As soon as I saw this recipe I knew that’s what my bananas were destined for.  And then, with 3 nicely blackened bananas on my counter, I read the recipe…and realized I only needed 1 banana.  So this recipe is heavily adapted so I could use my 3 bananas.  It turned out as deliciously as I’d hoped.

Do you ever get excited about a recipe and forget to make sure you actually have all the ingredients?  This used to happen to me a lot in high school!  So often that one of my best friends kept threatening to get me a chicken so that I’d always have eggs on hand.

Brown Sugar-Pecan Swirl Banana Bread

Makes one loaf

Adapted from An Edible Mosaic

Swirl:

• 1/3 cup dark brown sugar
• 3/4 cup finely chopped pecans
• 1 Tbsp ground cinnamon

In a small bowl, whisk all ingredients together.  Set aside.

Bread:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp instant coffee or espresso powder (optional)
• 3/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 6 Tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 3 ripe bananas (about 1 1/2 cups), mashed
• 2 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350°F.  Grease a 9×5″ loaf pan with cooking spray and set aside.

Sift together the flour, coffee, baking soda, and salt.

In a separate bowl, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.  Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Add in bananas and vanilla.

Add dry ingredients to the wet, mixing until just combined.

Scoop 1/3 of batter into prepared loaf pan.  Sprinkle with 1/3 of the swirl mixture.  Repeat twice more, so that the last of the swirl mixture tops the last third of the batter.

Bake for 55-60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Let cool on a wire rack before slicing.