Browned Butter Banana Bread
Hey y’all. Sorry about the hiatus. You know how things go; sometimes you can get it together enough to crank out a post, other times it just doesn’t happen.
But I made it happen today, in more ways than one.
A little over a month ago, I used browned butter for the first time in a recipe for chocolate chip cookies. It was a huge success. I knew right away that I would definitely be finding a way to incorporate browned butter into my baking repertoire for other classic recipes.
And now, I’m glad to say that I’ve found another great way to do just that.
I don’t know anybody that doesn’t like banana bread.
I don’t know if I want to know anybody that doesn’t like banana bread. It’s just one of those things that we can all probably agree upon and bond over.
Besides that, I think we all can relate to our trying to be health-conscious and whatnot, buying a huge bunch of bananas, then letting them sit on the counter for days on end, just chilling until one day we look up and bam: they’re too spotty and soft to be able to eat anymore and we feel the guilt for not eating them raw when we had the chance.
Don’t feel bad. We’re all guilty of it.
But as we all know, overly ripe bananas can become a blessing in disguise because of what they can be transformed into. The easiest and probably most popular of these, is the almighty banana bread.
I’m not gonna lie guys. There really aren’t many tricks or frills to this recipe. It’s quick and stupid-easy to put together, and although I briefly considered doing something different to jazz it up, like adding a pecan streusel or drizzling an icing on top or something, ultimately I decided against it and decided to just let things be and keep it simple.
I actually ended up very pleased I didn’t add anything else to it, because what really makes this recipe shine is the inclusion of the browned butter. It’s what takes this from being an ordinary loaf of banana bread and elevates it to something really special. Like I described in my chocolate chip cookies post where I first used it, browned butter has a very rich, nutty and toasted smell/flavor. My best way of trying to describe it is that it takes standard flavors in a sweet dish, and deepens them. There’s a noticeable toasted, caramelized taste to them that once you’ve tried, you just can’t get enough of.
I thought that I loved chocolate chip cookies before, but trust me: I love them even more when they’re made with browned butter. Same thing here.
The ingredients for banana bread are usually ones that most people already have in their fridges/pantries already, so that means most of you have no excuse not to go ahead and do yourselves a favor by making this loaf, stat.
The smells it’s going to create when you make the browned butter AND bake the loaf alone were made for autumn. When it’s finished, don’t skip the step of taking the extra browned butter and brushing it over the hot loaf. It’s going to seep into the crevices of the crumbs and when it dries, well…all will be revealed and suddenly made clear to you.
Slice the bread up thick. Put it in the toaster for a few minutes. Pop it out. Slather one side in butter. Cinnamon honey butter if you’re really feeling adventurous.
You’re welcome.
Bringing this loaf to this week’s Fiesta Friday #140, co-hosted this week by Julie @ Hostess at Heart and Linda @ Fabulous Fare Sisters.
Browned Butter Banana Bread
Recipe Adapted from Food Network Kitchens
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 sticks (12 tablespoons) unsalted butter, plus more for greasing
- 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
- 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 4 very ripe bananas, mashed
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and either butter or spray a 9- by 5-inch loaf pan with cooking spray.
Melt and heat the butter over medium-low heat in a small saucepan. You want the milk solids to turn a deep golden brown color. It will have a nutty and toasted smell and there should be small golden brown bits in the surface. It’ll take about 15 to 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, whisk together the flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt in a medium bowl.
Stir the brown butter so that any of the golden brown bits that may have fallen to the bottom are distributed equally throughout the butter. Reserve 4 tablespoons of the brown butter for later on.
Whisk together the remaining brown butter, brown sugar, eggs and vanilla in a medium bowl, then fold in the mashed bananas with a rubber spatula or a fork.
Fold the banana mixture into the flour mixture until just combined (the batter doesn’t have to be completely smooth, a few lumps are fine).
Transfer the batter to the prepared loaf pan, and bake until the bread is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 1 hour to 1 hour 10 minutes. Take the reserved browned butter (reheat in the microwave to re-melt if you have to) and using a pastry brush, brush the butter over the hot bread, letting it seep into it.
Run a knife around the edges, and let cool completely in the pan on a rack.
Yummy!
thanks Patrick 🙂
Oh boy i love brown butter in anything and everything the banana bread looks so good. Great recipe
Thank you Suzanne! It was super easy to do and the result was VERY tasty 😉
Ohhh… browned butter is the best! Browned butter + banana bread… swoon 🙂 I’m always a fan of recipes where you most likely have all the ingredients in your pantry. Hope you have a fantastic weekend Jess!
Thank you Heather! I hope yours is great too; stay dry (and warm now, I guess) in the Mitten lol 😉
Tasty looking cake! Love the brown butter in it. I’m sure the aroma in the kitchen while baking was amazing.
Trust me, the smells are worth it alone lol Thank you!
Wow Jess, I wouldn’t mar the top of this banana bread with anything. The thought of the browned butter just makes me swoon. I made a chocolate chip cookie (maybe the same one) with browned butter and refuse to make any kind ever again. Amaaaazing my friend. Thanks for sharing this delicious recipe with the folks at FF this week. Have a marvelous weekend!
Thank you so much Julie, I’m finding out that browned butter just makes EVERYTHING better. Hope your weekend is great too 😀
I make banana bread frequently and – since I loved your brown butter cookie recipe and my kids declared them to be magnificent – I absolutely have to try this recipe.
I’m so glad to hear the chocolate chip cookies were a hit Laura; they’re SURE to love this banana bread too. Thank you very much, and enjoy!
For as much as I bake, I have yet to try browned butter, crazy eh? This is definitely on my to-do list and you can never go wrong with banana bread. Thanks for sharing Jess:)
It took me forever to finally try it out Lily, but it’s never too late to start. Thank YOU!
Very nice description, Jess!! It really sounds lovely and I agree – sometimes it’s better to let things be just as they are without any additions or frills. Well said girl!
Goodness I love me some banana bread!
Thank you so much Dana 😀
I love banana bread in general, but browned butter banana bread sounds soo amazing. I really have to try this soon!
Yes, please do! The browned butter makes it sooooo much more yummy than regular banana bread (which, is delicious enough on its own as we know) Thanks 😉
yummy :)) x
Thank you, that it is 😉
you are welcome. Visit my blog too, new post is coming tonight :)) x
looks great! I love a banana bread! check out some of my baking – sophiaaxo.wordpress.com
Thank you much, Sophia!