I’m of the belief that you can’t cram enough goodness into banana bread; it can totally handle it! This banana bread is made with browned butter, big chunks of walnuts, toasted coconut, and a splash of bourbon–browned butter for it’s rich nutty flavor, walnuts because my two-year-old is obsessed with nuts, toasted coconut since we were out of chocolate chips, and I cannot stop myself from putting some form of coconut in everything, (here’s a short list: Coconut Bars, Buddha Bowls, Coconut Tres Leches Cake, Mango with Coconut Sticky Rice, Olive Oil Granola . . . ) and bourbon makes everything seem a little bit more sinful and therefore delicious. (That was a crazy run-on sentence, and I can’t fix it, so just bear with me. It’s that kind of day.) The reasoning behind this banana bread is perfectly sound, and I can promise not a crumb will be left behind. No seriously.
Notes: Like any good banana bread recipe, this one is highly adaptable to whatever you have in the pantry. I let the kids pick their favorite “mix-ins”, so that each loaf is uniquely their creation. On this day, my two-year-old was adamant about “more and more and more nuts”, so I obliged with a whole cup of toasted chopped walnuts. We all enjoyed it immensely, but if nuts aren’t your thing, feel free to leave them out. For that matter, add whatever mix-ins make your day happy, (chocolate or peanut butter chips, nuts, coconut flakes, raisins, cranberries, etc.) or none at all!
Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Yield: One 9″x13″ loaf
1/2 cup butter, diced1 cup all purpose flour1 cup whole wheat flour1/4 cup dark brown sugar1/2 cup granulated sugar1 teaspoon baking powder1/2 teaspoon baking soda3/4 teaspoon kosher salt1/2 teaspoon cinnamon4 small (or 3 medium) ripe bananas, mashed2 large eggs1/2 cup greek yogurt (any kind)1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut, toasted + extra un-toasted for sprinkling on top
Optional:Â 1 cup walnuts, toasted and coarsely chopped + extra un-toasted for sprinkling on top