Banana-Walnut Bread

This is a great super easy recipe that takes about 1/2 of prep time and 1 hour of cook time. It makes 1 loaf or 12-18 muffins.

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour. You can substitute wheat flour if you prefer.
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 2 eggs, room temperature
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus ~1 tbsp. for greasing the pan
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 3 very ripe bananas, peeled and mashed with a fork (it ends up being about 1 cup)
• 1/2 cup toasted walnuts, halved not chopped

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and (a) grease a 9”x5”x3”loaf pan with butter or line a muffin pan with muffin baking cups.
2. For the toasted walnuts, spread the walnuts on a cookie pan in a single layer and place in the oven for 5-10 minutes, or until golden. You will be able to smell the nuts toasting. If this is your first time toasting nuts, err on the side of under-toasting, over toasting will give them a burnt bitter taste. Stir nuts 1-2 times during the cooking time to toast them more evenly. Remove from oven and cool. If you are toasting smaller amounts like this, you can also do it on the stovetop by placing the nuts in a medium sized pot and toast over medium heat for 1-2 minutes. It is much easier to burn them over the stove to be careful and stir consistently. Set nuts aside to cool.
3. Meanwhile, sift the flour, baking soda and salt into a medium bowl. Set aside. Whisk the eggs and vanilla together in a small bowl. Set aside.
4. In a deep mixing bowl with a handheld mixer or a standing mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Pour the egg mixture into the butter while mixing to combine. Add the mashed bananas and remove the bowl from the mixture. The mixture may appear curdled, don’t worry, it should!
5. Chop the cooled, toasted walnuts into medium sized pieces.
6. With a spatula, mix in the flour mixture until combined. Fold in the chopped walnuts and transfer the batter to the loaf pan or evenly among the muffin tins.
7. Place in the 350 degree F oven and bake for (a) 55 minutes for the loaf or (b) 20-25 minutes for the muffins. These times may vary depending on oven so I always advise checking them and removing them when a toothpick inserted into the center of the bread comes out clean.
8. For the muffins, cool until room temp and they are ready to serve. For the loaf, cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes. Trace a knife around the edges of the bread and invert onto plastic wrap, removing the bread from the pan and let cool completely before wrapping completely in plastic wrap.
   

Cooks note: Banana bread is best if served the next day so I suggest making this the day before you want to serve it.