Recipe: Banana Bread

Chocolate chip banana bread. Cinnamon swirl banana bread. Marbled banana bread. There are a million banana bread recipes out there, and we're sure they're all amazing—but sometimes you just want the simple joy of homemade banana bread without all the extras. And if you're looking for a no-fail, basic banana bread recipe, this is the one for you!

Ingredients

• 1 stick butter (margarine is fine if you prefer)

• 2 eggs

• 1 cup mashed bananas (I usually use about 3)

• 2 cups flour

• 1 1/2 cup sugar

• 1 teaspoon baking soda

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

• 1 teaspoon vanilla

• 1 cup chopped nuts (can be omitted)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Grease and flour two loaf pans.

3. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.

4. Add in eggs, one at a time. Beat well.

5. In a separate bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.

6. Add mashed bananas to the butter/sugar mixture. Mix well.

7. Gradually add flour mixture to butter/sugar/bananas, mixing well and allowing flour mixture to incorporate before adding more.

8. Mix in vanilla.

9. If using nuts, fold in at this point. We've used walnuts or pecans, and both are nice. But mostly, we omit nuts altogether.

10. Pour into loaf pans, being careful not to fill to the top. It's best to keep them about 3/4 full.

11. Bake at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes or until center is firm.

12. Allow to cool, then slice and enjoy! And practice hospitality and give that extra loaf to a friend or neighbor before you eat it all.