Best Recipe for Banana Nut Bread

Mmmmm the smell of banana nut bread baking in the oven is so warm and inviting.

  I love to bake on cold days and this past Monday was cold and blustery for sure.  I even saw a few snow flakes!  

We didn't get any snow last year so I DID enjoy watching the flakes fall.  I decided it would be a great day to make banana bread.  People ask me all of the time for the recipe so I thought I would share it on my blog. The snow flakes didn't stick around very long and neither did the banana bread haha!

I will give you the recipe  below but just a couple of side notes.

1)  When I have bananas that get too ripe before we can eat them, I pop them in the freezer.  When you're ready to bake you can remove them and just let them thaw in a bowl for a bit.  After they thaw, remove the peel.  Hold them over the bowl when you do this because they will be slimy and will slide right out of the peeling. Mash them up a bit with a potato masher or a fork.

2)The recipe calls for butter.  You need to use the real stuff.
3) I make this a few different ways....  You can use the whole batch in one bundt pan. Sometimes I split the batter in half and put them in loaf pans, like I did today.  When I split it I can put one in the freezer and it also allows me to mix it up a bit. For example today I made one with nuts and one with chocolate chips YUM!  Or you could do one with nuts and one without. 

If you try this recipe let me know what you think.  If you tweak it or have any other great ideas let me know. I would love to hear.

Jerri's Banana Bread
1 1/2 sticks of unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 cup unbleached all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup mashed ripe bananas, or previously frozen using method above (I usually use 3 or 4)
1/2 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup chopped walnuts if desired

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. spray bundt pan or loaf pans with non-stick cooking spray. With mixer, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, beating well.
In a separate bowl combine the dry ingredients and mix together with a whisk to combine.  Add the dry ingredients to butter mixture, gradually.
Add bananas, sour cream and vanilla, combine well. Stir in nuts if desired and pour batter into prepared baking dish.
Place in preheated oven and bake until cake tester comes out clean. This will take approximately an hour for a bundt pan but less for loaf pans.
Serve with butter or a sprinkle of powdered sugar if desired.

Enjoy!