Recipes

Prepare your pans first!!

-1 standard loaf pan, lightly greased with butter and lined with a piece of waxed paper

For the banana bread:

1/2 cup butter at room temperature

2 eggs

1 cup sugar

1 tsp salt

1 1/2 cups flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

3 ripe (but not too ripe…perfectly ripe are best) bananas

1 tsp almond extract

1 tsp vanilla

1/4 cup poppy seeds

Preheat your oven to 325°F.  Blend the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Add the eggs and combine.  Chop the bananas and add them, mixing well and mashing the bananas slightly.  Add the extracts and combine.  Add the dry ingredients and fold until combined, making sure not to over mix (stirring too much will make the bread dense).  Add nuts and poppy seeds and fold to incorporate.  Bake the bread for 50-60 minutes (sometimes more) or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean.  Cool for 10 minutes and then invert onto a wire cooling rack.

For the cream cheese:

1 8oz package cream cheese, at room temperature

3-4 Tbsp maple syrup

Blend well until maple is completely incorporated.  Transfer to a serving dish and serve alongside the sliced banana bread.