Banana Bread

Banana Sour Cream Bread (The BEST evah!)


Original Recipe Yield 4 - 7x3 inch loaves (1 batch usually makes 2 large loaves and about 8 mini loaves OR I also like to make it in a bundt pan- less pans to wash :)


Ingredients
1/4 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 cup butter
3 cups white sugar
3 eggs
6 very ripe bananas, mashed
1 (16 ounce) container sour cream
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 teaspoons baking soda
4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

**Streusel topping (don't be stingy- this is the good stuff) : melted butter (1/2 cup-ish), brown sugar, pinch of cinnamon, sometimes a bit of white sugar and chopped nuts if you like them. It should be a paste consistency. Sprinkle on top of each loaf. I like to barely push it into the batter with a spatula



Directions
1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C). Grease four 7x3 inch loaf pans. In a small bowl, stir together 1/4 cup white sugar and 1 teaspoon cinnamon. Dust pans lightly with cinnamon and sugar mixture.
2. In a large bowl, cream butter and 3 cups sugar. Mix in eggs, mashed bananas, sour cream, vanilla and cinnamon. Mix in salt, baking soda and flour. Stir in nuts. (I don't mix nuts in my batter, but I do like to add some chopped pecans to the streusel I put on top) Divide into prepared pans. Add streusel on top.
3. Bake for 1 hour, until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. If the top starts looking too brown before the middle is done, put some tin foil on top of the loaves so it doesn't get over-done. I use a sharp knife and stick it in the center to test doneness, it doesn't have to come out completely clean, if there is a slight crumb, it should be ready to come out of the oven. Let cool in the pans for a good amount of time; about 30 minutes to an hour.(If you are baking mini-loaves, they are usually done in about 30 minutes).