Banana Walnut Bread

Yuck right? Don't throw them, use them!

     With grand kids at my house all the time, I always have bananas in the fruit basket.  I wish they were organic, but here in Northeast Wisconsin those are hard to find. Pretty often I have bought bananas faster than the kids ate them.  I never throw them out.  If I'm not ready to bake today, or I don't have enough for a double batch, I throw them in the freezer (skins on -just throw them in). I figure there is no sense in heating the oven for a single batch when it is just as easy to make it a double batch.  The bananas come out of the freezer mushy, but tasting the same -- perfect for banana bread.  The more ripe your bananas -- the more banana taste you will get.

     I always toast my walnuts while the oven is heating up.  I keep stirring them every 3-4 minutes.  I never chop them because  I hate doing it, and when you slice the banana bread it doesn't seem to make any difference.
     Don't get alarmed if your bread "cracks" on the top.  It's suppose to.  That's the sign of a good quick bread.  This recipe makes 4 little small loaves, and 2 regular loaves.  Banana bread freezes really well.  Eat a loaf now, freeze a loaf, and share your little loaves with your neighbors :-).

Banana Walnut Bread

2 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup of butter softened

4 lg. eggs

8 medium size extra ripe bananas, smashed

1 cup buttermilk, fresh is best, reconstituted dry will work

2 tsp. vanilla

5 cups flour

2 tsp. baking soda

2 tsp. salt

2 cups whole roasted walnuts

     Mix well everything except the flour. Add flour and fold in gently just until all the flour is mixed.  Spray your pans.  Bake at 350 degrees.  At 30 minutes, check the small loaves.  A toothpick should come out clean.  Keep checking the big loaves at 10 minute intervals, until the toothpick is clean.  Let them cool 10 minutes and then remove from pan to keep cooling on the cooling racks.




10 seconds after I took this picture, my husband was "diggin' in"