MOLASSES BANANA BREAD

If you like the taste of molasses, you have to try this recipe! It smells so good cooking and taste as great, especially warm.  

Once again I made it in 3 mini-loaf pans instead of one large loaf. That way I can freeze two and eat one now. Actually I took one loaf to Leon, my friend Janice's husband. Janice and I went shopping while Leon stayed home to participate in their neighborhood garage sales. I figured he would get hungry sitting there all day. So I only have one to freeze while we eat the other one.  

Oh, btw, Leon loved the bread!

MOLASSES BANANA BREAD

1/2   cup softened light margarine/butter

3   large bananas

1   cup molasses* (see tip below)

1   egg

1   cup whole wheat pastry flour

3/4   cup all-purpose flour

1/2   cup chopped walnuts

2   teaspoons baking soda

1/2   teaspoon salt

1/2   teaspoon finely grated orange peel (optional)

1/2   teaspoon ground nutmeg (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray three mini-loaf pans or one 9 x 5-inch loaf pan with cooking spray.

Beat butter in large mixing bowl until smooth.

Beat in bananas, molasses and egg.

Combine flours, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl with a whisk. Mix with other ingredients in large mixing bowl until blended

Pour batter into prepared pans.

Bake for 45 minutes for mini-loaves and 50 - 60 minutes for larger loaf.

Cool on wire rack for 10 minutes.

Remove and continue cooling on wire rack.

  

TIP ALERT:

Time saving techniques I use:

This tip shows you how to measure and then easily pour molasses.

To begin, I sprayed the measuring cup with cooking spray.

Then after measuring the amount of molasses in the cup, I poured it in the mixing bowl.

Notice how completely the molasses came out of the measuring cup. I love it.....no waste, no repeated scraping with a spoon to get it all. I know....I watch chefs cook on TV and they leave so much of the ingredients in the measuring cup. It drives me crazy. If it were okay to use less ingredients, the recipe would call for less.  

Sorry.....I feel better now.

Another thing I do since so many of my recipes use two different kinds of flour....

I have several (3 actually) handy-dandy dry/liquid measuring thingies that makes this so easy to do.  I pull up the outside tube to the total amount called for.  I measure one amount to desired level and then top off with second flour. I don't worry about the exact amount of each as long as the total amount is correct. (Oh dear....I just noticed when I looked at the picture that I used 1/4 cup less all-purpose flour than the recipe called for.....the bread taste really good though.)