Homemade Banana Nut Bread (+ a surprise?)

Greetings! I have a new type of post to share with you guys today, and yes~ it involves some holiday baking! During this time of year, my mom and I have always had the tradition of baking cookies for Santa for d-day of Christmas Eve along with a full glass of milk soon after being read "T'was a Night Before Christmas" (usually narrated by Mr Kris Kringle aka. my dad). It seemed to work every year though, as I would always wake to wonderful presents sitting anxiously under the tree just waiting to be opened! I can clearing remember, and my mom will never forget, when I actually woke up at 5am, checking the living room/fireplace are, running to my mom's room yelling "HE CAME! HE CAME!" The tradition continued throughout the years when my brother and sister had become part of my lives. Guess who became Mrs. Kris Kringle?

Now that my siblings have grown (13 years OLD to be exact), Christmas has turned into a day of happiness and giving. In preparation for the 25th (in 4 days!), my mom gave me the "honor" of baking all the goods for both our little luncheon as well as bringing some to work. What challenge was I about to take on? Banana nut bread and chocolate cookies!

Banana nut bread has been my mom's specialty and for me to take over the reigns, I right away feared a burnt bread pan. I was chatting with both Kat & Jian during my attempt...and they assured me that I'd do fine....... ^^' *breathe in ⋄ breathe out*

Hm, let's see how it turned out!

Banana Nut Bread

Ingredients:
1/2 cup of butter (amounting to 1 stick; shortening or margarine works too)
1 cup of sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup of walnuts
5 over ripened bananas *** (regular bananas are ok too)
2 cups of flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

And...start-o!

Preheat oven to 350°F.


And then gather all ingredients. Let's do this!


Make sure you get a bag of CHOPPED walnuts, otherwise you'll have to break them apart to little pieces yourself. Any brand of semi-sweet chocolates will do, too! ^^


Mix together the butter (softened after 30 sec. in microwave), sugar, eggs, and nuts.


Should look something like this. YUM.


The key to super moist banana nut bread is the bananas! Though this may looks kind of gross, trust me on this one. So, if ever you have a banana that looks like it's too ripe to eat from the peel, throw 'em in the freezer to save them to make yourself some warm banana nut bread.


The good (slimy) stuff.


Didn't have enough overly ripened banaas, so regular bananas will just have to do.


Sift together: flour, baking soda, and salt. Our sifter looks quite ancient btw...lol. Works perfectly fine though.


Add all 5 bananas to the mixture. I broke each banana up with my hands just to make it easier for mashing. Just like mashed potatoes, mash those bananas and mix it well!


Get your bread loaf pan and prep it well with a light amount of butter and flour to ensure that it comes out clean.


Pour it all in~ I shook it intensely to get it to an even height...lol. Shake 'n bake?


Pop it into the oven for 1hr-1hr15min. The longer time turned out to be best for our oven at home. Just make sure you continuously make sure that it 1.) isn't overcook; 2.) burn by checking it with a tooth pick. (There are two loaves since my mom is taking one to work, so I just doubled all the ingredients.)


After the patient waiting and/or distractions, take your loaf out. Let it cool, and it's ready to be served!


And don't forget the most important step of all! ENJOY. Mmmmm~


I also successfully made chocolate chip cookies! This recipe was really simple as well! I didn't take pictures of the process of this one though...darn it! But, if you guys are interested in this one...I'll make note of it. ^^

I've been inspired by my fellow bloggers who have done great posts on foodies that I still want to try!:
D and her "Crustless Cranberry Pie"
Jian and her "Chicken, Leek, and Bacon Pie"
Tiffany and her "Light Ver.: Lemon Pound Cake"
Yumeko and her "Key Lime Pie"

...and if you have a recipe post, please link me! I'd love to try it out. :D

I hope you all enjoyed this post of banana nut bread! I encourage all of you to try it~ especially with the  over-ripened bananas. It really does the trick. :D If you have any questions, let me know in the comments! Happy Baking!

And on to the SURPRISE! 

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Our new family additions. ♡ Upcoming post on these babies...SOON!