Banana Bread and Muffin Recipes

I think this is the best banana bread I've ever made. Granted, I've only tried three or four different recipes, but still....Betty Crocker's banana bread is one we've used for years but I was never satisfied with it because it was rather dry and not too flavorful. Usually Betty Crocker Cookbook has good recipes, but not so much here. One of my friends (Jenny Leding) posted a banana bread recipe that was good, very similar to this one. But I think I like this one a tiny bit better. :) I haven't compared them side by side, though. Oh, and there was a recipe that our friends/family made that was scrumptious, but when we tried it, it didn't turn out quite as well. Anyway, this is good, and maybe even better with the white chocolate chips (I haven't tried it that way, but the place I got this recipe said it was delicious). Enjoy!

Note: I used maybe a third of home-ground white wheat flour in mine. I also added chopped pecans and walnuts--you can't have banana bread without nuts! ;)

Banana Bread

Recipe from Amanda & Friends

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
2 cups mashed overripe bananas (the darker the better, practically)
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. cinnamon
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt

Optional:

1/2 cup white chocolate chips (for mini loafs)
1/4 to 1/2 cup heath chips (for mini loafs)

Directions:

In a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt. In a separate bowl, cream together butter and brown sugar. Stir in eggs,mashed bananas, and vanilla until well blended. Stir banana mixture into flour mixture; stir just to moisten. Pour batter into prepared loaf pan.

Bake at 350 in preheated oven for 35 to 40 minutes for mini loafs (50-60 for regular size pan), until a toothpick inserted into center of the loaf comes out clean. Let bread cool in pan for 10 minutes, then place on a wire rack.

Tropical Apple Muffins with Cinnamon Honey Butter

Recipe from Del Sisters Kitchen.

3/4 c. milk
1/2 c. coconut oil
1/2 c. honey
1 egg
1/2 tsp. vanilla or cinnamon extract
2 c. whole wheat flour ( I used 1/3 white and 2/3 wheat)
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
3/4 c. chopped apple (I used a bit more than this, since it looked sparse)
1/4 c. macadamia nuts (I used chopped walnuts and slivered almonds)
1/4 c. coconut

In a bowl with a wire whisk, mix together the wet ingredients. Add the dry, then fold in the apple. Put batter into 9-12 greased muffin tins. Sprinkle with nuts and coconut. Bake at 375 for 20 min. Or till browned. Cool 10 min. then remove from pan. Serve with Cinnamon Honey Butter (opt).

Honey Butter

1/4-1/3 c. butter softened a little
1 T. honey
1/4-1/2 tsp. cinnamon

Mix these together and serve on split muffins!