Island Banana Bread

I've gotten to where I can make this banana bread in my sleep after how much I make it! This is one of my favorite treats to make someone or take to work to share! I'm super picky and like my bananas pretty much green, so after they reach a certain point I have nothing left to do but make banana bread. With this recipe, the riper the bananas, the better the bread! You'll need:

3 ripe bananas

1/2 cup of butter, softened

2 eggs, beaten

1 cup of sugar

1/2 tsp of baking soda

1 1/4 cups of flour

chocolate chips (optional)

pecans (optional)

*Below you'll see Earth Balance Butter and Enjoy Life chocolate which are both dairy free / vegan options, but regular butter and chocolate work and taste great too*

Dairy Free Butter

Measure the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl (if the bananas are super ripe I usually cut the sugar in half, but that is just personal taste and makes it a *tiny* bit healthier). Before things get messy, go ahead and preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Next, work the butter in by hand, yes - by hand! This step is necessary to so that it isn't over mixed like a hand or stand mixer would do. Once the butter and dry ingredients are incorporated into a crumbly mixture, add the mashed bananas, then the beaten eggs, making sure not to over mix. Here is where you can add in chocolate chips or chopped nuts if you'd like. I like both, but when making for others I usually only go with chocolate in case of allergies.

Pour the batter into a greased loaf pan and bake for 50-55 minutes. Take out and let cool on a baking rack before serving.