What’s Cookin’ Wednesday: Cream Cheese Banana Bread

When I am old and gray and pass away, ie. like Rose on Titanic, an old lady warm in her bed, I have only a few recipes I want to be known for (cinnamon rolls, chocolate cake, pretty rolls and a good black bean avocado salad).  If the relatives feel like making these instead of the traditional funeral potatoes, ham, rolls meal, I will for sure be there!  But really, I do hope to die after a very long life lived, having seen a few great grandchildren and potentially, great greats.  And I hope that all of them will have come to our little house and smelled the smell of this cream cheese banana bread and know they are home.

I found this recipe in a college recipe book years ago.  Like 15 years ago and I have been making it ever since.  Now everyone knows that church/family cookbooks have all the best recipes.  And this is true.  This banana bread doesn’t even taste like banana bread, though there are five bananas in it.  It is creamy (can bread be creamy?) and cinnamony and brown sugary and buttery.  It requires no extra butter on top, but you can slather it on if you want, we have just never had to.  There is a similar version on my favorite cooking blog with a little different topping and a little healthier.  But if you are going for full out indulgent, perfect for a book club, perfect for a luncheon, perfect for neighbor gifts, this is it.

I can’t count the number of time I have made this and the kids have come in and inhaled the air and waited by the oven until it was cool enough to eat. I can’t count the number of times Blake has eaten a lot of it for dinner. I can’t count the number of times that people have asked for this recipe and I have given it because good things must be shared. I can’t count the number of times I have bought cubes of cream cheese on mega sale. I can’t count the number of times I have been a little happy when the bananas turned brown. Now, I can’t claim it’s mine because it came from the cook book but I have no idea who shared it back in 2001.  So, thank you long lost college friend.  You are the best!

Hopefully, this will fill your home and tummies with happiness.  And you can share it and make other people happy.  Because isn’t that what good food is about? I know I think so!  And making good food is even better than eating the good food.  Because when you cook for someone, you cook with love (most of the time, except when you have to make dinner and don’t want to.)  You want to share something that will make their day a little brighter and have them come home and say, “Mmmmm, what is that?”

Cream Cheese Banana Bread

3/4 cup butter

8 ounce cream cheese

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 eggs

3 cups flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

5 bananas

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

dash nutmeg

Mix all of that together.  I don’t really follow the liquid/dry rules.  But if you put the bananas in first and let them get super liquidy and mooshy, there won’t be weird banana chunks in the bread.  Divide into two sprayed loaf pans.  Will be very thick.

Mix together topping with a fork and add on top before cooking.

1 Tablespoon flour

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 Tablespoon butter

1/2 cup brown sugar

Bake 350 degrees for 50-65 minutes.  Really depends on your altitude, oven, etc.  Usually mine is done around 60 minutes.  Stick a knife in and it might be a little crumby but it will be ok.