Not Just Your Grammy's Banana Nut Bread

It turns out love is not the only secret ingredient in my Grammy’s Banana Nut Bread—homemade buttermilk is. My beloved Grammy has been making me her famous banana nut bread since I can remember. After years of being convinced that the only thing that made it taste so good was the love she put into making it, I have finally learned that adding buttermilk does the trick as well.

I have tried what seems like every banana bread under the sun (meaning everything from the Starbucks "banana nut loaf" to all local bakeries) and I have never found one to be as moist and satisfying as this is. It has the perfect banana-to-walnut ratio, which gives it a sweet taste and a great crunch. Eating it right out of the oven makes me feel like I’m getting a hug from my Grammy herself. It is a great snack, but also makes a lovely breakfast when paired with a warm cup of tea. Sometimes Grammy would replace the walnuts for chocolate chips for some extra added sweetness and love, so feel free to do so yourself! 

Ingredients:

½ cup of butter

1 cup of granulated sugar

2 eggs

1 cup of mashed bananas (which is about 2 ½ very ripe bananas)

2 tablespoons buttermilk

1 ½ cups of all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup of chopped walnuts

To make the buttermilk:

½ cup of milk

2 teaspoons white vinegar

(Let it sit for about 15 minutes)

First cream the butter and sugar in a mixing bowl. In a separate bowl beat the eggs and then add them to the mixture. Next add the homemade buttermilk, vanilla, baking soda, flour, bananas (use very ripe ones and mash them with a fork), and walnuts and mix well. Grease and flour the loaf pan and heat the oven to 375 degrees. Bake for one hour until the knife comes out clean.