Summer’s Cinnamon Banana Bread

Ok folks….this is IT!!!  It is THE BEST banana bread recipe I’ve ever tasted!  I liked my aunt’s, I liked my mother-in-law’s and I liked the Pioneer Woman’s.  But this one is the best of all!  It’s a little variation that I have put on a recipe I came up with and now it’s perfect.  Here’s how you do it……

Ingredients
1-1/2 sticks Butter
1-1/2 cup Sugar
3 whole Eggs
4 Ripe Bananas
4 cups Flour
1 teaspoon Baking Soda
1-1/2 teaspoon Baking Powder
1 tsp Salt
1 tsp Saigon Cinnamon (or regular)
1 cup Sour Cream
2 TBSP Mexican Vanilla (gives it that perfect little kick but you can use regular too)

Topping
1/4 Cup granulated sugar
1 TBSP Saigon Cinnamon (stronger than regular)

Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Grease and flour bundt pan.
Cream butter and sugar and mexican vanilla together. Add eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. Add bananas and beat.  When you get to the 4th banana, don’t mix it all up…keep it chunky (if you like banana chunks in your bread like i do….otherwise, just beat it! cue Michael Jackson song hahaha)
Combine dry ingredients in a separate bowl.
Add dry ingredients and sour cream alternately to the mixing bowl. Beat well until all ingredients are combined.
Sprinkle Sugar/Cinnamon mixture on bottom of pan.
Pour batter into bunt pan and top with more sugar/cinnamon mixture and bake for 1 hour or until a toothpick comes out clean.  (Note:  You do not need to use ALL the sugar/cinnamon mixture.  Just add amount you prefer and save the rest for toast or oatmeal)
Flip upside down and place on a cooling rack and allow cake to cool slightly before slicing and serving with butter.

NOW….Here’s a fun variation you can also add AFTER you dump bread on cooling rack for a few minutes….
*Mix together the following for glaze (I do this almost every time):
2 TBSP of Mexican Vanilla, 1 TBSP Melted Butter, 1/2 tsp Saigon Cinnamon, 2 TBSP Milk. Then add powdered sugar, while stirring, until it creates the perfect glaze consistency.  Drizzle over the top of the whole banana bread.  Slice and serve.  Yummmmmmm!!!

Bon Appetit!  xoxo, Summer