Old Soul Banana-Walnut Bread

This moist banana-walnut bread is the perfect complement to your morning coffee or tea. The marriage between the rich banana flavor and hearty walnuts makes this recipe irresistible. This recipe is from Old Soul in Sacramento, California.

Prep: 20 min | Bake: 1 hr 20 min
Yield: one 9 x 5 inch loaf; serves 18; 16 to 18 slices, about 1/2 inch thick

Ingredients

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, unsalted, at room temperature
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 cup banana (3 medium or 4 small bananas), mashed ripe
3 eggs, large, at room temperature
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup California walnuts, in halves or large pieces

Instructions

Heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan or coat it with nonstick cooking spray.
In a large bowl combine the butter and both sugars and beat until the mixture looks like a stiff paste - a hand-held mixer is useful for this. Add the banana, eggs and vanilla and beat until combined.
In a separate bowl combine the flour, baking powder, salt and baking soda. Stir them together, using a fork or whisk, so the dry ingredients are well mixed. Add to the banana mixture and beat on low speed just until the wet and dry ingredients are combined, stopping once to scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Add the walnuts and mix again on low speed just until they are incorporated.
Spread the batter evenly in the prepared loaf pan and bake for 60 to 70 minutes, or until a wooden skewer or sharp knife inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean, or with just a few moist crumbs on it, but no raw batter.
Cool in the pan for about 15 minutes, then turn the loaf out and onto a rack to cool completely.

Notes

Per serving: 213 Calories Fat 11g Saturated Fat 4g Monounsaturated Fat 2g Polyunsaturated Fat 4g Cholesterol 49mg Sodium 142mg Carbohydrates 26g Dietary Fiber 1g Protein 4g

Attribution

Recipe and photo used with permission from: California Walnuts
by Old Soul, Sacramento, California