Banana Bread

Ingredients

• 3–4 very ripe bananas, mashed to 1½ cups

• 1¼ cups granulated sugar

• ½ cup salted butter, softened

• 2 large eggs

• ½ cup buttermilk

• 1 tsp vanilla

• 2½ cups all-purpose flour

• 1 tsp baking soda

• 1 tsp salt

• 1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans, optional

• 1 cup of mini chocolate ship morsoles, optional

Crumb topping

• ½ cup all-purpose flour

• ½ cup packed brown sugar

• ½ tsp cinnamon

• ¼ cup cold butter, cut into small pieces

Directions

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease the bottom of a 9×5-inch loaf pan.

2. Beat the sugar and softened butter until fluffy. Beat in the eggs, then add mashed bananas, buttermilk, and vanilla.

3. Gently stir in the flour, baking soda, and salt just until combined. Fold in nuts if using. Betty Crocker specifically recommends avoiding overmixing so the bread stays tender.

4. Pour the batter into the loaf pan.

5. For the topping, mix flour, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Cut in the cold butter with a fork or your fingers until you have chunky crumbs. Mix in nuts if desired.

6. Sprinkle the crumb mixture generously over the batter.

7. Bake about 65–75 minutes, checking near the end. A toothpick inserted into the bread portion should come out clean or with a few moist crumbs. If the topping browns too quickly, loosely cover the loaf with foil.

8. Cool in the pan for about 10 minutes, then remove and cool completely on a rack.

Tip: Really spotty, almost black bananas give you the strongest banana flavor and sweetness.