Actual quote from my husband, "This might be the best banana bread I've ever had!"
(You should know that banana bread is his go-to bakery/coffee chop order.)
Moist, nutty, sweet, comforting...you'll be reaching for a slice of this Butterscotch Banana Nut Bread for breakfast, snacks, and a sweet treat.
The "secret" to this recipe: butterscotch chips, LOTS of pecans, and a sharp eye making sure the loaves don't overbrown.
The credit for the recipe really goes to Judy Collins who won a blue ribbon with it in the Iowa State Fair; I'm guessing sometime in the 1980s or early 1990s. Since I did some food judging for the State Fair of Texas this year (dream gig!), Jack gave me a vintage cookbook of Blue Ribbon State Fair recipes for my birthday! Yay!
Let's Make Butterscotch Banana Nut Bread
This recipe makes TWO loaves! Perfect for giving at the holidays or just to treat your neighbor.
You'll want to use shortening to grease the pans, and grease them well! The butterscotch chips will make the loaves prone to sticking. (Also, if that happens, just eat it all with a fork right out of the pan while standing in your kitchen. No one will know.)
Butterscotch Banana Nut Bread
YIELD: 2 loaves
PREP TIME: 20 minutes
BAKE TIME: 60 minutes
3 1/2 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour
4 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 cups mashed ripe bananas
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup salted butter, melted
2 eggs
1/2 cup whole milk
2 teaspoons vanilla or vanilla bean paste
2 2/3 cups chopped pecans
1 (12-ounce) package butterscotch morsels
Preheat oven to 350. Grease and flour two 8x4" loaf pans.
Whisk flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt together. Set aside. In a large bowl, beat mashed bananas, sugar, and melted butter together until combined. Beat in the eggs. Combine milk and vanilla in a measuring cup. In three additions, add the flour, alternating with the vanilla milk, just to combine.
Stir in 2 cups of the pecans and butterscotch chips. Pour batter into prepared pans and sprinkle tops with remaining pecans.
Bake for 60 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean, loosely covering the loaves with a sheet of foil after 25-30 minutes to prevent overbrowning. Cool in pans for 15 minutes, then run a knife along the edges, remove from pans, and let cool on wire rack.
To store, wrap in foil.
*adapted from America's State Fair Recipes. Judy Collins, Iowa State Fair
