I believe the best thing about bananas is banana bread. Sometimes I get overwhelmed with giant stalks ripening up at the same time. This recipe will use up more of them than the standard. The best part is, the bananas have to be frozen, so you get to decide when it’s time to bake.
Yellow bananas make for very bland banana bread. Don’t be afraid to let them sit on your counter until they get big brown spots, or better yet, start turning black. That’s when more starches have converted to sugar. Once they look awful, freeze them. When they thaw they will release a lot of liquid. That liquid gets cooked down and added back into the bread, which allows you to fit more bananas in one loaf of banana bread.
Cinnamon sugar gives the top a nice crust. It smells so good it’s hard to resist slicing it as soon as it comes out of the oven. But try to, because it will make it easier to remove from the pan. Even after allowing it to cool for the allotted time it will be warm enough inside to melt the butter you spread over your slice.
Cinnamon Pecan Banana Bread
Ingredients:
- 3 cups banana (about 5 large bananas or 12-15 small ones), frozen
- 1 3/4 cups flour
- 3/4 cup coconut sugar or light brown sugar
- 1 stick of butter, melted and cooled to room temperature
- 1/2 cup pecans, toasted and chopped
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon sugar or turbinado
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
Directions:
Remove the bananas from the freezer. Allow them to thaw enough to squeeze them out of their peels. Place them in a mesh strainer over a measuring cup or bowl to catch the liquid that drains out of them. Mash them with a fork. Allow them to sit for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Heat the oven to 350.
Grease an 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 loaf pan.
In a large bowl, whisk the flour with the baking soda, salt and 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon.
In a separate bowl, mix the butter, eggs, brown sugar and vanilla.
Pour the liquid collected from the bananas into a saucepan over medium low heat. Reduce it to 1/4 cup.
Add the bananas and reduced liquid to the wet ingredients. Fold the wet ingredients into the flour mixture gently. Add the pecans. Don’t over mix.
Pour the batter into the loaf pan. Mix the remaining 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon with the sugar or turbinado. Sprinkle it over the top.
Bake 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Allow it to cool for 10 minutes in the pan on a rack. Run a butter knife around the edges and invert the loaf to remove it, then replace it on the rack, allowing it to cool another 10 minutes.
