Mama's Secret Recipe Banana Bread

It’s hard to beat the smell of freshly baked bread- that moment when you walk into a room and your mouth starts to water.

I used to get so excited when mama would make her banana bread. I almost purposely avoided eating fresh bananas because I knew if they turned brown, she would almost always make banana bread to avoid wasting the bananas.

Fast forward to today, this is one of our family’s favorite way to start the day, and we are sharing it with you all.

3 Reasons to Love This Recipe:

1. It’s classic. Perfectly fresh with the right touch of sweetness to bring back all your fond memories.
2. It’s the best banana bread you’ll ever taste. The roasted bananas and the pecan meal work together to enhance the unforgettable banana flavor
3. It’s easily down-sized. I like to make enough to freeze a loaf for the times when I’m unable to bake a fresh batch. But this recipe is easily halved or doubled, depending on your needs.

Recipe:

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup farm fresh pecan meal
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 2 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 4 eggs, beaten
• 1 1/2 cups white sugar
• 1 cup butter (you can use canola oil if you prefer)
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 10 medium ripe bananas (unpeeled)
• 1 cup farm fresh medium pecan pieces

Directions:

1. Optional: Roasting the bananas. Preheat oven to 350*F. Line a baking sheet with foil and arrange unpeeled bananas on the sheet. With the prongs of a fork, pierce the banana 4 times evenly down the side. Bake for 15 minutes.
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine all dry ingredients except the sugar (flour, pecan meal, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger and salt).
3. In a medium mixing bowl, mix eggs, sugar butter (or oil), and vanilla.
4. Once the bananas have cooled, remove the peels and smash into the egg mixture (there should be close to 3 total cups of smashed banana). The mixture will be lumpy.
5. Finally, fold the wet mixture into the dry mixture. Mix until combined.
6. Add the pecans to the batter and mix lightly.
7. Pour the batter into buttered loaf pans. Bake 50-55 minutes for large loaves and 40-45 minutes for smaller loaves.
8. Serve warm from the oven or let stand overnight to avoid crumbling. The loaves also freeze nicely for up to 3 months when stored in an air-tight bag.