Not My Gram's Banana Bread

Grandmothers seem to come standard with at least one recipe that is famous to their grandchildren.  Jeff's grandma Janeen makes ridiculously fluffy white rolls. His grandma Jean was known for her Sunday dinners, which maybe isn't exactly a recipe, but Jeff loved her Sunday dinner potatoes. My grandma Sybil mixed up a mean tofu and graham cracker snack. That's kind of infamous, but loveable nonetheless. My gram Dorothy, she is world renowned for her banana bread.

No one can make her recipe like she can. Trust me, many have tried, all have failed. I even received careful instruction by her own loving hand, but if she doesn't touch the recipe at all herself, it does not taste the same.  It's almost magical. 

I decided I had to give up trying to duplicate the phantasm and move on to creating my own arsenal of grandma recipes, and that's how this bread came into our lives. I make it weekly, I make it with all-purpose flour, I make it with all whole wheat flour, I make it with toddlers, and it's always delicious.

Seriously, it's really delicious. It usually doesn't last a day before it's all eaten. Also, it earns bonus points for being so easy to make. This bread is an angel, just like grandmas.

Not My Gram's Banana Bread

recipe adapted slighty from Deb

Ingredients
3 to 4 ripe bananas
1/3 C melted salted butter
3/4 C brown sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 tsp vanilla
1 Tbsp vanilla, butter, and nut flavoring (optional)
1 tsp baking soda
pinch of salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon (I like Saigon cinnamon best)
hearty dash of cardamon
1 1/2 C (190 g or 9.5 oz) of all-purpose flour- I always weigh the flour for this recipe

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

In a large glass mixing bowl (pyrex, 6-8 cup measurer, or whatever microwaveable bowl you have), melt the butter.  Add the bananas to the melted butter, and smash them all together. Mix in the sugar, beaten egg, and extracts. Sprinkle the spices, baking soda, and salt all over the top of the mixture, then stir thoroughly. Add in the flour, gently mix until combined, pour into a large loaf pan and bake until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 50 minutes to an hour. I start checking mine at 45 minutes and always get it right at the almost clean toothpick stage, with like one or two lingering crumbs, and it's perfect.

You can use the same amount of frozen bananas for this recipe, just defrost them first and pour off most of the extra liquid, then mix in the melted butter.

You may also substitute the same amount (by weight) of whole wheat flour for the all-purpose flour. It makes a heavy, hearty loaf, as opposed to a light and fluffy one. I love both.