BANANA

BANANA BREAD IS THE ROYALTY OF QUICK BREADS, CONSIDERED THE MOST-LOVED LOAF OF ALL. BUT WITH A FEW SIMPLE TWEAKS, THE SAME BASE FLAVOR CAN SPIN INTO SOMETHING COMPLETELY NEW.

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ROASTED BANANAS!

For an exceptionally deep banana flavor, roast your bananas. Line a 15×10-inch baking pan with foil. Arrange unpeeled bananas in prepared pan. Prick banana skins with a fork at 1-inch intervals. Bake 15 minutes in a 350°F oven; cool bananas in pan. Using a small sharp knife, split banana peels. Measure 11/2 cups of the roasted bananas, pressing gently into measuring cup.

BANANA BREAD

HANDS ON 25 minutes BAKE 50 minutes at 350°F

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 9x5-inch loaf pan; line with a parchment paper sling (tip, p. 6). In a large bowl stir together first seven ingredients (through nutmeg). Make a well in center of flour mixture.

2. In a medium bowl combine eggs, sugar, and oil; stir in bananas. Add egg mixture all at once to flour mixture. Stir just until moistened (batter should be lumpy). Fold in walnuts. Spoon batter into prepared pan. Sprinkle with Streusel-Nut Topping (if using).

3. Bake until a toothpick comes out clean, 50 to 55 minutes. (If necessary to prevent overbrowning, cover loosely with foil the last 15 minutes of baking.) Cool in pan on a wire rack 10 minutes. Remove from pan; cool completely on wire rack. Makes 1 loaf (16 slices).

PER SLICE 220 cal., 9 g fat (1 g sat. fat), 23 mg chol., 131 mg sodium, 34 g carb., 2 g fiber, 17 g sugars, 3 g pro.

STREUSEL-NUT TOPPING

In a small bowl stir together 3 Tbsp. packed brown sugar and 2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour. Using a pastry blender, cut in 4 tsp. salted butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in 1/4 cup chopped walnuts.

PB&J BANANA BREAD