Not quite orgasmic, but pretty damn good banana bread

Pretty Damn Good Banana Bread

(modified from an AllRecipes.com recipe, which came from an old 4H recipe from the 1950s…)

INGREDIENTS

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cup white sugar
• 2 eggs (the original recipe calls for 1 egg, but comments suggested two to keep the loaf from crumbling - I doubled this recipe, and used 3 eggs for the double batch – your mileage may vary…)
• 5 tablespoons milk
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup margarine
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice (or just nutmeg – your choice)
• 1 cup mashed bananas (more or less two good-sized overripe bananas)
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
• 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (optional)
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon and 1/2 teaspoon sugar mixed (optional)

DIRECTIONS

1. Mix together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and pumpkin pie spice.
2. In a large bowl, cream sugar and butter or margarine (I used sweet cream butter and I melted it before mixing it in.) Beat the egg slightly, and mix into the creamed mixture with the bananas. Mix in dry ingredients until just combined. Stir in milk.
3. If you are feeling really decadent, you can add nuts or chocolate chips. Frankly, I’d make it plain once, first, to see how you dig it.
4. Spread batter into one greased and floured 9x5 inch loaf pan (or just pour it straight into one of those fabulous silicone baking pans – man, they rock!)
5. Again, if you’re feeling decadent and want to raise your sugar high, take a tiny mix of cinnamon and sugar and sprinkle over the top of the batter in the pan.
6. Bake in preheated oven for approximately 45 minutes, until a knife inserted into center of the loaf comes out clean. (The top should be brown with cracks along the top.)
7. When done, take from oven and let it cool for a couple of minutes, then flip loaf out onto rack.
8. Eat. Plain. Hot. Cold. With butter. With Nutella. With ice cream. With coffee. With a big, ice-cold glass of milk. Enjoy!