The Perfect Banana Bread

When my daughter was very little, the sound of an electric mixer freaked her out. I don’t know why, but she cried every time she heard it. So I came across this recipe for banana bread that touted itself as requring "only one bowl and a wooden spoon.” Sounded like the perfect recipe at the time and it’s now been a family favorite for over two years. (I make this as a “treat” in our house because it’s not the healthiest recipe with a whole cup of sugar and all white flour…I suppose I could try tweaking it with less sugar and substituting some whole wheat flour, but I am reluctant to mess with perfection!)

* (Update: 4/5/11 - I made this today using 3/4 cup whole wheat flour and 3/4 cup white flour, and cut the sugar down to 3/4 cup. It still turned out very yummy!)

The Easiest and Best Banana Bread



3 – 4 mashed ripe bananas
1/3 c. melted butter
1 c. sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. soda
Pinch of salt
1 ½ c. flour

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Mix butter into mashed bananas with a wooden spoon.
Mix in the sugar, egg and vanilla.
Sprinkle soda and salt over the top and mix in.
Last, add the flour and mix in just until moistened.
Pour into a greased 4x8 loaf pan.
Bake about 1 hour. Remove to wire rack to cool.