Grandma's Banana Bread Recipe

When I was in elementary school, I lived with my grandparents for a few years. My grandma is like a mother to me and has taught me everything I know about cooking, sewing, and basically everything about keeping a house. One of my favorite things my grandma used to make when I was a kid, is her banana bread. There are few things more comforting to me than the smell of baking banana bread. My favorite was when my grandma would get up early and put it in the oven before any of us would even be awake. Just as it began filling the kitchen with that sweet smell, I'd be getting up to get ready for school. It always made my day.

I thought I'd share the recipe with you.

Here's the ingredients you'll need.

1/2 cup cooking oil (you can also substitute this with applesauce for a healthier option)
1 cup sugar
2 eggs beaten
3 ripe large bananas, mashed
2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Optional:
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground gloves
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 cup chopped nuts

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Beat together oil and sugar. Add eggs and banana pulp and beat well. Add sifted dry ingredients, milk, vanilla and spices. Mix well and then stir in the nuts.
Next, pour into a greased and floured loaf pan. Bake at 350 degrees for one hour or until a knife comes out clean from the center.

Note: I've never sifted the dry ingredients and it hasn't been an issue. I think it just blends the ingredients more easily. I measure everything exactly except the spices. I tend to just sprinkle in as much as I want of each spice and sometimes if I don't have nutmeg I'll use mace, which is a similar substitute. You don't have to add the extra spices in, but I think it tends to be the "secret ingredients" that really make the bread delicious.
P.S. I used applesauce on the batch you see here for the first time. Definitely, healthier and very moist, but it made the bread very dense and I think I prefer the oil over the applesauce. Both are great though!

Hope you enjoy!