A classic dessert with a little zest

There’s quite literally nothing better than a good ol’ moist banana bread - especially one with yummy blueberries! And a brown butter lemon glaze on top? *drools*…I’m not sure what makes this dessert so enticing, maybe it seems healthier because it’s loaded with fruit?! I’ve tested this recipe quite a few times and made little tweaks along the way - the lemon glaze being one of them. I loveee sweet things, so I always go heavy on the glaze (as you can probably see in the photo).

Whether you’ve got ripe or fresh bananas, I have good news for you! You can use this recipe with either, and that’s because I have a little trick to share with you. If your bananns (anyone else call food weird names or is it just Taylor and me?) are green or not quite ripe enough to mash up for bread, do this (what - a recipe within a recipe? mind.blown.):

• Preheat your oven to 300 degrees.

• Remove any stickers and separate your bananas - this bread recipe calls for 3 of them.

• Once the oven is preheated, place your bananas on a cookie sheet, a couple inches apart (if you’re worried about them juicing out and getting the cookie sheet sticky, you can use parchment paper or foil underneath).

• Bake them until the outside is just turning completely black. For me, this takes 30-45 minutes, typically. I’d set a timer for 15 minute increments and just check it!

• There ya go - ripe bananas (on tap?)

This recipe has a little bit longer list of ingredients, but it’s still oh so easy to make and, to be completely honest, the long, delicious name of it might intrigue your family and friends more than the bread itself (if that’s even possible)!

Ingredients:

Blueberry Banana Bread

• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

• 1/8 tsp baking soda

• 1 tsp baking powder

• 1/4 tsp salt

• 1 cup sugar

• 1 stick of softened butter - do this ahead of time!

• 2 large eggs

• 1/4 cup any milk (I use almond milk)

• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla

• 3 mashed bananas (use the ripening trick from the blog post above if you don’t have ripe ones!)

• 1 ish cups of blueberries (I always toss in a few more cuz why not) (you can use frozen but it’s better to thaw them first…if you don’t it’ll still work fine - it’ll just add a little time to the baking process!)

Brown Butter Lemon Glaze

• 6 tablespoons butter

• 3+ cups of powdered sugar

• Juice from 2-3 lemons (I love lemon so I usually do 3, but it is quite strong this way)

• 1 tsp vanilla (I usually just do a splash)

Equipment:

• Loaf Pan

  Hand or Stand Mixer

Instructions:

Step 01:

Preheat your oven to 350 degress (F) and spritz your loaf pan. I use my Misto with olive oil in it…Taylor got me the Misto for Christmas a few years back and it’s just the best!

Step 02:

In a small bowl, mix together your flour, baking soda, baking powder, and your salt.

Step 03:

In another, larger bowl (or in your stand mixer if you’re using one) beat together your softened butter and your sugar until it’s well combined.

Step 04:

Add in your eggs, milk, and vanilla, and continue mixing until well combined again. Then add your flour slowly so it doesn’t go flying everywhere! Lastly, with a spoon or spatula, you’ll want to mix in your blueberries as evenly as ya can.

Step 05:

Pour your batter into the loaf pan - in my experience this is sort of a thicker batter so it’s kind of difficult to scrape outta the bowl. Bake for 1 hour, or until a butter knife comes out mostly clean from the center. Leave it in the pan to cool. (I like to slice it all while it’s still in the pan, as soon as it’s cooled - then I remove it from the pan and store it in a dessert tray, glass “tupperware”, or a stasher bag if it will fit).

Step 06:

While the bread bakes, you can whip up your glaze! In a small saucepan, first melt your butter then swish it in circles on medium heat until it * just * starts to turn a darker golden…It may take a few minutes so be patient. Immediately remove from the heat, and mix with your lemon juice (I pour it into a different bowl for easier whisking). If you leave the butter on the stove for too long, it might get a burnt taste, so don’t look away while you’re doing this step!

Step 07:

Add your vanilla. Whisk the powdered sugar into your lemon/butter mixture until it’s well combined with little-to-no lumps. Voila! Store this in a separate container in the fridge and drizzle on each piece before eating - I find this works best for the texture/moisture of the bread.

I like to have this as my dessert post-dinnertime, and I usually pop a slice of the bread in the microwave for about 30 seconds so it’s nice & toasty. Then I drizzle the glaze over the warmed bread so it gets all melted and spreads itself over the entirety of the slice. And there ya have it - it’s quite simple and totally worth the little bit of effort!

Do you have any questions?

As always, I encourage you to send me a message on my Instagram account (@calicocowacres) if you have any recipe questions or need advice while making it. I want my recipes to be something you can adapt and make your own - and I’m happy to help you do it!