Buttermilk Banana Bread

We've all been there - you buy a whole bunch of bananas, and you don't get around to eating all of them before they turn that gross brown color. A few years ago, a friend clued me in that you can freeze bananas you aren't going to eat before they spoil, rather than throwing them in the garbage, and you can then use them later. So, I started freezing all my almost spoiled bananas, and wouldn't you know, now I have a freezer full of them (slight exaggeration). 

Well, I figured the best thing to make with very ripe bananas is banana bread. I actually thawed 4 of my frozen bananas and used them in this recipe. I love the way this bread turned out. It's perfectly moist, and the chopped walnuts give this bread excellent texture.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups mashed very ripe bananas (I used 4 bananas)
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 cup chopped nuts (optional)

How to:

• Arrange oven rack in a lower position so the top of your bread will be positioned in the center of your oven.
• Heat oven to 350 degrees.
• Grease the bottoms of two small loaf pans, or 1 large loaf pan.
• In a large bowl, mix butter and sugar.
• Stir in eggs until well blended. 
• Add bananas, buttermilk, and vanilla and beat until smooth.
• Stir in flour, baking soda, and salt until just moistened. 
• Fold in nuts, if desired.
• Pour into pans.
• Bake for about 1 hour (small loaf pans), or for about 1 hour, 15 minutes (large loaf pan), or until toothpick comes out clean when inserted in center. 
• Cool 10 minutes.
• Transfer loaves to wire rack and allow to cool completely (about 2 hours) before slicing.

I must say, I've tried my fair share of banana bread recipes, and this is one of my favorites. I think the buttermilk in this recipe sets this one above others I've tried. I hope you all like the end product as much as I did!