Just letting y’all know, the Magnolia Table Cookbook is going to be a bit of a theme on the blog for a while as I recreate her yummy recipes over the next several months! Everyone okay with that? I thought so 🙂

Delicious banana bread is stored in tupperware on our kitchen counter right now thanks to Joanna’s recipe and everyone in the family passing on bananas last week! It worked out perfectly for two reasons. One, I only had to buy pecans and butter sticks to make the bread. Two, I’ve been wanting to make this for the Mr. so he could take that to work with his coffee instead of little Debbie mini muffins. Nothing against Debbie, but I think homemade baked goods are just a little better. a lot better. on all accounts. Sorry, Debs.

This particular recipe is quick and easy to make! Beginners can absolutely handle this one and you don’t even need the fancy Kitchen Aid stand mixer; the good ole’ mixing bowl and hand mixer gets the job done with ease. Good thing too, since my stand mixer is packed away at the farmhouse right now along with so many other kitchen favorites! Unpacking and putting together our kitchen at the new house is totally going to be like Christmas morning for me! four more months…I hope. More to come on that in a new series coming soon focused on all the gritty details of building a home! A process I was quite naive to a few months ago!

I’m not trying to over simplify the baking process, but for banana bread you’re going to mix together melted butter, eggs, vanilla and brown sugar, add bananas and mix again, stir flour, baking soda and salt in a separate bowl, add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients to combine (with hand mixer) then fold in chopped pecans. That’s it! At this point it’s ready to pour into a greased (with butter) baking pan and pop in the oven for 45 minutes!

I love when ‘bake in oven’ or ‘simmer on stove’ are steps in a recipe, because then I can get the mess cleaned up while the food finishes. Weird things make me happy! It’s true, I’m well aware and sometimes my husband likes to remind me of that 🙂 The banana bread went perfectly with his coffee at work this week and Hailey and I stole some to enjoy ourselves! If you have the cookbook, you’ll notice Joanna suggests sprinkling sugar on top and while I’m sure that adds a really tasty crunchy layer, I decided to leave it out in an effort to reduce the amount of refined sugar. I didn’t regret it at all and Hailey and Allen had no idea it was technically missing! The extra sugar is certainly not needed to make the bread delicious!

Have you tried any recipes from the Magnolia Table cookbook? I’d love to hear some suggestions on what to try next!

A few crate and barrel finds to call out from the post…

• This cute baking dish that I love! It also cleans up very well, bonus!
• This silicone turner with a bamboo handle that’s as cute as it is functional!

Happy baking, friends!!

Have a beautiful day!

Print

Banana Bread

Joanna's after school banana bread

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 45 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 5 minutes

Servings 12

Ingredients

• 8 Tbsp salted butter melted
• 1 cup packed light brown sugar
• 2 large eggs beaten
• 1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 4 very ripe bananas mashed
• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose non bleached flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans optional

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 and grease a small baking pan with butter.
   

2. In a large mixing bowl, beat together butter, brown sugar, eggs and vanilla until well blended. Add bananas and mix again to combine.
   

3. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and beat until combined. If using, fold in pecans.
   

4. Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan and spread evenly with a spatula. Bake for 45 minutes or until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean. let bread cool slightly in pan. Slice and serve warm.
   

5. Store at room temperature in an airtight container for 2-3 days.
   

Recipe Notes

If you want to add a little sweetness, sprinkle sugar on top before baking!

You can also omit the pecans or substitute chocolate chips in their place!