Sour Cream Banana Bread

It's not Christmas yet. In fact, it's not even Thanksgiving. However, it snowed so much yesterday in Michigan that it sure feels more like Christmas than Thanksgiving. I'm talking multiple inches of snow, not just a dusting. Yes, I'm from the Midwest and am used to snow. No, we don't usually get that much here this early.

Since it feels and looks like Christmas, I think it's okay for me to talk about Christmas. **But for the record, I'm not a fan of the whole Christmas decoration thing immediately after Halloween**. Too soon. Too soon.

Every Christmas Eve my extended family usually gathers together for dinner and fun. We tend to make and bring WAY too many cookies as a group to this celebration. We always end up with WAY too many leftover cookies that most of us cannot eat. However, I'm pretty sure my husband is a cookie eating machine at Christmas time so he helps the situation slightly.

Anyways, to help with the cookie overload, a few years back my mom started making mini loaves of bread for everyone to take home instead of sending them home with extra cookies. Not only delicious, but they are also perfect for a Christmas morning breakfast or brunch! When I asked my mom for the banana bread recipe she uses, she couldn't find it!! Panic!! It's possible she is hiding her recipe so she's the only one that can make it but I'm pretty sure she probably just left the recipe with her mini loaf pans somewhere in the Christmas boxes. She'll probably call me in a week with her recipe.

Regardless of whether this is THE banana bread recipe or not, this is sure to make your stomach happy. The cinnamon sugar coating on the pan is GENIUS! So much better than a flour coating. I made mine as full loaf pans but you can also reduce the cooking time to make smaller pans! Wrap them up and hand them out at Christmas. Everyone will love it!

SOUR CREAM BANANA BREAD
recipe adapted from All Recipes | Banana Sour Cream Bread
prep time: 10 minutes, cook time: 1 hour 30 minutes
makes: 2 loaf pans (9" x 5")

INGREDIENTS
To coat the pans:

• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• cooking spray

For the banana bread:

• 3/4 cup butter
• 2 cups white sugar
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 3 eggs
• 6 ripe bananas, mashed
• 1 container sour cream (16 ounces)
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 4 1/2 cups flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 teaspoons baking soda

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Spray 2 loaf pans (mine were 9" x 5") with cooking spray. Mix together 1/4 cup sugar and 1 teaspoon cinnamon in a small bowl. Dust the loaf pans with the cinnamon and sugar mixture, making sure to cover the bottom and sides.
3. Cream the butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl. Mix in the eggs, bananas, sour cream, vanilla, and cinnamon.
4. Stir in the flour, salt, and baking soda until just incorporated. 
5. Divide batter into the 2 loaf pans. *Optional: sprinkle a little white sugar on top to give a slight crunch to the top.
6. Bake for 1 hour and 30 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean from the center of the loaf.
7. Remove bread from loaf pans and let cool on wire rack. To store, wrap in aluminum foil.

NOTES

I froze one of my loafs because they are so large. They freeze and thaw very well! You can also make this recipe with 4 smaller loaf pans (7" x 3"). If you use smaller pans, adjust the baking time to about an hour, then check with a toothpick to see if they are done.