

I mostly think these "National Day of..." things can get quite silly, but there is nothing foolish about a good loaf of banana nut bread. Take my word for it, my Mom's recipe is good. :yum:

Gotta take some 'nanners out of the freezer...
 
Nowadays, I always make banana nut muffins instead of a loaf. Same recipe, just baked in muffin tins. They only need to bake for about 20 - 25 minutes. No need to slice, so fewer crumbs going to waste.
 
While I missed National Banana Bread Day the first time it came around (1-21), it looks like I have a chance to redeem myself. According to "Days of the Year", 2-23 is also a "Banana Bread Day". :rolleyes: Nuts, right? :LOL: I do know I'll be adding walnuts to my batter on Saturday.

I mostly think these "National Day of..." things can get quite silly, but there is nothing foolish about a good loaf of banana nut bread. Take my word for it, my Mom's recipe is good. :yum:

Gotta take some 'nanners out of the freezer...

CG, why do you think they are silly? I think they are fun. I also think your mom's bread sounds good. I forgot to put bananas on the shopping list, so no baking today but I did copy the recipe for later. Thanks ;)
 
It's not like I said they're stupid, cookie. :rolleyes: Some of them are just too obviously a marketing gimmick to gin up interest in a product. As someone who took a few marketing classes back in my youth, I get tired of the whole product-pushing scheme of it all. - Aren't you glad I asked? :mrgreen:

No banana bread for us today. I've never tried making it with previously frozen bananas. They. Were. Gross. :sick: I tossed them, fearing that there was just too much liquid in them and the bread would have been gummy.

Bananas going on the shopping list for next trip out...
 
It's not like I said they're stupid, cookie. :rolleyes: Some of them are just too obviously a marketing gimmick to gin up interest in a product. As someone who took a few marketing classes back in my youth, I get tired of the whole product-pushing scheme of it all. - Aren't you glad I asked? :mrgreen:

No banana bread for us today. I've never tried making it with previously frozen bananas. They. Were. Gross. :sick: I tossed them, fearing that there was just too much liquid in them and the bread would have been gummy.

Bananas going on the shopping list for next trip out...

Well, if it was Nat'l Campbells Mushroom Soup day, I could see it as product pushing, but not if it was Nat'l Mushroom day. I still think it's fun. lol But I also am so sick of product pushing. It seems that on TV they spend more time on ads than they do on the show. Thank goodness for Netflix lol

Sorry about your bananas.
 
It's not like I said they're stupid, cookie. :rolleyes: Some of them are just too obviously a marketing gimmick to gin up interest in a product. As someone who took a few marketing classes back in my youth, I get tired of the whole product-pushing scheme of it all. - Aren't you glad I asked? :mrgreen:

I agree completely. Food companies lobby Congress to declare these days, weeks, months, for marketing purposes. I also took a few marketing classes and wrote a paper about the psychology of advertising. That was over 30 years ago and it was quite enlightening.

No banana bread for us today. I've never tried making it with previously frozen bananas. They. Were. Gross. :sick: I tossed them, fearing that there was just too much liquid in them and the bread would have been gummy.

Bananas going on the shopping list for next trip out...

The Cooks Illustrated recipe for Ultimate Banana Bread specifically calls for using thawed frozen bananas. You reduce the liquid and add the resulting banana essence to the batter. It really amps up the banana flavor. Give it a try.

https://www.browneyedbaker.com/best-banana-bread-recipe/
 
I always used frozen bananas for the bread, and now I use them for smoothies. I always freeze the bananas when they get overly ripe, and when I use them, I thaw them slightly, just enough to soften the skin, then slip it off, then use the frozen banana in a smoothie, or thaw completely for other recipes. The flavor of these bananas are intense.
 
...
The Cooks Illustrated recipe for Ultimate Banana Bread specifically calls for using thawed frozen bananas. You reduce the liquid and add the resulting banana essence to the batter. It really amps up the banana flavor. Give it a try.

https://www.browneyedbaker.com/best-banana-bread-recipe/
You beat me to it. But, that's just as well. I didn't remember
who came up with the idea of reducing the liquid. I just remembered that we had discussed it here.

Before I learned that trick, I just drained the bananas and substituted the liquid for part of the other liquid in my recipe. If I am feeling lazy, I skip the reducing part.
 
...The Cooks Illustrated recipe for Ultimate Banana Bread specifically calls for using thawed frozen bananas. You reduce the liquid and add the resulting banana essence to the batter. It really amps up the banana flavor. Give it a try.

https://www.browneyedbaker.com/best-banana-bread-recipe/

I think I might have tried this recipe. Before I found my Mom's recipe card, I must have tried at least 20 other versions - online, my cookbooks, friends recipes. Some were too wet, some too crumbly, so many were just too much "banana". In fact, the only two ways I eat bananas are fresh or in this bread. Can't stand them any other way.

For our taste buds, none of them satisfied as much as Mom's. [emoji813] Thanks for the suggestion, though.
 
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I've tried banana bread so many ways and keep going back to my mom's recipe. I'll try this one (like I've said before) :LOL:, CG.

I think I'll just let a few bananas ripen though, as I usually do. I've tried freezing them for future bread recipes and has been said, they are watery and gross. :ermm::LOL:
 
We keep bananas frozen for smoothies too..

I had not used them for other things until I made a banana cream pie last week.. I had none fresh so thawed some.. They were too juicy to slice for the pie so, I mashed them and added to the pudding I was making on the stove top.. Bad idea.. The pudding, in the pie shell, didn't set up and we had gloopy pie.. Had to eat it with a spoon.. I know I should have adjusted but, just didn't.. :rolleyes:

Ross
 
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