Marcy Goldman's Banana Bread

New favorite banana bread recipe!! Not too banana-y. Not rubbery or too dense. Not light and fluffy either. Just moist with an adequate banana flavor and a medium crumb. I love banana bread as is but ever since I first added a cinnamon brown sugar layer in my loaves, years ago, I was hooked. I would have never guessed that cinnamon would taste good in banana bread but the combination is wonderful. I had a bit of the cinnamon mixture left over so I sprinkled a bit on top of the loaves before baking as well. This recipe is from my "A Passion for Baking" by Marcy Goldman book. I've had pretty good luck with this book so far!

But if you have some over ripe bananas sitting around, try this recipe. I made a double recipe and it filled 7 mini loaf pans and used 4 medium bananas.

From "A Passion for Baking" by Marcy Goldman

Old Fashioned Fragrant Banana Bread
From "A Passion for Baking" by Marcy Goldman

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup banana, mashed (use very ripe bananas)
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup walnuts, chopped (I left these out)
• It's not in the recipe but I added a cinnamon/brown sugar layer in the middle of my loaves. About 1 cup of brown sugar mixed with a teaspoon of cinnamon. Fill loaf pan partway with batter - sprinkle a thin layer of cinnamon mixture, then more batter.
  

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
3. Generously spray a 9” x 5” loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray and place pan on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet.
4. In a mixer bowl, cream butter and sugar until well blended.
5. Add eggs, banana, sour cream, and vanilla.
6. Fold in flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, scraping bowl often.
7. Mix on low speed; then fold in walnuts.
8. Spoon batter into prepared pan.
9. Bake until bread springs back when gently pressed with fingertips, 50 to 55 minutes (it may have a crack in the center, this is common).
10. If bread seems not quite done, reduce oven temperature to 325°F and bake 10 to 15 more minutes.
11. Cool in pan 20 minutes; then turn out and cool on a wire rack.