Mom's Banana Bread

This recipe is very dear to my heart because it evokes the memory of my mom pulling a fresh baked loaf of banana bread from the oven on Saturday mornings.  Hmmmmmmm... I can just smell it now -  fresh, warm, banana, filling up the whole house with it's sweet aroma.  I remember cutting out a piece while it was still hot and savoring the flavors of the speckled little bread.  SO GOOD!

So, you can see why I had to come up with a way that I could still enjoy this treat but tweak it to fit the whole foods, plant-based lifestyle.

The challenges:  what to do about the eggs and buttermilk called for in the original recipe.  Everything else could have been left exactly the same but, I chose to substitute out some of the sugar the original recipe calls for with honey and applesauce which, did double duty as an egg substitute and as a alternative sweetener.

Shopping List:
2 c. whole wheat flour
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. vegetable shortening
1/2 c. clover honey
1/2 c. unsweetened applesauce
3 well ripened bananas
4 Tbl. milk alternative (use to make buttermilk)

From the Pantry:
4 tsps. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. white distilled vinegar (use to make buttermilk)
1 Tbl. pumpkin pie spice
pinch of salt
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Tools:
3 mixing bowls
large spoon
whisk

Preparation:  You'll need to make 4 Tbls. buttermilk for this recipe.  To do that, combine milk and vinegar and let stand while you prep all other ingredients*.  Combine sugar, vegetable shortening, applesauce, and honey in one bowl and whisk together until ingredients are well blended.  In a separate bowl, combine flour, pumpkin spice, baking powder and salt.  Peel and mash three bananas and set aside in another bowl.  Add baking soda to buttermilk.  Add alternately with flour mixture to sugar mixture.  Add vanilla and mashed bananas.  Using a large spoon, portion out mixture into muffin tins and bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.  Makes about 24 muffins.

This recipe is simply divine.  I've served them warm, just out of the oven, with a dollop of coconut milk, vanilla ice cream and the experience is take-a-moment, eyes-closed good.  My husband also enjoys having a few for breakfast with his morning coffee.

The addition of the honey and applesauce makes these muffins super moist and they retain that consistency well after they've fully cooled.  I've so enjoyed sharing this recipe and I truly hope you'll try this one out for yourself.  They're seriously SO GOOD!




*Be forewarned, when you make this buttermilk, it make look like the components of your milk alternative have separated.  In other words, it's not going to look right after you let it stand for a little while.  But don't worry.  It will mix together and bake up just fine.