Mountain News Recipes - Best Ever Banana Bread - EVER

I've gotten a ton of compliments on this banana bread. It really is good. One reason is that it uses a lot of ripe bananas and yogurt or buttermilk, so it's really moist and the cinnamon/sugar crust doesn't hurt either.  ;)

Cinnamon Sugar Banana Bread

3 cups sugar
1 cup butter, softened
1 tsp. vanilla
4 eggs
3 1/2 cup flour
2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup buttermilk (or yogurt or sour cream)
6 very ripe bananas, all mushed up with a fork
cinnamon/sugar mix for dusting pans and topping

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease two big bread pans or three smaller bread pans with PAM then sprinkle bottom and sides with cinnamon/sugar mix.

Cream together sugar and butter. Stir in eggs one at a time, beating well. Add vanilla. Add mushed bananas. Set aside.

In another bowl, mix together the flour, soda and salt. Add to the egg mixture alternately with the buttermilk (or yogurt or sour cream) (Add a little flour mixture then a little buttermilk, then more flour mixture then more buttermilk until all incorporated.) Mix just until combined. No need to over mix here.

Pour into prepared pans. Cover the tops of the batter with more cinnamon/sugar mixture. Bake one hour until toothpick comes out clean. Try not to eat whole loaf. This gets better with age, in every way.

*If you don't have any buttermilk, all you have to do is add one tablespoon of vinegar to  1 cup of milk and let it sit for a  minute. Works just as well.

**All I had one time for the buttermilk (or yogurt or sour cream) was blueberry yogurt and it worked really well.

***You can add nuts to this, or coconut or mini-chocolate chips or blueberries or whatever you want. It all works.  Enjoy!