Bettye's Best Banana Bread

"After years of tasting dry and flavorless banana breads, I worked out my own recipe. The secret is in using the ripest bananas . . . almost too ripe to handle."

Recipe

Bread:

• 1¾ cups all-purpose flour
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1½ sticks butter or margarine,softened
• 1½ cups granulated sugar
• 2 eggs
• ¼ cup buttermilk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ½ to 1 cup chopped nuts
• 1 cup well-mashed, overripe bananas

Glaze:

• 1 cup confectioners' sugar
• 2 to 3 tablespoons lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease and flour two 8 1/2-by-4 1/2-inch loaf pans. Combine flour, salt and baking soda. Cream together butter and granulated sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add flour mixture and buttermilk alternately. Beat batter for 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in vanilla, nuts and bananas. Spoon into loaf pans. Bake about 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool before adding the glaze. For the glaze, stir confectioners' sugar and lemon juice together until smooth. Pour over cooled loaves.

Upload Your Own Stories, Photos and Videos

Every week, American Profile magazine brings you stories that celebrate the people and places that make America great. Now we want to hear your stories and see your photos, videos and even audio.

 Start Uploading Now!

 

Discuss this Article