"Best" Banana Bread

The kids and I had some new friends over for dinner last week - another mom and 3-yr-old whose husband/daddy was out on the ship with Shaun.  I think I've happened upon a fun cooking friend here!  She's cooked for us twice now, and both times were absolutely delicious - and very cute too!  Anyway, I made chicken pesto pizza (the new pizza dough night) and Iced Pumpkin Cookies (which I generally really like, but were a little disasterous that night thanks to a can of pumpkin "pie mix" instead of just pumpkin, and a new oven!)   Rather than the food, I think the highlight of the visit for the kids was the outdoor entertainment - acorns and a caterpillar :)

Nicky was nice enough to bring along a huge loaf of banana bread.  (Thanks again!)  I didn't actually try it until the next morning...YUM.  I'm fairly certain that was the tastiest banana bread I've ever eaten, so I had to request the recipe.  The cinnamon sugar topping really adds a delicious touch!  She was kind enough to share the recipe, which she said came from her mother-in-law.

"Best" Banana Bread

1 c. sugar

1/2 c. butter or butter-flavored Crisco

2 eggs
1 c. bananas, mashed

1/3 c. sour cream (or yogurt)
2 c. flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt

Topping:

1 to 2 Tbsp. white sugar

1 to 2 Tbsp. brown sugar

1/4 to 1/2 tsp. cinnamon

Cream sugar, butter and eggs.  Mix in mashed bananas and sour cream.  Add flour, salt and baking soda (sifted).  Grease and flour bottom of a bread pan.  Pour batter into the pan, and sprinkle with topping mixture.  Bake at 325 until golden brown (about 1 hour) and/or when you can insert a toothpick and it comes out clean.  You may want to cover the bread with foil to prevent crust from becoming too brown.  Enjoy!