~ food ~
{angie}
I have been baking banana bread for years. I've made Betty Crocker's, Better Homes and Gardens, and numerous recipes off the Internet by everyone from the Food Network stars to the local bake sale queen. It's always good. But this one is by far my favorite for a few reasons. First it is full of banana flavor. Most recipes call for three bananas which makes two loaves of bread. Sorry kids, three brown bananas is only going to make us one loaf, but I promise it will be made up to you in flavor and moistness. Second, the ingredients are simple. Don't get me wrong, I'm totally a friend of cinnamon, nutmeg, chocolate chips or whatever else can be used to doctor up a loaf of banana bread. Truly though when you have this much concentrated flavor they are completely unnecessary. It's all about the rich banana flavor, which, let me tell you, is incredible. Finally, it uses shortening which makes it fluffy while still staying moist. Here's a science lesson--shortening doesn't have water in it; butter does. This gives butter a lower melting point than shortening which causes it to cook denser and crispier, especially toward the edges, while shortening allows it to puff up and cook evenly. This recipe is full of banana flavor and moist and fluffy through and through. After four good rounds of this bread, it is my (and my husband's) all time favorite.
Angie's Best Banana Bread
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup shortening
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs
3 ripe bananas
2 cups white flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Combine sugar, shortening, eggs and vanilla in a mixer. With the beaters running, add soft banana in chunks until well blended. Mix in flour and baking soda. Stir in nuts. Pour batter into a greased pan and bake for 1 hour 10 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
1/2 cup shortening
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs
3 ripe bananas
2 cups white flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Combine sugar, shortening, eggs and vanilla in a mixer. With the beaters running, add soft banana in chunks until well blended. Mix in flour and baking soda. Stir in nuts. Pour batter into a greased pan and bake for 1 hour 10 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.