Cinnamon Banana Bread

I am not sure what your mornings are like but ours can be rushed and often lead to missing the most important meal of the day.  Now I have never been good about breakfast but especially now that I am pregnant I am trying really hard to make more of a conscious effort.  So having something on hand and ready to go is definitely a must.  And my husband loves nothing more then a slice of homemade banana bread with his morning cup of tea.  Having something that is ready to go in the morning can be a true money saver because it saves that quick Starbucks pastry purchase when you realize you are hungry a few hours later.  This recipe makes two loaves so I carefully wrap one of them up and put it in the freezer so that I have one on hand for later on.  It also makes great free gifts during the holiday season, or any season for that matter.  For this batch I decided to do something a little different to my regular banana loaf and to results turned out to be a keeper.

Cinnamon Banana Bread

1 1/2 c. over ripe mashed bananas

1 Tbsp vanilla

1 c. unsweetened apple sauce

1/2 c. sugar

2 eggs

1/2 c. buttermilk

2 c. whole wheat pastry flour (or all-purpose if you prefer)

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
2 tsp ground cinnamon

3/4 c. chopped walnuts

1/4 c. unsalted butter

1/4 c. brown sugar

One of the key little secrets to amazing banana bread is getting the bananas right.  You want to get your bananas nice and overripe.  This helps concentrate the sugars in the bananas and makes them really easy to mash.  To do this put your bananas in the freezer at least 2-3 days.  Then when you are ready just take them out of the freezer and allow to defrost in room temperature.  

Then mash your bananas with your vanilla, apple sauce and sugar until it is well blended; add the eggs and buttermilk.  One trick that I use that I would strongly recommend is to buy powdered buttermilk.  It lasts for a lot longer then if you buy fresh and if you are like me you don't use it often enough to justify spending the money on fresh.  I have found it to be very comparable to fresh for use in baking.





In a seperate bowl combine your flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg; then slowly beat in the flour mixture to your wet mixture.

Pour mixture into a well greased bread pan; leaving a good inch and a half at the top to allow for the bread to rise.






In a sauce pan melt butter, brown sugar and walnuts until the sugar is melted and it becomes a paste.






Pour sugar paste over the top of your bread mixture.  Put the bread in a 350 degree pre-heated oven and bake for 55 minutes, or until a toothpick can be inserted into the center and comes out clean.  Cool for 10 minutes before you try to remove it from the pans onto a wire rack.