Banana Bread

Guess what?? My Mom surprised me with a fantastic birthday gift.... she bought me my KitchenAid stand mixer!!!!  YYEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!


So guess what I've been doing lately?  That's right.  Baking.  I have baked more in the last 3 weeks than I have baked in the last three years. 

Now that the rush of Christmas is over (and I failed to photograph the cheesecakes I made) I decided it was time to blog my first baked good.  There were several over-ripe bananas in the house, so it just made sense to attempt my first homemade banana bread.

Again, forgive the horrible photograph-- the photos will continue to be crappy till I ask for my next self-indulgent gift... a badass camera NOT attached to a cell phone :)

Ingredients:

2 c. flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 c. butter

1 c. sugar

3 RIIIIIIIIIIPE bananas, mashed

2 eggs, beaten

1 tsp. vanilla

1/2 c. milk (I use skim because that's what we drink)

cinnamon (enough to cover the top of the batter surface... I didn't measure :))

nutmeg (not as much as the cinnamon-- maybe about half the amount?)


Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 F. 

Grease and flour a loaf pan.  (Don't forget to grease the sides, too!)

Mix together the flour, baking soda, and salt in a bowl and set aside. (Don't mix in the sugar like I did the first time... I had to throw out a whole lotta flour, baking soda, salt, and sugar because I mixed them all together and shouldn't have.  That'll teach me to rush through directions.  Well, maybe.)

Cream together the butter and sugar.  (I didn't soften the butter, but the next time I make this I will in order for the "creaming" process to go more smoothly).

Add the mashed bananas, eggs, and vanilla to the sugar and butter mixture. 

Add the flour/baking soda/salt mixture-- do this a little at a time.  Trust me, you'll thank me later :)

Last, add the milk, cinnamon, and nutmeg. 

Beat together till well-blended.  Pour batter into pan and bake for at least an hour.  Depending on how "done" you like your banana bread, start checking it after an hour.  Personally, I like a little bit of a crust on my bread, so my total baking time was about 1 hour and 10 minutes. 

Remove from oven and let cool in the pan for 10-15 minutes. 

Remove from pan and set on cooling rack to finish cooling. 

... or, if you're like me, slice off a piece when it's cool enough to hold in your hands. Yuuuummmmmy!

Verdict:  KEEPER!