Best Banana Walnut Bread

In my head, banana walnut bread is one of those perfect breakfast foods that one should always keep on hand. While granola is my weekday go-to, banana bread seems suited for lazy weekend mornings, nibbling on something slightly sweet and slightly wholesome — there is fruit in it, after all — while sipping a bottomless cup of coffee and perusing the paper (or this).

While I love them, I have a very strict window with bananas: The peel must be bright yellow, with the slightest tinge of green on the top and bottom. Insides must be wholly unblemished, creating the perfect slightly sweet, slightly starchy treat. Since this stage lasts about oh … about a day, we made banana bread fairly often while I was growing up.

And in case you didn’t pick up on this before, I love it. It’s almost a caramel-y sweet, from the burnt sugars in the banana, incredibly moist and dense with cinnamon-y flavor, packed with nuts (and chocolate chips if you’re so inclined) and fills your home with bewitchingly delicious aromas. And this recipe, which I completely overhauled and almost botched in my attempts to un-fancify it, is the only one I’ll use from now on. It’s extremely easy, my self-sabotage aside, requires just one bowl and one spoon and only 20 minutes of your time. It was quite the hit with my family, who devoured most of it last night so that only a quarter of it remained for my breakfast this morning …

(Yes, I am eating it while typing this now. And the bread is so good that it motivated me to write this post, instead of continuing to marvel at the wonder that is Snooki’s book.)

Best Banana Walnut Bread

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Ingredients

• 1 stick (1/2 cup) butter, melted
• 1–1/2 cups very ripe banana, mashed (3 large)
• 2/3 cup brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1–1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 2/3 cup sour cream (or Greek yogurt)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts (can also use pecans)

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Instructions

1. Mash the bananas and melted butter together with a wooden spoon in a large bowl. Make sure the pieces of the banana are very small, almost pureed. Add the sugar and eggs until well incorporated.
2. Add the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg and mix until just incorporated. Mix in the sour cream and vanilla until just combined. Stir in the nuts and pour into a buttered 9-x-5 loaf pan. Scatter some walnuts on top.
3. Bake at 350F for 1 hour, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let it rest for 10 minutes before flipping it out of the loaf pan and onto a plate to cool completely.

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Notes

Adapted very liberally from Martha Stewart