Another great banana bread recipe—and Carter’s first solo spin with a handheld electric mixer. Just like Widget on Wow! Wow! Wubbzy, who, Carter tells me, invented the Blenderoma 3000 to help Wubbzy make doodleberry pie. (Once again, I must ask myself if my child watches too much TV. At least, Widget is a positive female character who likes to invent and build things.) Carter was so excited about using the mixer that he yelled for Daddy, to “come quick.” Then he showed Jeff how to use the mixer and let him take a turn. 

I chose this Williams-Sonoma banana bread recipe for the whole-wheat flour and the fact that once mashed, the very ripe bananas my neighbor gave me equalled 1 cup. Carter and I have made similar recipes, like the  Ba-Ba banana bread and Nandini’s mini banana muffins, that employ the creaming method, where you blend together room-temperature butter and sugar. However, Carter usually exits from the kitchen when I use either the stand or the handheld mixer because he doesn’t like the noise. This is the first time Carter asked to do it himself—and then went it alone using the handheld mixer. He was proud of himself, and, needless to say, I was proud of him, too. (Tip: use a mixing bowl with a nonslip bottom to keep the bowl secure on the counter.)

We made four loaves in mini loaf pans. I don’t know if it’s the method or the stick of butter and cup of sugar (I’ll try less next time), but this is some good banana bread.

Whole-Wheat Banana Bread

1 1/4 cups whole-wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 cup very ripe bananas, mashed, (3 small or 2 large)
2 eggs

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour a standard loaf pan or four mini loaf pans.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside. 

In a large bowl, beat together the butter and sugar until blended—a handheld electric mixer is helpful for this step. Beat in the banana, then the eggs, one as a time, until completely mixed.

Add the flour mixture into the egg mixture and gently blend by hand just until combined (do not overmix!).

Spread the batter in the loaf pan(s) and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean, about 55–60 minutes for a standard loaf pan or about 30–35 minutes for mini loaf pans. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then remove and cool completely on a wire rack or serve warm.

Adapted from Muffins & Quick Breads (Williams-Sonoma Kitchen Library)

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