Delectably Adaptable Banana Bread

If you know me at all, you know how particular I am about the ripeness of bananas I'm willing to eat. By my standards, bananas only have one or two days, at the most, when they're palatable. Too green and they taste like grass; speckled even a bit and they're mushy. I once left a banana in the bottom of my book bag in sixth grade, and I ended up with a history book that smelled like old garbage. I suspect this is where my persnickety banana preferences originated. Regardless, unless I buy only a couple bananas at a time, I frequently find myself stuck with overly ripe bananas sitting on my counter attracting more and more fruit flies with each passing hour. I found myself in this exact situation this morning, thankfully minus the fruit flies, and so I decided to embark upon a baking adventure and whip up a batch of banana bread.

As I was assembling my batter, I realized that, while I have a tried-and-true recipe (courtesy of Joy of Cooking, 75th Anniversary Edition), I never adhere completely to any banana bread recipe. Maybe this is because I hate to follow rules without putting my own spin on them, or maybe this is because banana bread, with its neutral, mild flavor, lends itself quite nicely to many different variations. Depending on your mood, you can end up with an Autumn Harvest banana bread featuring vanilla extract, chopped pecans, granola, and maybe even dried cranberries. Substitute almond extract for the vanilla, almonds for the pecans, and nix the granola and cranberries, and you've created something completely different but equally delicious. Today, I've made my banana bread with 1/2 tsp. vanilla, 1/2 tsp. cinnamon, and 3/4 cup granola and have topped it with Pampered Chef's Sweet Caramel Sprinkle. Today's recipe, which is JoC's basic plus my additions, follows. Give it a try or be adventurous and experiment with your own additions. The sky's the limit for what you can do!

Waste-not, Want-not Banana Bread

Ingredients:
1/3 cup shortening
2/3 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
4 overly ripe bananas, mashed
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 3/4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
Sweet Caramel Sprinkle to top

1. Preheat oven to 350 and grease a loaf pan.

2. Cream shortening and sugar with a mixer until light and fluffy, about five minutes.

3. Add eggs, bananas, vanilla, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. Mix thoroughly.

4. Slowly add flour and mix completely, scraping down the edges of the bowl to ensure all ingredients are incorporated.

5. Pour batter into prepared loaf pan and smooth out with a spatula. Top with Sweet Caramel Sprinkle.

6. Bake for 75 minutes, or until bread is golden and toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean.

7. Allow to rest for 20 minutes and then remove from loaf pan. Cool completely on a wire rack. Wrap in foil and store in the refrigerator for up to a week.