What To Do With Black Bananas

I got home from work yesterday to discover that the bananas on the counter were really yellow, ok almost black, and smelled supremely banana-y (banana-ish?). Considering that the Amish bread starter that is proofing on the counter is making my whole kitchen smell like I'm brewing beer, I really couldn't handle the beer/banana combination that was occurring, so I decided that the bananas would have to become banana bread, pronto.

I have several 'fancy' banana bread recipes I've been wanting to try...two from Orangette's blog, a Martha Stewart one, an Alton Brown one...but since I was rushing I decided to go to the tried and true Betty Crocker Cookbook, the 3 ring one with the red checker-board cover. It had exactly what I wanted, a basic banana bread recipe that was super easy. I went from yellow-black (yack? blellow?) bananas, to golden-brown banana bread in less than an hour, including 45 minutes of baking time!

The end result was just what I wanted: simple and delicious. The sugary top crust is slightly crunchy, but the rest of the bread is smooth and moist, with an occasional lump of banana goodness. The bread also makes your kitchen smell tantalizingly fresh and cinnamony, and will totally smother any overpoweringly yeasty smells, I promise.

Betty Crocker Banana Bread
Slightly tweaked

4 large overripe bananas

2 eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 1/4 cups white granulated sugar

3 cups flour

3 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon

dash ground cloves

1/4 cup white sugar

1/4 tsp cinnamon

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and cloves, set aside. In a food processor puree together the bananas, eggs, oil, and sugar, until mostly smooth (or mash the bananas with a potato masher and stir in the rest). It's ok if there are a few lumps left.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients all at once, stir until just combined. DON'T overmix! Divide the batter between two lightly greased 8x4 inch loaf pans. Combine the additional sugar and cinnamon, sprinkle over the tops of the loaves.

Bake at 350 for about 25 minutes, then rotate and cover loosely with foil if necessary, because the sugar makes them brown quickly on top. Bake an additional 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Let cool on a wire rack for at least 20 minutes before attempting to take the loaves out. Carefully remove them from pans to a wire rack to continue cooling, and for best results let the bread rest until the next day before slicing. But you can dig in right away; a slice of warm banana bread makes a lovely snack!

Makes two loaves, about 24 slices, and should keep for about a week if well-wrapped.