Going bananas!

Emma helped me bake banana bread the other day. We liked how it turned out, and so thought I would share the recipe here. I plan to make another batch of it before Christmas arrives, as mini loaves of bread (especially with icing ontop!) make a cute little gift that everyone loves!

Banana Bread:

4 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup vegetable oil

1 1/4 cups brown sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

4 eggs, beaten

4 to 5 cups mashed very ripe bananas

Preheat oven to 350. Grease two 9x5" loaf pans, or four mini loaf pans. In large bowl, combine dry ingredients. In a seperate bowl, mix together oil, sugar, vanilla, and beaten eggs. Stir in mashed bananas. Add dry mixture. Stir until moistened. Divide batter between prepared pans. Bake for 55-60 minutes until toothpick inserted in center comes out almost clean. Don't overbake!

Let cool in pans for 10 minutes, then turn out onto wire rack.

For a little something special, I made a quick icing out of just three ingredients: butter, powdered sugar, and cream (or milk). I melted about 3 tablespoons of butter in a saucepan until golden brown. Then mixed in about a cup of powdered sugar until a thick paste was formed. Added enough cream to make a smooth, creamy icing that could be drizzled from a spoon ontop of the loaves. And that was it!
Happy baking!