Confession: I stress bake. There, I said it. Now you know my deepest, darkest secret. I don’t stress eat, which is fantastic. Instead, I set off a bomb in my kitchen baking things and then pawn the results off on other people. My roommate is my typical victim when a baking attack hits. And for those of you who don’t know, I live with a boy- who isn’t my boyfriend…which seems to confuse the world. My living situation is like one long episode of New Girl. And I love it. And he loves it too. Because honestly what college guy doesn’t want baked goods pawned off on them without the expectation of anything in return? He doesn’t have to buy me flowers, take me on dates, or write me love notes. I just bake, and he just eats. Kid’s got it made.
Anyway, I have a giant research paper due in approximately 40 hours. And I’m just now starting. Scratch that… I’m thinking about starting. Obviously I’m sitting here writing this instead of writing what I’m supposed to write. I set my alarm for 6 a.m. to get an early start at the library. And what did I do instead? Hit the snooze button, woke up at 8, and baked banana bread. Because I just couldn’t cope with the idea of being cooped up in that stuffy library all day researching who knows what.
This recipe is near and dear to my heart. My mom always baked it when I was growing up and I never met another mom in all my childhood who’s banana bread measured up. It was her mom’s (my Grammy Rose’s) recipe and it’s written down on a faded and yellowed recipe card, like all the best recipes are. It gets a dark, crispy edge on the outside, and is so moist on the inside. It’s a classic that is absolutely to die for. So give it a shot and let me know what you think! Hopefully my mother doesn’t kill me for sharing the secret family recipe.
(Poor Tuck didn't get to taste test... but not for lack of trying.)
INGREDIENTS
¼ lb. butter, softened
1 ¼ cup sugar
Dash of salt
2 eggs
2 Tbsp. sour cream
3-4 large ripe bananas, mashed
1 ½ cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
(Optional: 1/4 cup chocolate chips or walnuts)*
DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Cream together butter, sugar, and salt
Add the rest of the ingredients and mix until combined
Pour into greased loaf pan
Bake for 1 hour- 1 hour & 10 minutes
Let cool**
Dust with powdered sugar
* If adding chocolate chips or nuts, coat them with just a little bit of flour so they don’t sink to the bottom of the bread. Also feel free to add way more that 1/4 cup. I never discriminate against more chocolate chips.
** Unfortunately, you really HAVE to let this cool. It doesn’t have to be completely room temp, but if you try to take it out when it’s still hot, you will leave the bottom half of your bread stuck to the pan. Trust me, I’ve done it 80 times because I’m impatient.