Recipe courtesy of Diane Skulski Kirt

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Ingredients:

• 1 stick unsalted butter, softened
• 2 Tbsp brown sugar
• Right under 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 4 bananas well smashed
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
  Optional: Sprinkle milk chocolate chips on top

 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 F. Lightly grease a loaf pan.

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

Bake in preheated oven for 50 to 60 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of the loaf comes out clean. Let bread cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack.

Optional: Bake the batter in cupcake pans for 20-30 min.

Baker’s Note: The fastest way to ripen bananas? Throw them in the oven. The low heat of a 250 F oven accelerates the ripening, turning them sweet and almost pudding-like in a mere 15-20 minutes. There’s just one catch: This method turns the peels an unappetizing black color.