Baking Banana Bread

I’ve never been a big fan of banana bread until I tried THIS banana bread. This is the recipe that my sister Helen uses, and I think it may originally be from a Southern Living cookbook. Anyway, it is good banana bread, and in my opinion there are two reasons for that. First, it is made with cream cheese. Anything you bake with cream cheese is just automatically stepped up a notch or two. Second, the pecans in this recipe are toasted. That gives them and the bread a tastier flavor. What I’m saying is – even if you don’t like banana bread, you may just change your mind after you try this one.

Toasted Pecans
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly spritz a baking sheet with cooking spray. Chop enough pecans to make 1 cup. Now spread them on a baking sheet and toast them just until they become aromatic, about 5 minutes. Watch them carefully, as they are easily scorched.

   

Gradually add flour mixture to butter mixture, beating at low speed just until blended.

You’ll need about 1 1/4 pounds unpeeled ripe bananas. They’re nice and ripe when they are at the stage where they look like they are ready to be thrown away.