Whole Wheat Banana Bread Recipe

Knitzalot asked for the recipe for the banana bread I baked a couple weeks ago, and so I thought I would post it here, in case anyone else might want to try it as well. Sorry its taken a while, but I've been knitting away at some dresses after all. So without further ado, below is my modified version of a basic banana bread recipe found in the Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook.

Now, I'm not one to monkey around with baking recipes all that much. Bad things can happen when you mess around with the ingredients. That said, I will, however, play with flavorings and make other minor tweaks here and there. In this case, I used whole wheat flour in place of regular all-purpose flour and I used a little more banana and, therefore, cut down on the granulated sugar the recipe originally called for. Oh, and I added extra nuts. But for me that's pretty standard place in my kitchen. I like nuts, and always err on the "generous" side when adding them. (Same goes for garlic when I cook with it. Nothin' wrong with a little extra garlic, I say!) But, back to the recipe!

1 3/4 c. whole wheat flour
approx. 1/2 c. sugar
2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. baking soda
1/4 t. salt
3 ripe bananas, mashed (about 1 1/4 cups)
1/3 c. butter
2 T. milk
2 eggs
1/4 c. plus a little extra chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large mixer bowl combine 1 cup of the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add mashed banana, butter, and milk. Beat in an electric mixer on low speed until blended, then on high speed for 2 minutes. Add eggs and remaining flour, beat until blended. Stir in walnuts.

Pour batter into a greased 8x4x2-inch loaf pan. (Nonnahs' baking tip of the day: if you want the rounded loaf top shape, only grease the bottom and part way up the sides of the pan instead of all the way to the top. This goes for rounded cake, cupcake, and muffin tops as well.)

Bake at 350 degrees for 55 to 60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack. Note: the recipe says to wait until completely cooled (it actually says cool overnight) but -hello? Who can resist warm bread fresh out of the oven? I say slice into that thing whenever you want. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: You may not enjoy the banana bread as much as the Peanuts enjoy their baby food, but I hope you'll enjoy it anyway!

PS: Madge- Apricot bread - sounds yummy!