In Bill's Kitchen title image
In Bill's Kitchen
(Mostly) healthy recipes with a lot of spice and a little snark...
top of page arrow
CAROL'S BANANA BREAD

CAROL'S BANANA BREAD









Carol's Banana Bread

Ingredients:

1 cup sugar

4 Tablespoons butter

2 Tablespoons vegetable oil

1 Tablespoon vanilla

2 cups flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 cup orange juice

1 egg

1/2 cup nuts

3 very ripe bananas


Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Spray the inside of a loaf pan with cooking spray.

Cream the butter and sugar together. Sift the dry ingredients together and add them to the creamed butter with a mixer.

In a seperate bowl, loosley mash the bananas and stir in the vanilla, vegetable oil, orange juice and egg.

Combine both bowls by hand until the flour is incorporated and lumps are gone.. Do not overmix. Add the nuts. Pour into prepared loaf pan.

Bake for approximately 45-60 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean.


Notes:

Let it cool before cutting into it.

That's a joke. Spreading a piece of warm banana bread with fresh butter is one of life's greatest pleasures. Just try not to eat it all at once.

When we say very ripe bananas, we mean VERY RIPE bananas. If they aren't black and shriveled on the outside and looking more like a vanilla bean than a banana, you're doing it wrong. Alternatively, save your overripe bananas in the freezer until you are ready to make the banana bread.

I wasn't going to publish this recipe, but the index card it is written on is more than 50 years old, and starting to dissolve. I couldn't risk losing it...even though Carol knows it by heart...or maybe by muscle memory...

P.S. It has been generally accepted by scholars that this banana bread is perfection and not to be improved upon. The scholars were wrong. As it turns out, adding blueberries to the mix makes me swoon.

To prevent the berries from falling to the bottom and making the loaf soggy, toss them in flour before adding them to the batter.
Chipotle Chicken Taco Filling Chicken Tikka Masala Habanero Salsa Baked Chicken Thighs Coffee Creamer Spicy Rum Guava Glaze Lemon Poppy Seed Scones Ginger Chicken Meatballs with Spicy Pickles Carne Picada Pineapple Salsa Seasoned Salt Masala Rice Carol's Carrot Cake Tequila Lime Chicken Buffalo Chicken Meatballs Sam's Cioppino Raspberry Brie Puff Pastry Chicken Gallaba Roasted Salsa Verde Magic Squares Honey Cumin Stuffed Peppers Red Lentil Dahl with Mushrooms