Joanna Gaines Take Two: After-School Banana Bread Recipe

When it comes to recipe reviews, I will not waste anyone’s time and or bore you with long unrelated jargon and have you scroll through endless paragraphs and annoying advertisements or pop ups, just to find out if the recipe works or not. 

In a previous post I had shared my goals to test six of Joanna Gaines recipes from her book Magnolia Table a Collection of Recipes for Gathering, by Joanna Gaines before I fully committed my hard earned dollars on purchasing the book. One of my life disappointments is purchasing an expensive and over-hyped cookbook only to sadly realize that most of the recipes in the book suck. To not add another sucky recipe book to my collection, I decided to test a couple of recipes before I fully vested in this Joanna Gaines book purchase. 

So far, I have tested her Chocolate Chip cookies which I initially did not find favor in, however twenty four hours later I had to give them away or I would have eaten them all. And now I decided to try her "After-School Banana Bread" recipe. Which I found from Pinterest where the user literately shared the photo of the recipe. This is one of the few times I am actually thankful for Pinterest. 

This recipe, just like her Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe, was super easy to make. The recipe and preparation was simple and and I was able to get started and in the oven in less than 30 minutes. For me, these types of recipes is a win-win, and I appreciate this from her recipes so far. 

As with all baking recipes, I start with room temperature butter and or eggs, however her recipe calls to melt you butter which speeds the process of preparation. I mixed my ingredients in my Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer, with the paddle attachment and then decided to fold in some walnuts and chocolate chips. I also decided to mix things up a little bit by also adding almond extract, cinnamon and a little bit of nutmeg. I think these spices compliment any banana bread and if you have not tried in your banana bread recipe then you may be missing out. 

I think it's genius for her to bake this in a square pan rather than a bread loaf pan. I also think it's absolutely genius and a delicious treat to opt in and add the 1-2 tablespoons of sugar on top, as it gives the bread this light crust which is a surprise in your mouth. The recipe was super easy to make, made excellent use of a batch of frozen bananas along with ripe bananas I had at my disposal. The bread was moist and definitely had good structure and balance. It absolutely tasted delicious warm from the oven and also re-heated, it was not overly sweet, even with the addition of the chocolate chips and I think the walnuts helped with that balance. I definitely found favor in this recipe and agree with everyone who has made it. You do not need to be an experienced baker to make this and it took me 45 minutes at 350 degrees to bake.  

Here is her recipe: 

Ingredients

• 8 TBSP (or 1 stick) salted butter, melted and cooled (I used unsalted)
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 large eggs, beaten
• 1½ tsp pure vanilla extract
• 4-5 very ripe bananas, mashed
• 1¾ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp kosher salt
• ½ cup chopped pecans or chocolate chips (optional)
• 1-2 TBSP granulated sugar

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray an 8x8 baking pan with nonstick baking spray or line with parchment paper.
2. In a stand mixer, beat together the butter, brown sugar, eggs, and vanilla with the paddle attachment until well blended. (You can also do this with an electric mixer.) Add the bananas until combined. 
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and beat just until combined. Add the chocolate chips or pecans and mix until combined. *I folded my chips and walnuts in 
4. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and spread it evenly. Sprinkle the sugar over the top.
5. Bake for 45-50 minutes or until a tester or toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the middle. Let the bread cool slightly in the pan on a rack. Slice and serve warm with butter, if desired.
6. When banana bread is completely cool, cover the pan and store at room temperature for up to two days...or freeze for longer storage.

I shared this recipe with my office mates and got rave compliments. My only caution is to definitely wait for the bread to fully cool before wrapping it in the foil, if it even makes it to left over storage. It took everything I had to not polish this bread on my own. 

Two out of six recipes so far and both turned out to be pretty darn good. I will switch and try her Sunday Supper Beef Tips, this will be the first non-sweet recipe which I will try of hers, so let's see how that goes. Stay tuned!

Cheers!

Annie