The Best Ever Banana Bread

Hands down this is the best banana bread I have ever made....It really is the recipe and no I can't claim it to be mine :( It's from the Best Recipe Cookbook by Cooks Illustrated. It takes the approach of testing every major recipe version of said item...then creating a version that takes the best of each recipe into one SUPER recipe. I received mine as a gift but if I had known about it head of time I would have just bought it...Lots of great gems in here and is now pretty much the only cookbook I use to figure out how to do it right, even if the idea of the dish comes from other sources. I would love to take credit for being an awesome cook but really it's because other people have spent time to diligently figure out the nuances that I am able to feed my friends and family tasty morsels :)

The original recipe calls for walnuts but I never put them in...I prefer the texture without them. I do enjoy the addition of mini chocolate chips though...and toasted with peanut butter is like a decadent dessert :)

Banana Bread
2 cups flour
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 very ripe bananas mashed well (about 1 1/2 cups)
1/4 cup plain yogurt
2 eggs lightly beaten
6 tablespoons melted butter (this is clutch!!)
1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 350. Grease and flour and a 9x5" loaf pan.

Mix together flour, sugar, baking soda and salt in a bowl.

In a separate bow, mix together the bananas, yogurt, eggs, butter and wooden spoon. Lightly fold the banana mixture into the dry ingredients with a rubber spatula until combined and the batter looks thick and chunky.

Pour into the prepared loaf pan. Bake for about 55 minutes until the loaf is golden brown and the cake tester comes out clean. Cool for at least 10 minutes...you can serve warm or at room temperature.