Award Winning Banana Bread

When I was kid, my parents sat my sister and I down at the kitchen table, blindfolded us, and told us it was time to make a decision.  It was a decision we knew would change the course of actions in our household for the rest of our lives.

You see, my parents had been arguing about something that started small, but in the recent months had become so big that it was almost impossible to continue on with normal day to day activities.

It wasn’t the usual topics that cause strife in most families.  It was a topic much deeper than that.  The time had come for my sister and I to decide….

It only took us about three bites to unanimously declare mom’s banana  bread as the winner.  And so, from that day on, my dad was never allowed to make banana bread again.  Ever…

So today I will share my mother’s steps for success when making “award winning” banana bread.

My mom has only told her banana bread secrets to one person before this, but I finally convinced her to let me in on her tips AND allow me to share them on the blog. I mean c’mon, we’re all friends here.  Just remember, these secrets stay between you, me, and the oven!

{secret #1 – choose the ripest bananas you can find…the browner the better!}

{secret #2 – let your butter sit out until it’s soft enough to mix by hand, don’t microwave it – and under no circumstances are you to use a mixer}

{I really can’t stress this enough…if you use a mixer, they will not be as delicious as you would like…just don’t do it}

{secret #3 – sift the dry ingredients so that you don’t get bitter chunks of baking soda}

{mush the bananas with a fork – if they’re not soft enough to easily mush, you didn’t follow secret #1}

{secret #4 – add 1/3 of bowl #2 into bowl #1 and mix, then add 1/3 of bowl #3 to bowl #1 and mix, repeat until all ingredients are combined}

{then pour it into your bread pan and pop it in the oven – the more bananas you use, the longer it will need to bake}

{chatting while we’re waiting for it to bake/licking the bowl in the most civilized way possible}

{secret #5 – don’t cut or eat the bread until the next day – just wrap it up and try to think about anything other than eating that magical. freshly baked. banana bread…}

{it’s okay dad, you’re good at other things…}