In an attempt to keep my ecological footprint as tiny as possible, I try to cut back on waste wherever I can. One area where I do this is food. To reduce the amount of food I waste, I do my grocery shopping daily. Shopping daily allows me to refrain from overbuying and inevitably throwing out perishable foods that exceed their expiration date. That being said, bananas are one perishable item I don’t mind having in excess, only because I love to make banana bread. If you have a few over-ripened bananas and aren’t sure what to do with them, use them to make this killer banana bread that’s made even better with 3 Howls Distillery’s Bananas Foster Vodka. 3 Howls’ Bananas Foster Vodka is loaded with flavors of banana, vanilla and cinnamon, making it a perfect pairing for the banana and spices found in this bread.
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Makes: 1 loaf
Ingredients:
1 ½ cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
½ teaspoon salt
1 ½ cups sugar
2 eggs
1 stick of butter (½ cup), melted and cooled
1 ounce 3 Howls Distillery’s Bananas Foster Vodka
4 ripe bananas
2 tablespoons sour cream
Directions:
In a medium size mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Set aside.
In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attached, beat together sugar and eggs for 5 minutes, or until sugar and eggs become light and fluffy.
With the mixer on medium-low speed, slowly add the melted butter. Once the sugar, eggs and butter are mixed together, add the bananas, vodka and sour cream. Continue mixing for 2 minutes, or until mixture is smooth and free of lumps.
Add the dry ingredients and mix on medium-low speed for 2 more minutes, scraping sides of mixing bowl if necessary. Batter should be smooth.
Pour batter into a greased 9” loaf pan and place in the oven on the center rack.
Bake bread for 30 minutes, or until the top becomes golden, brown in color. At this point, cover the bread with foil to prevent the top of the bread from overcooking, and continue baking for an additional 30-45 minutes. The bread is ready when a toothpick inserted into the middle of the loaf comes out clean.
Remove from oven and let stand 10 minutes. Remove bread from pan and place on cooling rack. Allow bread to cool completely before slicing.
