Banana Hazelnut Bread

This recipe is my pick for I Heart Cooking Clubs November Potluck. We love banana bread at our house and I am always up for trying a new recipe even though we have a favorite. I had some extra bananas on their way out so I figured I'd give Tessa's Banana Bread recipe a try and add some hazelnuts, as were suggested in the recipe preface...

Banana Hazelnut Bread

Tessa Kiros -- Apples for Jam page 349

1/4 pound plus 1 tablespoon butter

1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar

3 or 4 medium ripe bananas, mashed -- I used 3

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

pinch of salt

2 cups all purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

4 tablespoons warm milk

approx 1/2 cup chopped hazelnuts (optional of course, if you are not a nut fan)

Preheat the oven to 350 and butter a 12 by 4 inch loaf pan. I do not have a 12 by 4 inch loaf pan but recently purchased this Kaiser 10 by 4 inch loaf pan so gave it a try with this recipe and it worked perfectly.

Cream the butter and sugar until smooth and then whisk in the mashed bananas. Add the eggs, vanilla, cinnamon, and a pinch of salt and whisk in well. Sieve in the flour and baking powder and beat until smooth. Mix the baking soda into the milk and stir into the batter. Stir in nuts if using.

Scrape the mixture into the pan...

and bake for about 50 minutes, until the bread is crusty on the top and a skewer poked into the middle comes out clean. Turn out onto a rack to cool. Serve warm or cold, plain or toasted with butter, but allow to cool completely before storing in an airtight container, where it will keep well for several days. I doubt it was last that long, our loaf didn't :)

I thought that this was a delicious version of banana bread that I wouldn't hesitate to make again.  It's nice for me to think of humble homey banana bread, a family favorite, being baked in kitchens around the world.  I personally loved the hazelnuts in the bread, but picky husband picked them out, sorry honey! Anyway, the kids liked this one as much as I did, so it was a winner in my book :)