Banana Nut Bread

I'm still not quite sure what part of me thought it was a good idea to get on an airplane during the Holidays and think that somehow nothing would go wrong.

I hate airplanes.

Wait, no, let me correct myself... I hate airports.

They are a pain. A big pain. Like... stepping on a bunch of lego's kind of pain. For one, all the food there is too expensive... even if it's just one little piece of fruit! I was in layover in Tennessee and you know how much it cost for one tiny palm sized apple!? $1.30! I could buy like... a whole POUND of apples for less than that. It was riiiiiiidiculous.

Not only that, but God forbid your flight delays. You know what there is to do at an airport if you're stuck there for an extra hour? nothing. You could walk around the whole airport... but then you start to feel really weird because you keep passing by the same stores and the people that work there start to give you funny looks like they've never seen someone stuck at an airport before.

Not to mention the fact that going through security takes five hours. Five hours of which you feel like you have to throw all your clothes off in lightspeed because somehow you ALWAYS end up in front of the one person who only takes like....a laptop and flip-flops.

All the while, you have to worry about being one of those selected people who get the majorly violating pat-down that will give you nightmares of security people touching you in weird places while you sleep. Keep your hands to yourself, please.

The worst part about it wasn't the security though. Or the one hour delay. Or the fact that we couldn't even leave the plane because for some reason the plane door wouldn't unlock, so we had to wait 15 minutes. It was the fact that before the flight I had meant to bring a slice of banana nut bread with me and I totally forgot.

I made banana nut bread before I left for what seems like the first time in ages. For years I've been searching for the banana nut bread that tastes most like the one my grandmother made, but I haven't been able to yet. I'm certain she made hers with walnuts, but for lack of time, I subbed out pecans. While the bread is still absolutely delicious, and probably one of the better recipes I've used, it still isn't my grandmothers bread. One day, I'll make it. But for now, this one will definitely do.

It uses up at least 5 BLACK bananas. Yes, BLACK bananas. Don't use them if their spotted. Wait until they are completely dark as night black. That's when the banana flavor is most prominent and sweet. And though you can use less than 5, I really recommend 5. It gives the bread a nice banana flavor that melds beautifully with the nuts, brown sugar, and dash of cinnamon. I also added a nice sugar crust to the top, which gives it a slight crunch when you eat it. It's perfect with peanut butter or nutella, or toasted with butter. And the slices are thick and well kept together enough that it can totally be made into french toast. So really, this banana bread is just all kinds of awesome.

Maybe if all the people work at the airport had this kind of bread for breakfast, they'd be less cranky. Including me.

Banana Nut Bread

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup butter, melted

3/4 (packed) brown sugar

2 large eggs, beaten

2 1/3 cups mashed black bananas (5 bananas)

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly grease 9x5-inch loaf pan.

2. In large bowl, combined the mashed bananas with the melted butter and brown sugar until smooth. Stir in eggs, vanilla extract and cinnamon.

3. Sprinkle the baking soda and salt over the mixture. Stir together.

4. Sift in the 2 cups of flour, and then mix until there is no signs of flour left. Do not overmix. It's dangerous for your banana breads soul.

5. Pour batter into prepared loaf pan. Bake for 50-60 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out the middle mostly clean. Allow bread to cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Reeses Peanut Butter Bar Blondies

Before I get into how awesome these blondies are, let me tell you a little bit about someone else who is just as equally awesome.


My sister.

Y'see, my sister is a little out there. She's a little strange. Possibly because she's related to me. Or maybe it's the other way around... whatever. Either way, my sister is in her own way one of the most special people I've ever met.

She's not TOO complicated. She enjoys the simple things in life. Like Lost. And Dexter. And Bones. She also was the person who got me hooked on The Fringe... which I haven't decided if that's a good thing or not.


When she was pregnant with her first kid, my sister craved starbursts and hersheys kisses. When I was younger, I would snuggle up to her and watch her play Zelda while we ate chocolate together. And then she'd get pissed off and go "What the hell do I do?" every five minutes. I'd just watch intently, trying to memorize everything she did so I could do it, too.

When my sister reads a good book, or gets hooked on a good videogame, she won't put it down until she's beat it. And I am not kidding. The freaking apocalypse could be going on but she'll still be balled up on the couch reading the next Nora Roberts series. It's a little scary.



My sister also rocked the punk dreads look when she was my age. Just sayin'.

My sister can rival any man in anything. Case in point: My mother called my sister instead of my 4 other brothers to come kill a mouse in our house. If that doesn't prove it, I don't what does. This fact also includes burping contests. Please don't ask me how I know.

I'm still trying to forget the many dinners spent having my sisters large belch blown in my face. Thanks, sis.


My sister likes wine. And chocolate. And cheese. She has a tongue ring which really grosses me out. Her laugh can fill up a room. She has a beautiful singing voice and used to be in choir. And she somehow attracts every over-possessive bi-polar weirdo freak out there (I think it's due to the tongue ring, personally...). She also wanted to go to Culinary School to be a Pastry Chef, like myself. Except she wanted to decorate cakes, and open up her own shop dedicated to it. If I had a million dollars, I'd send her to Culinary School so she could do it.

Even though sister can be a stubborn hard-ass, it's cause she has been through hell and back. She is one of the most strongest people I've ever known, hands down. She single-handedly raised two awesome kids. Worked her butt off for everything she has, and yet still offers to help others with a genuine smile on her face. Her faith is inspiring to me. Lets me know that if she can still keep her head up after all that's happened to her, that I can definitely do the same.


And if I could be anywhere right now, I'd be at her house making her these Reeses Peanut Butter Bar Blondies. Because she's worth it. Because she likes Reeses. And because it would make me feel better to share these instead of eating them all myself. That, and I kind of owe her after all the years of her putting up with me going into her room and reading her diary, which was in cursive, so I couldn't read it anyway.

Yeahhh... Sorry about that, sis.

But really, my sister is just as awesome as these blondies. And, also like my sister, they should come with a warning label. So just in case you couldn't already tell, you probably shouldn't eat these blondies if:

1. You don't like peanut butter. In which case, what the heck is wrong with you?
2. You are dieting.
3. You have no one to share with.
4. You don't have milk in the house.

If none of the above apply to you, then please.. for the love of all that is holy: Make. These. Share. These. Eat. These. They are so good it's ridiculous. And if you're a fan of peanut butter, you'll go nuts. If you can't find Reeses Peanut Butter Bars (not to be confused with PB cups), you can substitute reeses pb & choco chips, or reeses pb cups chopped up.

Either way, don't miss out on these. They are too good.

Reeses Peanut Butter Bar Blondies

Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 stick butter, softened
1 1/2 cups brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup chunky peanut butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
2 king-sized reeses peanut butter bars, chopped
1/2 cup peanut butter & chocolate chips (found with the bags of semi-sweet chocolate chips)
1/2 cup finely chopped honey-roasted peanuts (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F and grease a 9x13 pan with non-stick spray.

2. Mix butter and brown sugar together until light and creamy. Mix in eggs, peanut butter, and vanilla until smooth.

3. Combine the dry ingredients (flour through salt) together in a seperate bowl. Mix into peanut butter batter until no trace of flour remains.

4. Fold in Reeses bars. peanut butter & chocolate chips, and peanuts.

5. Pour into prepared pan and bake for about 20-25 minutes or until a knife/toothpick in the center comes out clean.

6. Let cool before cutting into 24 squares.