For those you who are invited guests at the home of your family or friends for Thanksgiving this year, congratulations. You have escaped the joy and madness of preparing the Thanksgiving dinner. For those of you who are lucky enough to be hosting the BEST holiday of the year meal, congratulations. You also get to enjoy the second BEST meal of the year. Otherwise known as the day after Thanksgiving leftovers. Quite possibly that second meals is the best reward for schlepping through grocery stores getting all of your ingredients, making second or even third trips to the grocery store because you had forgotten an essential ingredient, spending all that time on your feet making the meal, getting up early to get the turkey in the oven, and fretting over whether or not everyone will love the meal you pour your heart and soul into.
With everyone's attention on turkey, the sides, and pies, why on earth would I post a new recipe for a banana bread this week? Especially when there are already two of them in the blog's archives. Consider it my way of subtly suggesting a hostess gift idea for those of you who want to bring something other than a bottle of wine or candle to your Thanksgiving hosts and/or hostesses. Or maybe I just couldn't wait to share it with you. Either way you now have yet another Banana Bread recipe in your life to make. One you need to make so you decide if it rivals your favorite.
The funniest thing happened when I posted a couple of photos of this Spiced Pecan Banana Bread on my Facebook page over the weekend. At least five, maybe six of my friends, offered to share their favorite banana bread recipes for me to make as well! Little did I know I had so many friends passionate about their banana bread recipes! With claims of converting non-banana lovers and breads having a great crunch on the outside while being super moist on the inside, it looks like visions of over ripe bananas rather than sugar plums are in my immediate future. Which could mean that instead of three banana bread recipes posted to the blog, it's possible that number could climb in the months ahead!
I actually set out to make a chocolate chip banana bread but changed my mind at the last minute. The scent of the spiced autumnal candle burning in the kitchen may have influenced the creation of this spiced, nutty banana bread. Or maybe it was being bombarded by images of pecan pies in the last couple of weeks that caused me to have pecans on the brain. With almost a dozen overly ripe bananas in the house, I was inspired to bake up a new, different, possibly better version of the banana breads already in my life. See notes below for the chocolate chip version of this banana bread.
The riper the bananas, the deeper the flavor. This recipe calls for four ripe bananas. Unlike other banana bread recipes where all of the bananas are added in to the batter at once, this one adds them in two different stages of the batter making process. Two are beaten with granulated and brown sugars and two are mashed and folded in with the nuts at the end.
The Spiced Pecan Banana Bread bakes in a preheated 350 degree (F) oven for 60 to 75 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. To ensure the banana bread bakes evenly rotate your baking pan midway through the baking process.
Allow the banana bread to rest in its' pan on a cooling rack for at least 10 minutes before removing and transferring to a cutting board or platter.
And the verdict on this banana bread version? Before I answer that I should probably tell you about the article "It's Okay to Be Good Not Great" someone sent me recently. One that has me now rethinking, over thinking, or thinking twice about throwing out the word 'great'. I wonder how long it will be before someone writes an article on the use (overuse) of the word 'epic'. Because if I have to sparingly use words like great, epic, and maybe even best, I will definitely have to step up my creative use of adjectives, analogies, hyperboles, and metaphors game. Okay, now back to the verdict. I liked it more than this first Banana Bread recipe posted on the blog and just slightly more than the Banana Bread Version 2 recipe. In other words I will probably be making this Spiced Pecan Banana Bread recipe more often than either of the other two. Not because the other two aren't good, but because this moist on the inside, slightly crunchy on both the inside and outside banana bread is pretty gosh darn awesome! Especially lightly sprinkled with confectionary sugar! And, if by chance there were beauty contest awards for banana bread, this one would be a serious contender for taking the crown.
As an added bonus, thick one inch slices of the Spiced Pecan Banana Bread would make for great french toast! Just saying.
And the verdict on this banana bread version? Before I answer that I should probably tell you about the article "It's Okay to Be Good Not Great" someone sent me recently. One that has me now rethinking, over thinking, or thinking twice about throwing out the word 'great'. I wonder how long it will be before someone writes an article on the use (overuse) of the word 'epic'. Because if I have to sparingly use words like great, epic, and maybe even best, I will definitely have to step up my creative use of adjectives, analogies, hyperboles, and metaphors game. Okay, now back to the verdict. I liked it more than this first Banana Bread recipe posted on the blog and just slightly more than the Banana Bread Version 2 recipe. In other words I will probably be making this Spiced Pecan Banana Bread recipe more often than either of the other two. Not because the other two aren't good, but because this moist on the inside, slightly crunchy on both the inside and outside banana bread is pretty gosh darn awesome! Especially lightly sprinkled with confectionary sugar! And, if by chance there were beauty contest awards for banana bread, this one would be a serious contender for taking the crown.
As an added bonus, thick one inch slices of the Spiced Pecan Banana Bread would make for great french toast! Just saying.
Happiest Thanksgiving wishes and blessings to all of you. I hope your holiday is filled with some of your favorite foods, with the company of those you love, and the spirit of gratefulness. Safe travels to those of you traveling over the holiday weekend.
For those of you still deciding on which desserts or sides to serve on Thanksgiving, I posted a Round-Up of my favorite Thanksgiving desserts for the past two years. You can find them here and here. And you can find some ideas for Thanksgiving sides here.
For those of you still deciding on which desserts or sides to serve on Thanksgiving, I posted a Round-Up of my favorite Thanksgiving desserts for the past two years. You can find them here and here. And you can find some ideas for Thanksgiving sides here.
Spiced Pecan Banana Bread (inspired by multiple sources)
Ingredients
4 overly ripe bananas, divided
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
3/4 cup (12 Tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups all-purpose, unbleached flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
pinch of cloves
1 cup pecan halves, toasted, and coarsely chopped
Optional: 1 - 2 Tablespoons Sanding or sparkling sugar
Optional: Confectionary sugar for dusting slices
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F). Line a 9" x 5" inch metal loaf pan with parchment paper. Butter any exposed sides. Set aside.
2. In a medium sized bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves. Whisk to combine and set aside.
3. In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with a whisk attachment place two of the bananas and the sugars. Beat at medium-high speed for approximately 3 minutes to create a fluffy, creamy mixture.
4. Add in the melted butter, eggs, and vanilla. Beat well to combine.
5. Mix in the dry ingredients until just incorporated. Be careful to not over beat.
6. In a small bowl, mash together the remaining two bananas.
7. Fold in the chopped pecans and mashed bananas using a rubber spatula.
8. Pour batter into the prepared pan. Sprinkle with sanding or sparkling sugar if using. Place the pan on a baking sheet and bake for 60-75 minutes, rotating the baking pan midway through the baking process or until golden brown. A toothpick inserted in the center should come out clear. Note: My baking time was 67 minutes.
9. Remove banana bread from the oven and place on a cooling rack. Allow to rest for 10 minutes before removing from the pan and slicing.
10. Serve thick slices lightly dusted with confectionary sugar.
11. Cover the cooled banana bread with plastic wrap or aluminum foil if not serving immediately. Store any leftovers in the refrigerator. Warm slices in the toaster or in the microwave before serving.
Note: (1) I subsequently made a second loaf of the banana bread, a chocolate chip version. Instead of using one cup of coarsely chopped toasted pecans use one cup of miniature chocolate chips. Omit the nutmeg and ground cloves, but use one teaspoon of cinnamon. This version was even more heavenly than the spiced pecan version. So there you have it, now you two new banana bread recipes in a single post!
Autumn color in Michigan (November 2018)
