Things I’m loving lately:
1. Friday Night Lights. By day 3 of being sick on the couch last week, I was so bored I decided the only remedy was to start watching a new show on Netflix. I’d heard really good things about Friday Night Lights from some other bloggers, and it also stars Connie Britton who I’m loving in Nashville right now so I gave the first episode a shot. Four days later and I’d finished the entire 22-episode first season. Yep, you could say I’m a fan 🙂 I love football, but the show is about so much more than that, and I was drawn in immediately. I haven’t started season 2 yet, but only because I fear what it’ll do to my productivity…
2. Hockey is back! Well, soon anyway. This fall just wasn’t the same without my boys in black and gold. And as much as I’m enjoying watching the Patriots in the playoffs, football will be over in a few short weeks and without hockey, it was going to be a very long winter.
3. Comfort food. It’s winter – enough said, right? We’ve been all about soups and stews, meatloaf, mac & cheese and other simple pasta dishes. But we can’t forget about dessert!
For me, banana bread is one of the ultimate comfort food desserts. It’s right up there with chocolate chip cookies. There are a million banana bread recipes out there, and a lot of them are fantastic, but there are a few things that make this one extra special. First, the bananas are roasted which really concentrates their flavor. The butter in the recipe is also browned before being added, and I think we can all agree that everything is better with brown butter! I love the combination of peanut butter and banana so I threw in peanut butter chips as well, but you could use chocolate chips or nuts if you’d rather. This one is a keeper for sure!
Hope you all have a great weekend 🙂
Roasted Brown Butter Banana Bread
adapted from Bella Baker
{Note: choose yellow bananas for this recipe – you don’t want to use bananas with dark peels like you normally would for banana bread.}
3 medium bananas
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
2 1/4 cups cake flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup whole milk, at room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup peanut butter chips
Preheat oven to 350 F. Spray an 8 1/2 x 4 1/2-inch loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray.
Place the bananas (in their peels) on a rimmed baking sheet. Roast for about 15 minutes, or until the peels have blackened and the fruit begins to seep out. Remove the baking sheet to a wire rack and allow the bananas to cool completely. (Maintain the oven temperature.)
Meanwhile, add the butter to a large skillet set over low heat. The butter will melt then begin to bubble and foam. Eventually it will start to turn brown and smell nutty – be patient and watch carefully, it can go from brown to burned quickly. Remove the pan from the heat and pour the butter into a heatproof bowl. Allow to cool slightly.
Whisk the cake flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt together in a medium bowl. Add the sugar to the bowl with the cooled butter and whisk to combine. Stir in the milk and vanilla extract until incorporated. Remove the cooled roasted bananas from their peels and mash them, then add to the butter/sugar mixture in the bowl. Whisk to combine. Add the dry ingredients to the bowl in two additions, stirring just until combined. Fold in the peanut butter chips.
Pour the mixture into the prepared pan. Bake for 55-60 minutes, or until a thin knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and allow the bread to cool for 15 minutes before turning it out to cool completely.
Oh my! I will try this recipe for sure!
I haven’t made banana bread in so long because I always eat all my bananas before they get ripe enough! Definitely craving now
I love that you made this today. PERFECT timing! This recipe is fabulous and I have soooo many bananas wanting to go in bread!
I love making banana bread with browned butter. It adds a dimension that nothing else can touch! Beautiful, Tracey!
That is a gorgeous looking banana bread … my favorite kind to bake.
That is a gorgeous looking banana bread … my favorite kind to bake.
I have never thought to roast bananas but I bet they are so good, and with the banana bread…so perfect!
Love how you roast the bananas!
I love that this has roasted bananas AND browned butter! Sounds amazing!
Best. banana. bread. ever.
Enough said.
I am always looking for a good Banana Bread recipe, especially after that CI one we made.
I like the idea of roasting the bananas.
Looks good! Thanks for sharing. I just started getting into FNL too! Such an addicting show.
I love banana bread and this version sounds super kicked up. Yum!
Great idea to roast the bananas first, and everything is better with brown butter. Looks wonderful!
Roasted bananas and brown butter?! I’m in! I want this right now!
Yum! Sounds so good. Love banana everything.
The roasted bananas in this have me totally intrigued. Looks great and hope you’re feeling better!
Yum! Love the addition of the peanut butter chips!
No eggs?
Leigh
@Leigh – Yep, no eggs in this one!
This makes me realize that it’s been a long time since I’ve made banana bread. This version sounds so good, especially with roasted bananas!
Roasted bananas in banana bread sounds amazing!
I have 2 favorite banana breads that I switch between but I’m loving brown butter everything so I obviously need to try this!
I love this idea for banana bread. What a great idea. I’ve heard good things about Friday Night Lights so I’ll have to catch it on Netflix sometime. My husband and I just worked our way through Sherlock – definitely a fave.
I made this today. I loved the idea of browned butter and roasted bananas and just had to try this. I altered it a bit. I reduced the sugar down to 3/4 of a cup and added chia seeds and walnuts. It came out wonderful. Moist and delicious. This recipe is a keeper. Thank you for sharing it
Best banana bread ever! I made this last week for my hubby and he requested it again today.. he is even helping to make it haha!