Mom's Best Banana Bread

We all think we have the best banana bread recipe, but here's the thing-I really do! My mom, famously known as "Mimi", has been making this recipe (adapted for today's healthier tummies!) since I was a kid. It makes a great loaf, delish breakfast muffins, or a rockin' dessert when you double it, add chocolate chips and dump it in a bundt pan!!!

I promise this will be yummy in your tummy, with the added benefits of less sugar and flaxseed meal!

Preheat oven to 325 degrees; Either coat loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray or line 2 muffin tins with liners (will make 18 muffins)

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or non-hydrogenated margarine, softened to room temp

3/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 eggs

3 ripe bananas, mashed

1/4 cup milk (or buttermilk or greek yogurt or sour cream or anything else white that you want to use up!)

2 cups flour

1/2 cup ground flaxseed meal

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

OK, here we go! This can be made in an electric mixer, with a hand mixer, in a food processor, or by hand (my personal fave is with a hand mixer!)

• Cream butter and sugar
• Add vanilla and eggs
• Combine milk with bananas and add to creamed mixture
• Sift flour, flaxseed meal, salt, baking soda and baking powder
• Add sifted flour mixture to banana mixture and mix until just combined
• Stir through with a rubber spatula to make sure all is well combined; at this point you can add chocolate chips or walnuts coated with a bit of flour to prevent sinking to the bottom
• Pour batter into prepared pan and bake in preheated oven
• If using a loaf pan, check for doneness after 45 minutes, may take up to 60 minutes depending on your oven
• If using muffin tins, should be perfectly done at about 18-20 minutes, again depends on your oven
• If doubling recipe in a bundt pan, will take almost exactly one hour

My yummy is not an exact science-you will need to play around with your oven to find the exact time that works-you want the banana bread perfectly done throughout but not burnt on top! This can be made even yummier by substituting whole wheat flour-make my yummy perfect for your tummies!

Happy baking, and say thanks to Mimi when the loaf has been gobbled up for breakfast spread with natural peanut butter or devoured plain as an after-school snack!!