Banana Nut Bread or Muffins With Dried Fruit
Monday, December 22nd, 2008If you are like me, you buy bananas and before they are all eaten, they start to turn brown. I simply throw mine in the freezer for use in smoothies or quick breads. Today I was looking in my freezer and realized—it’s time to make something with all those bananas. I know several people on my gift list that could use some homemade holiday cheer. In my quest for keeping the holidays healthy, I searched for a banana bread recipe that reduced the fat content of the bread. I found two recipes on the EatingWell web page that I combined and then added some dried fruit to boost the health value. Both recipes greatly reduced the oil/butter content, but I liked the flavor content of the following recipe, plus the idea of using the brewed coffee for moisture. The dried fruit, nuts and chocolate really add a special flavor to this easy to make bread.

2 /3 cup packed brown sugar
1 /3 cup hot, strong brewed coffee
1- 1 /2 cups mashed overripe bananas (about 4)
2 eggs
3 Tbsp canola oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1- 1 /2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1 /2 tsp ground ginger
1 /2 tsp salt
1 /4 tsp baking soda
1 /2 cup chopped walnuts, extra for topping if desired
1 /2 cup mini chocolate chips
1 /2 cup diced Brownwood Dried Tart Cherries
Or
1 /2 cup chopped pecans, extra for topping if desired
1 /2 cup Brownwood Dried Wild Blueberries
Pan options:
1 large loaf (9 by 5-inch pan)
12 muffins (standard 12-cup, 2 1/2-inch muffin pan)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly oil a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan.
For muffins Preheat oven to 400. Lightly oil muffin tin, or if using paper baking cups, lightly spray with canola cooking spray.
Dissolve brown sugar in coffee in a bowl. Stir in bananas. Whisk together eggs, oil and vanilla in a separate bowl. Add the banana mixture. In a large bowl whisk together flours, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, salt and baking soda. Mix in dried fruit and nuts. Add the banana mixture and stir just until combined. Avoid over-stirring.
Pour into the prepared loaf pan or over muffin tin. Sprinkle top with nuts, if desired. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 40 to 50 minutes for loaf pan; or 20-25 minutes for muffins. Let cool in the pan on a rack for 10 minutes. Invert the loaf onto a rack and let cool completely; or remove muffins from tin.
Wrap in decorative cellophane, tie with a ribbon. You can store these for up to 2 days in an airtight container or freeze for up to one month.
Yield: One loaf or 12 muffins
















