I inherited several of my grandmother's old cookbooks, including a few cookbooks that I'm guessing she used quite a bit when she was a newlywed. It's fun to look at the hand-written notes my grandma left next to her favorite recipes. And I can tell she had a fondness for banana bread - the yellowest, egg-splattered cookbook pages are those with banana bread recipes.
Seriously, some of her old cookbooks have dozens of variations on banana bread. But my favorite banana bread recipe is an oldie but goody from Cooking Light magazine. I like that this lightened up recipe substitutes shortening with low-fat sour cream. I've also noticed that in recent Iowa State Fair cookbooks, the blue-ribbon banana bread recipes use sour cream. It really does make a moist banana bread with lots of fresh banana flavor.
By the way, I'm still hunting for the best-ever quick bread pan. It seems that all my bread pans are 10-inch, but the recipes I try always call for a 9-inch pan. I decided to find mini-loaves pans. I drove down to Des Moines and stopped at two different stores (Wal-Mart and Target) before I finally found these mini-loaf pans at Bed, Bath and Beyond. Normally, I just order my baking supplies on Amazon.com, but I just HAD to have these pans right away :)
However, my hubby pointed out that the mini-loaf bread is about the size of a really big muffin, which he can eat in three bites. So maybe these pans weren't the best $10 investment. But the loaves sure look cute!
How wonderful to have your grandma's old cookbooks. I like a healthier version of banana bread. I always try to find recipes that don't have so much butter and sugar. The mini loaves do look cute. How does the bread look once sliced?
ReplyDeleteI should have taken another picture, but the bread is a nice pale yellow color when sliced, not the darker brown like some other banana bread I've tried. Cooking Light has some really neat variations of banana bread on their website, if you're looking for more ideas.
ReplyDelete