Tasty Tuesday: Banana Bread

It's no secret that Jacob and Alyssa love to help in the kitchen. They've made cupcakes by themselves (like these rainbow cupcakes and George Washington cupcakes) a few times before. This week, I had some bananas that I had been hiding from Zac (Hey, don't judge. That kid's addicted to bananas!) so we could make bread. I measured the ingredients and then invited Jacob over to whip up a delectable treat.

One man's trash is another man's treasure.

Ingredients: 

2 cups all-purpose flour                              1/2 cup butter
1 teaspoon baking soda                              3/4 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon                                  2 eggs, beaten
1/4 teaspoon salt                                         2 1/3 cups mashed overripe bananas

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan.
2. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt. In a separate bowl, cream together butter and brown sugar. Stir in eggs and mashed bananas until well blended. Stir banana mixture into flour mixture; stir just to moisten. Pour batter into prepared loaf pan.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 60 to 65 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of the loaf comes out clean. Let bread cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack.

Jake was busy peeling . . .

Mashing

Cracking

Beating

Pouring

Dumping

Mixing

Portioning

Posing

He did such a great job making the bread! I helped scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl to make sure he incorporated all the flour. Other than that, he did it all by himself. He insists I helped though since I put it in the oven. Hey, the kid's got a point. I should take some credit, right?

While Jake was mixing he asked, "Do I have to - What's that called again? - fold! Do I have to practice folding?" Remember, I taught the kids about that while making Boston cream pie. See, he was paying attention! He did a mighty fine job of it too. Maybe I'll let him try a meringue next time.

We (or should I say he) also topped the loaves with a flour/sugar/cinnamon mixture to give it a little crunch. The mini loaves were done in roughly 45 minutes. I could barely get them out of the pan before the kids were shoveling hot bread into their mouths. Zac took a bite, said "mmm," stuffed the rest in his mouth, and asked for "mo!" I think he may have enjoyed it.

 

So, whether you have forgotten bananas or hidden rotten bananas, be sure to make a batch of this yourself. 

Or allow your 5-and-a-half year old son to make it for you.