Banana Bread Recipe: A Great Homemade Gift

The holiday season ’tis the season of eating, so why not give a truly tasty homemade gift? A fresh loaf of banana bread makes the perfect homemade gift for friends, family or co-workers.

When I bake banana bread to give as a homemade gift, I sometimes use the small loaf pans, which yield just enough homemade banana bread for one or two people. If you use the recipe for banana bread that I share below, you can make about three small loaves. Each one makes a tasty homemade gift.

Conservative Banana Nut Bread: A Tasty Homemade Gift

I’m not a Republican, nor do I live in Austin anymore, but I got the following recipe from the “Austin Republican Women 2000” cookbook, which I’m not sure how I obtained. Nevertheless, I’ve found that those conservative ladies know how to bake.

To make this tasty homemade gift, you’ll need:

½ cup shortening or butter (Butter is always best in my book.)
1 ½ cups sugar
2 eggs
1 cup mashed bananas (If you have a lone banana that is too ripe to eat, mash it up and store it in the freezer in a freezer bag. Thaw it to use when baking banana bread.)
½ teaspoon salt
¾ cup pecans or walnuts (optional)
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups flour (All-purpose is fine, but the Republican ladies say they prefer whole wheat.)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/3 cup buttermilk (I always use regular milk, and the bread has never imploded.)
½ teaspoon baking soda

Use a mixer to cream the shortening or softened butter (15 to 20 seconds in the microwave does the trick). Add the sugar and blend the mixture well.

In another bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, salt and baking soda.

In your liquid measuring cup, mix the milk and vanilla.

Add the flour mixture and the milk mixture to the creamed-butter mixture, alternating between the two and ending with the flour. (I’m not sure why. Don’t question the conservatives; they don’t like it.)