Mom - this blog post is going to make you famous! This recipe is for my mom's banana bread. I don't know where the original recipe came from, but my mom has been using it for years, so I'm giving her the credit. It is a simple one-bowl recipe that can easily be adapted to make so many different types of quick bread or muffins. It makes one 9x5 loaf pan or 12 muffins. Here is a little story just to prove how good it is: My mom is an in-home day care provider. One of the kids that my mom cared for had such fond memories of this bread that when she went to college, she asked my mom for this recipe so she could make it herself. It is moist with good flavor and it hasn't done me wrong yet!
The original recipe is for a regular Plain Jane banana bread, but I have tried the following variations with success.
-Add chocolate chips - that is a no brainer!
-Substitute grated zucchini for the banana to make it a local food friendly bread in the summer.
-Add ground flaxseed to the batter and sprinkle on top to boost the health factor.
-Lately I have been substituting maple syrup for the 1/2 cup of white sugar.
-Top with grated coconut and replace some of the veggie oil with melted coconut oil.
-Last week I had about 3/4 cup of leftover pumpkin puree in the fridge. During the summer, I pureed and froze peaches in ice cube trays. I thought the combination of those two would work well together so I omitted the bananas completely and used the pumpkin along with 6 thawed peach cubes. I added some fresh grated nutmeg and the muffins were awesome!
Today I used the recipe to make a traditional banana bread with some healthy additions and I made it into 9 mini loaves. I topped it with flaxseed, coconut, and brown sugar. They turned out moist, soft, and yummy.
Here is the recipe that I used today:
1. Combine 1 cup flour, 3/4 teaspoon baking soda, 1/2 teaspoon baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon. In the same bowl add 1/2 cup veggie oil, 2 eggs, 1/4 cup brown sugar, 1/4 cup white sugar, 1/4 cup maple syrup. Mix until smooth.
2. Add 2 mashed bananas. Mix until smooth.
3. Grease bread, muffin, or mini loaf pan with oil. Divide batter evenly.
4. In a small bowl combine 2 tablespoons of ground flaxseed, 2 tablespoons of shredded coconut, and 1 tablespoon of brown sugar. Mix and sprinkle on top of the batter.
5. Bake at 350 F. The length of time will vary depending on what you bake it in. For these mini loaves, it took 15 minutes. If you bake it in a bread pan, it may take 50 minutes or so. If the top is browning, but the middle is not cooked yet, top with a piece of aluminum foil and continue baking until done.
Here is the original Mom's Banana Bread recipe.
1. Combine 1 cup flour, 3/4 teaspoon of baking soda, 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon.
2. In the same bowl, add 1/2 cup of veggie oil, 1/2 cup of white sugar, 1/2 cup of brown sugar, and 2 eggs. Mix until smooth.
3. Stir in 3 mashed bananas. Add 1/2 chopped walnuts (optional).
4. Bake at 350 F for about 50 minutes if baking in a 9x5 loaf pan or about 15 minutes if making muffins.
