Banana Bread

Yummiest snack ever!

Everyone I know makes banana bread regularly. And everyone I know seems to love it. Banana bread is a staple in our house and it's probably one of the easiest baking chores I know. I'm almost happy to see bananas get too ripe, because that means banana bread is on the menu!

My favorite banana bread recipe comes from this cookbook:

The Clueless Baker by Evelyn Raab is one of my favorite cookbooks ever, with many simple but yummy recipes, including a killer carrot cake. It's out of print now, but perhaps you can find it a second-hand store. Raab also wrote another great cookbook, Clueless in the Kitchen: A Cookbook for Teens, another great basic cookbook, which is still in print. (Don't let the 'teen' in the title scare you -- it's perfect for a beginning cook of any age!)

Blender Banana Bread is so simple it's really a sin. And you can modify anyway you want, and really, you don't need to make it in a blender. I just use a hand mixer.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup sugar (*I use about a 1/2 cup)

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 ripe bananas

2 eggs

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, stir together flour, sugar and baking soda.

Put oil, bananas and eggs into another bowl (or the blender!) and mix/blend to a smooth goo.

Pour the banana mixture into the flour mix and stir until combined.

Pour into a well-greased loaf pan and bake for about an hour.

NOTE: *I cut back the sugar because it seemed like a lot and I usually add a handful of chocolate chips. You don't notice the difference.

Batter in a pan, ready to bake!

You can add in "extras," which I often do. Just throw in 3/4 cup of anything or combination of anything: nuts, chocolate chips, raisins, etc. Change it up every time! My favorite is mini-chocolate chips. Delish!