Banana Bread

In celebration of Independence Day, I decided to take last week off of work and visit my parents.  The big city definitely has its perks, but I miss the slow pace of my small hometown.  It's nice to see familiar places and faces once in awhile.

My parent’s house has an extra special meaning to me because my parents, brothers, and I built it when I was in early high school.  We did amazing job, if I do say so myself!  One of the best parts of the house is the kitchen.  My mom put a ton of time and effort into making it a large, friendly space and perfectly fits my family’s needs.  When I'm working in my tiny apartment kitchen, I often wish I would have appreciated all the counter and cabinet space that was available to me when I lived with my parents a few years ago. *sigh*

Anyways, when my mom asked me if I wanted to bake some banana bread, of course I agreed!  I modified a recipe from our church's cookbook and it turned out fabulous!

Here's the printable recipe.

Banana Bread

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup shortening

2 eggs, separated and beaten separately

3 bananas, mashed

1/2 cup cold water

1 Tbsp vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

2 tsp sugar (optional)

1. In a large bowl or a stand mixer, cream together the 1 cup of sugar and shortening.  Mix in the egg yolks, bananas, water, and vanilla.

2. In a medium sized bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, and baking powder.  Add this to the wet ingredient. Fold in the egg whites.

3. Divide the batter into 2 greased bread pans. Sprinkle the tops of the loaves with sugar and bake at 350 degrees for one hour, or until done.

In a 24 hour period last week, I made 8 loaves of this stuff.  It’s so good!  If you slice it up and pack it in a plastic bag, it’s super easy to bring it with you.  We brought it on a road trip for a snack and then as dessert on a boating picnic. I’m pretty sure this is the perfect travel food because you can make it ahead, it packs easily, and no crumbly mess.  And if you’re not going anywhere, even better, because you can enjoy it fresh out of the oven with butter!  Enjoy!