Sometimes in the midst of the plethora of sugary sweets, you want something that at least feels more healthy than a cookie. This banana bread is a lovely addition to a cookie tray, or wrap up little loaves & hand them out as gifts on their own.

This can easily be made with your favorite gluten-free flour blend as well – I’ve done it many times! The bananas help moisten those GF flours nicely. I tend to use bananas that are nearly all black so that they have an intense flavor and lots of moisture. Spelt will need to rest for a while before putting it into the pans so that the flour can absorb the moisture. 30 minutes should be sufficient. You can also swap the dairy out for a nut milk without a problem.

Banana Bread

This is a delicious quick banana bread recipe that will leave your family raving!  If we are having company over, I will make it into a loaf and slice it, but my girls love to have it made into muffins – they are the perfect size to add to a lunchbox or for a quick snack!

½  cup butter (or coconut oil)
1  cup sugar
2 eggs

¼  tsp. salt
2  cups flour (wheat, spelt, gluten-free all work)
½  tsp. baking soda
1 ½ tsp. baking powder

1 ½ Tbsp. milk (sour, if possible – see note) (nut milk works too – not sour)
1 tsp. vanilla

4 large ripe bananas – pureed*

½  cup chopped nuts (optional)
½  cup chopped dried fruit**

Preheat oven to 350°F.    In a large bowl, sift together flour, salt, baking soda, and baking powder.  In a separate container, combine milk and vanilla.

With a mixer, cream butter and sugar together.  Add eggs and beat.

Alternate dry goods with bananas and milk.  Stir in dried fruit and/or nuts.

Pour the wet dough into either a bread pan or muffin tins and bake.

• Bake in a loaf pan for 50 – 60 minutes.
• Bake in muffin tins or mini loaf pans for 35 – 45 minutes.

If you are using a glass or dark-sided pan, reduce the heat to 325°F, and extend the cooking time.

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This banana bread also bakes very well in a stone bread pan, stone muffin tins, or in a baking pan set on a baking stone.  Just make sure you do not set glass or corning ware directly on your stone, as it could cause them both to crack.

*Depending on how ripe they are, I often throw the bananas in whole & let the mixer break them up – the more ripe they are the better it works.  This method leaves you with small chunks of banana – quite tasty!

**We usually use chopped dried apricots or dried cranberries.

note: to make sour milk simply add a dash of lemon juice or vinegar to the milk.  For this small amount of milk, I generally just use regular milk rather than sour.  Buttermilk also works very well in this recipe.

The recipe will work with 3 bananas, however it will not be as moist.  Alternately, you can add 1/2 cup of applesauce in place of one of the bananas.

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This recipe is part of our Holiday Treats Series from December 2018. For more holiday recipes, visit our recipe page!

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