Mrs. Paulson's Banana Bread

My first recipe selection was made due to the fact that I had some very ripe bananas needing to be used up.  Alice would appreciate the practicality of my choice!

I've been making this recipe for years, so I have had my own written version for a while.  When I looked at the original from Gram's box, I noticed something that I did not remember - the recipe came from Mrs. Paulson.  Mrs. Paulson was Gram's Mother In-Law, my Great Grandmother.

This is a simple basic recipe for banana bread, it has a nice moist and dense consistency and good banana flavor.   It takes no time at all to whip up, and could easily be made in pinch as long as you have ripe bananas on hand.

The recipe makes 2 loaves.  I used two different style pans, and found that the pan choice made a big difference in the outcome.  I used one of my fancy heavy non stick loaf pans, and an old smaller, lighter, thinner pan, that actually had been Gram's.   It is about 7.5x4x2, made of aluminum, and is similar to the pan found at this link.  I preferred the results from her pan - the loaf baked more evenly and was consequently moist throughout where as the larger pan required a longer cooking time, and the bread was more "well done" on the bottom - darker in color and dryer.  A bonus is that the smaller pan has rounded corners and it is much easier to clean.

Many recipes for banana bread call for cinnamon, this does not but 1/2 to 1 tsp could be added for a little extra goodness.  Gram would never, ever have put chocolate chips in her banana bread but I think that chocolate and bananas were made for one another, so you could replace the nuts with 1 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips for a sweeter and delicious bread.

MRS. PAULSON'S BANANA BREAD
1 C sugar
1/2 C butter
2 eggs
3 T sour milk (Who keeps sour milk on hand anymore?  This can be made by adding a couple drops of lemon juice or vinegar to the milk and let it set for a few minutes.)
3 mashed very ripe bananas
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 C flour
1 C nuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, grease and flour two loaf pans.

Cream sugar and butter until light and fluffy with handheld or stand mixer.  Add eggs one at a time until fully incorporated, then add milk and bananas to mixture.  Combine remaining dry ingredients in a large bowl and combine well, then add slowly to banana mixture and beat on low until just combined.  Divide batter into prepared pans.

Bake 45 - 1 hour until tester comes out clean.