Banana Nut Bread – Joy of Cooking

I yelled into the kitchen “don’t throw the rotten bananas away” only to hear “they look like they are rotten”! I am always grateful for the times my Hunny goes into kitchen clean mode, it is just sometimes things do not make it out alive!! Today was one of those days, he was cleaning and I was hanging with the little guy -it was a perfect Saturday. Little did he know that tomorrow would be a busy meal prep for the week and take pictures for the blog morning, first on the agenda banana nut bread!

I always make it a point to make banana nut bread when the bananas are rotten at their ripest. It is one recipe that I consistently go back to in the Joy of Cooking recipe book. You see, I can’t take full credit for the recipe, although I will share that I always change it up depending on what type of fruit or nuts I have.

Banana Nut Bread Recipe (Joy of Cooking – 75^th Anniversary Edition)

Have all ingredients at room temperature, about 70 degrees

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease 8 1/2 x4 1/2 inch loaf pan.

Whisk Together:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2teaspoon salt

Beat in a large bowl at medium speed until creamy:

2/3 cup sugar

1/3 cup vegetable shortening or 6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) butter, softened

3/4 teaspoon grated lemon zest

Beat in:

1 to 2 large eggs, beaten

1 to 1  1/4 cup mashed ripe bananas (2 to 3)

Add the dry ingredients in about 3 parts, beating until smooth after each addition. Fold in, if desired:

(1/2 cup chopped nuts)

(1/4 cup finely chopped dried apricots)

Scrape the batter into the greased pan. Bake the bread about an hour, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool slightly, then unmold.   Cool completely before slicing

Banana Nut Bread Recipe Notes:

• Substitute lemon zest with any citrus in your refrigerator. I have literally used lime, orange, grapefruit and my favorite tangerine.
• Use any nuts in the pantry….just like my Momma taught me, I always have pecans. The batch in the pictures contains pecans and walnuts.
• I obviously used a Bundt pan…..and only because I do not have a loaf pan.
• Chop your nuts placed inside a zip-lock bag with a mallet or something hard.

Do you have a banana nut bread recipe for me to try?

Also, check out two of my favorite baking related blog post’s found right here at Appletini by Heather, pineapple upside down cakes and her infamous rainbow cake!!