Banana Bread

My husband took this banana bread into work a few weeks ago and a little birdy told me that someone said, "man, this is better than my wife's banana bread!"

Oops!

I'm sure my husband has said that before, and well...if he has, he better make damn sure that I don't find out about it because let's face it men, as the saying goes: "don't bite the hand that feeds you, because if you do, the mama lion will shred you into pieces before feeding you to a pack of angry, laughing hyenas."

Or, something along the lines of that...

Ingredients:

2 cups of all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp of baking soda
1/2 tsp of salt
5 overripe bananas
3/4 cup of sugar
1 1/2 sticks of SALTED butter, melted and slightly cooled(I use Darigold's CHEF'S CHOICE European style butter)
2 extra large eggs
1 tsp of vanilla extract
1/2 cup of semi sweet chocolate chips or pecans(optional)

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan.

In a bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

Melt your butter in the microwave. Set aside to cool, slightly.

In a large mixing bowl, add in your bananas and fork mash them first, to make them easier to work with. Add in your sugar, and using a hand mixer, whip them for about 2 more minutes. Add in the melted butter, eggs, and vanilla and beat well. Don't forget to scrape the sides. Mix in your dry ingredients well, using a spatula to prevent over mixing. Seeing some lumps is okay, cause that's mostly tiny banana chunks. Fold in your nuts, or chocolate chips(my kids' fav), if using.

Pour batter into prepared loaf pan. Give the pan a few good taps on the counter to help get rid of any air bubbles.

Bake for about 1 hour and 10 minutes to 1 hour and 15 minutes(or until toothpick inserted through center comes out clean). Rotate the pan every 20 minutes for even browning. Once done, allow the bread to cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Then, remove from pan, and place on wire rack until cooled COMPLETELY before slicing.

NOTES: If a crack develops down the center during baking, that is very normal. Or if the tops begin to look too brown for your liking, just tent the bread lightly with some foil for the last 15 minutes. Allowing the bread to cool completely is very important. It needs to finish cooking, and if you slice into it too soon, it will appear raw and undone. Also the tops of the bread may seem hard but after it finishes cooling, it softens. Banana bread also tastes better the next day! :)

Adapted from Tyler Florence's Banana Bread with Pecans Recipe.

Watch how to make it here.