blueberry banana bread

you’re one of the first to know that i like bananas.

for years i thought i didn’t like them. it was a texture thing, or so i thought. (those stringy pieces really turned me off.)

a few weeks ago, we bought a bunch of bananas from Costco, and i decided to try one. i was pleasantly surprised that it wasn’t gross! so now i like bananas — but in small doses. i’m not a monkey.

we had a few bananas — and a pint of blueberries — that were on their way out, so i scoured Pinterest for a recipe that would incorporate both. i found this recipe, and since it snowed today, i figured it was the perfect day to bake.

i normally make plain banana bread, but i liked that this version incorporated the random blueberries i had on hand too. (the only real difference to my great-grandmother’s banana bread was the addition of blueberries, but i followed the recipe i found online just in case.)

you could tailor this recipe to your liking — a few of my favorite banana bread mix-ins are walnuts or chocolate chips.

bread 1.png — please ignore the soap dispenser in the background: soap was NOT used in this recipe.

i also jump at any chance to use my KitchenAid stand mixer — my grandma gave it to us as a wedding gift, and i have it displayed on my counter. i have very few occasions to use it because i don’t bake a ton, but when i do, i get super excited and feel very professional.

bread 2.png — before adding the blueberries to the batter.

this recipe would be super easy to double and make an extra loaf for a friend or to throw in your freezer.

the recipe i used said to bake for 45-50 minutes, but i ended up having to bake mine for 1 hour and 20 minutes. i’ve never had to adjust a baking time by that much on my gas oven, so i have a feeling that something is off with that timeframe.

PRO TIP: coat your blueberries in flour before adding them to the batter. this prevents the blueberries from sinking to the bottom.

bread 3.png — i used parchment paper instead of greasing my baking pan. the bread will pop right out!

blueberry banana bread

Servings: 12 slices
Time: 1 hour 20 min
Difficulty: easy
Print

bread 4.png

1/2 c. butter (one stick), room temperature
1 c. sugar
2 eggs
1 Tbs. vanilla extract
2 ripe bananas
2 c. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 pint blueberries

1) preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2) in the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. add eggs, one at a time, and mix until combined. add in vanilla extract and beat until well incorporated. mash bananas and add to mixture, beating until combined.

3) in a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. stir until combined. slowly add flour mixture to banana mixture until just combined — do not overmix.

4) toss blueberries in a light coating of flour and stir gently into batter.

5) pour batter into a greased loaf or parchment paper-lined loaf pan. bake for 1 hour; bread is done when a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean.

6) allow to cool completely before eating.

until next time,

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