We have some of that winter weather here in Northeast Arkansas today that is accurately described in the song as “frightful.” The precipitation started as sleet, so ice accumulated on everything, then snow fell afterward. All the schools are closed, but my grandson’s school is having their first Cyber Day today. Apparently this is a new idea to have online assignments for the students when school is dismissed for bad weather so the school day can still be counted. Oh well, that kind of takes the fun out of having a snow day, doesn’t it?
I decided to do some baking today just in case we lose our power later. I baked a couple of loaves of this Cream Cheese Banana Nut Bread first thing this morning. This is a recipe that I posted way back when I first started my blog, and it is a favorite of mine. Even though some types of banana bread don’t appeal to me, I love this recipe made with cream cheese and toasted pecans.
Print Recipe
First toast the pecans:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly spritz a baking sheet with cooking spray. Chop enough pecans to make 1 cup. Now spread them on baking sheet and toast them just until they become aromatic, about 5 minutes. Watch them carefully, as they are easily scorched. Remove from the oven and set aside.
Cream Cheese Banana Nut Bread
3/4 cup butter, softened
1 (8 oz.) package cream cheese, softened
2 cups sugar
2 large eggs
3 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups mashed bananas (1 1/4 pounds unpeeled bananas, about 4 medium)
1 cup chopped pecans, toasted
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare two 9 x 5-inch loaf pans with nonstick cooking spray.
Beat butter and cream cheese at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy. Gradually add sugar, beating until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating just until blended after each addition. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Whisk together. Gradually add flour mixture to butter mixture, beating at low speed of mixer just until blended. Add mashed bananas to the mixture. Stir until blended. Stir in toasted pecans and vanilla flavoring. Divide the dough between the two prepared pans and bake for 1 hour or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean and sides pull away from pan, shielding with aluminum foil the last 15 minutes of baking to prevent over browning if necessary. Cool bread in pans on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove from pans, cool for 30 minutes on wire rack before slicing.
I had banana bread and oatmeal cookies on my list to bake today neither have gotten done yet but I will make banana bread for sure now! I never thought of adding cream cheese but that has to be good! I'm not a big banana person but the kids left some here when they visited so I'll use them up. We're so blessed not to have lost power aren't we? 2009 was awful for me so I am using my electric like crazy today….I even ironed! LOL!
Sam, you have enough energy to generate your own electricity if it goes down! I have been busy in the kitchen while the weather has been bad, but haven't had the urge to iron! So glad to have power, only weather effect so far has been loss of Internet for a couple of days. I remember 2009 well, some were without power for weeks here, and we lost many beautiful trees.
I like your idea of smaller loaves for Christmas gifts. How could the school count it as a school day if the internet goes down? Then the students couldn't get or work on their assignments. Poor teachers, too!
Kathleen, I thought of the nightmare the teachers would go through trying to collect all those assignments! The school tried to cover the issue of no Internet by posting assignments in advance and giving them a week afterward to turn it all in. Wondering how it all will work out!
The ice storm sounded terrible on the news! Looks like a great recipe for gift giving!