Recipe Club!

Hi!! Happy Wednesday!

I hope you're having a great week so far!

It's a big day at our house- it's the first day of school for Charlotte and Cora!!

The girls wanted to bring their teachers a little something this morning to say "Happy 1st Day of School!" - so we baked them some banana bread!

And it was so perfect that we did- because I planned on sharing the recipe today here on the blog and I actually remembered to take some pictures of the us making the bread! HA!

I am joining my wonderful friends, Heather and Johannah, for their Recipe Club link up!

They just created this ADORABLE new graphic...I just love it!! If you have a blog and yummy recipes to share- plan on linking up with them- every 3rd Wednesday of the month! 

Okay- so I feel like everyone has their "favorite" banana bread recipe...but I am going to just throw it out and say my recipe is the BEST. HA! It's the recipe my mom gave me about 10 years ago and I have tweaked it just a bit. 

Here's what you will need to make 2 loaves of banana bread- or this recipe will make 24-30 muffins depending on how much batter you put in each muffin "compartment."

First- preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
Then cream together 1 1/2 cups sugar and 1 stick of unsalted, ROOM TEMPERATURE butter. You will definitely need a hand or stand mixer to make this recipe...as the ingredients need to be well blended.

After your butter and sugar have been creamed together, add 2 eggs and mix well.

Now it's time to add your bananas! I know most recipes say to mash your bananas prior to adding them- I just add them whole! I use really ripe bananas and they get totally mixed in just fine! After you add your bananas, it's time to add a 1/2 cup pumpkin puree (or applesauce). This is a "secret" ingredient :) It makes the muffins super moist!! Don't worry if you don't like pumpkin- you don't taste it AT ALL once the bread is baked!

After you add the pumpkin puree....the batter looks a little weird. Don't worry! 
This is normal :)

Now it's time to add your dry ingredients...3 cups of flour, 2 teaspoons baking powder, 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon.
Be careful when you turn on your mixer...you might get a little flour shower! :)
I cover my mixer with a dish towel until all the dry ingredients get incorporated...helps big time with the mess! 

And here is what the finished batter looks like!

Time to pour the batter into our 2 loaf pans! Don't I have the cutest helpers??
While I was making this bread the girls were over at the kitchen table playing "Chopped Junior" with play doh. It was SO cute and hysterical!!

A "special" touch we add to our banana bread is cinnamon sugar on top! 
Take a mixture of cinnamon and sugar (I always have some made in a shaker) and sprinkle it generously on top of each unbaked loaf of bread.
Bake your bread for about 40-45 minutes- depending on your oven. You want to be able to stick a knife in the middle of the bread and it to come out clean. BUT- with that being said- you don't want to OVER bake your bread or it will be really dry. And nobody likes dry, crumbly banana bread. HA! Just really keep an eye on it the last 5 minutes of baking time!

And here are the 2 finished loaves of cinnamon sugar topped banana bread!! The cinnamon/sugar mixture gives the bread a kind of sweet, crunchy top to it and the inside and moist and so yummy! 

This is definitely a "go-to" recipe for me- I always make sure to have bananas on hand- and all of the other ingredients are just typical pantry items. I love baking a big batch of muffins and putting them in the freezer for the kids to have for breakfast or a snack. This is also the perfect bread to make for a friend who just had a baby or maybe someone who just needs a pick me up! What says, "Hey! I am thinking about you!" better than a warm loaf of homemade banana bread?!? :)

Here's the full recipe for you! If you click on the image- you can save it on your desktop and even print it out if you want!

I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as our family does!!

Happy Baking and I hope you have the BEST day!