Brown Butter Banana Bread

Elegant and nostalgic all at once, this brown butter banana bread is an intensely flavorful upgrade to the recipe you know and love. Don't skip the brown butter: it takes just minutes to make at home, and highlights the nutty qualities of whole wheat flour, cinnamon, cardamom, and nutmeg. Meanwhile, ripe bananas and honey provide sweetness without the need for refined sugar. All together, these simple ingredients with complex flavors result in an elevated yet cozy, comforting, and familiar loaf of everyone's favorite quick bread.

To brown the butter

1. Melt butter in a small pan over medium heat, stirring frequently until butter is fully melted and begins to bubble and foam. Continue stirring until lots of caramel brown spots appear along the bottom of the pan and the butter starts to smell nutty and caramelized.
2. Transfer browned butter to a small bowl, being sure to scrape all the browned specks of milk solids out as well. Let cool at least 15 minutes while you prepare the rest of the ingredients before adding to the batter (this ensures that the eggs won't scramble due to residual heat).

To make the batter

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a 9" x 5" loaf pan with oil or cooking spray. Stir all dry ingredients together in a large bowl until fully combined.
2. In a separate bowl, thoroughly whisk together eggs, honey, milk or water, and vanilla until well blended. Add wet mixture and cooled brown butter to the dry ingredients, and stir together until batter is smooth and uniform.
3. If the bananas you'll use for mashing aren't very ripe or soft, cut into chunks and microwave for 45-60 seconds to soften. Using a fork, mash bananas until uniform in texture with no large chunks remaining. Using a spatula or wooden spoon, stir mashed bananas into batter. If desired, slice the additional banana in half lengthwise to use as decoration.
4. Transfer batter to prepared pan and use a spatula to smooth the top. If using, gently lay the two whole banana halves cut-side up on top of the loaf in your desired pattern, and gently press them into the batter until level.
5. Bake for 60-70 minutes, or until the top is golden brown, a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, and the center of the loaf feels set when gently pressed. If the top starts browning too quickly, loosely tent the pan with aluminum foil for the remaining bake time.
6. Let cool at least 20 minutes before carefully turning the loaf out onto a wire rack to finish cooling.

Farm Team Tips

There's plenty of wiggle room for less or more banana in this recipe, so if your 3 mashed bananas total 1 1/4 cups or 1 3/4 cups mashed, don't worry about adjusting. Just use what you have, and your loaf will still turn out great!

Don't have white whole wheat flour or looking for a more classic flavor profile? Simply substitute all-purpose flour in place of the white whole wheat. Alternatively, use classic whole wheat flour in place of the white whole wheat to yield an even heartier loaf with a nuttier flavor.

Looking for a dairy-free alternative? Melted coconut oil can be used in place of butter, and you can select a non-dairy alternative for your liquid such as almond milk or just plain water.

If you like your banana bread with the robust flavor of spices, you can double the amounts called for in the recipe for an extra kick of flavor!

Wondering if you can add some chopped nuts or chocolate chips to your loaf? Absolutely! Just stir 3/4 cup of your favorite add-ins into the batter after adding the mashed banana and continue as written.