Banana Bread Recipe 2---Southern Living Magazine January 2005

Cream Cheese-Banana-Nut Bread/ Southern Living

From "Southern Living" magazine January 2005

Makes 2 loaves
Bake 1 hour, cool 40 minutes
Warm bread is YUMMY but to get perfect slices, let bread cool 30 minutes, and cut with a serrated knife.

3/4 cup butter, softened
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
2 cups sugar
2 large eggs
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 and 1/2 cups mashed bananas ---about 4-5 medium bananas
1 cup chopped pecans, toasted
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Beat butter and cream cheese at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy. Gradually add sugar, beating until light and fluffy. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating just until blended after each addition.Combine flour and next 3 ingredients; gradually add to butter mixture, beating at low speed just until blended. Stir in bananas, pecans, and vanilla. Spoon batter into 2 greased and floured 8 x 4 inch loafpans.Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour or until a long wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean and sides pull away from pan, shielding with aluminum foil last 15 minutes to prevent browning, if necessary. Cool bread in pans on wire racks 10 minutes. Remove from pans, and cool 30 minutes on wire racks before slicing. May optionally bake muffins instead---spoon batter evenly into 24 paper-lined muffin cups. Bake at 350 degree for 25 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans 10 minutes.

Another option---BESTPrepare bread batter as above and spoon into desired pans. Stir together 1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar, 1/2 cup chopped toasted pecans, 1 tbsp all-purpose flour, 1 tbsp melted butter, and 1/8 tsp ground cinnamon. Sprinkle mixture evenly over batter. Bake and cool as directed.