An incredibly indulgent loaf, this Maple Brown Butter Banana Bread is an incredible addition to a holiday breakfast.

The haunting piano arpeggios of the Counting Crows “Colorblind” softly weave their ways round my little kitchen as I slurp the last dregs of cold coffee, while the katzen (German for “Cats”) lazily flick their tails in time to the beat. The Tuesday before Thanksgiving is what I like to think of as “the quiet before the storm”, with more of the relaxed preparations for for the upcoming holiday happening. Tomorrow, thousands upon thousands of turkeys will be brining, seasoned, and carefully prepped for ovens, grills, smokers, or deep fryers for the following day. Last minute grocery store runs will occur and people will frantically be fighting against one another to grab that last package of cranberries, a forgotten spice, and sometimes extra staples for that unintended party crasher. Crazy amounts of calories are consumed and so begins the truly lavish and creative holiday food to stretch through New Years, which the next day inevitably everyone vows to start the brand new year with cleaner eating habits. Such is the trinity of holidays in the last months of the year.

Thanksgiving has been my absolutely favorite holiday for 32 years running. Amazing food combined with no additional pressures from obligatory gift giving equal a perfect holiday scenario for me. As a child, my dad would have taken us kids to the local football game (the high school from the town next to ours) and then we would have made the short trek to my Babci’s. As an introverted child, these enormous family gatherings were overwhelming and I was always happy to only partake in the Clam Chowder and some dessert rather than traditional Thanksgiving food. As I grew older, we ended up having two Thanksgivings, one at Mom’s and the other at Dad’s. My step-dad had an amazing stuffing recipe, and he and Mom were definitely more adventurous in the kitchen for these big holidays. As I got older, here and there there were Friendsgivings and two years ago was a very sad, leftovers Turkey day as I was too exhausted to actually cook. Last year, my hubs and I did a full on traditional dinner and it was glorious.

I always line my bread tins with parchment paper for ease of lifting the bread out to cool.

Though every now and then I enjoy a delicious slice of decadent cake, I think overall I tend to be a muffin girl or a quick bread girl at heart. Some of this stems from a texture preference, and a good bit of this stems from the fact that frosting is only mildly appealing to myself. I know I know, blasphemy, but the heart wants what it wants. And what my heart wants for this upcoming holiday is this incredibly amazing Maple Brown Butter Banana Bread.

This Maple Brown Butter Banana Bread hits all of my personal perfect banana bread notes. It is incredibly moist due to the fact the bananas are mashed into a chunky consistency. The bread has an insanely velvety texture with an even crumb, dotted with flecks of banana. Intensely banana-y, this banana bread has delicate maple flavors tangling amidst the nuttiness of browned butter. Caramel notes are brought out with the use of light and dark brown sugars, and then, THEN, to top it off is this insanely delicate and crisp cap of Cinnamon Brown Sugar Topping. I have been playing with this recipe for a while, trying to figure out how to get each element to sing and harmonize with the others, and this last version is my favorite incarnation

Some insomnia baking led to the final adjustments that perfected this Maple Brown Butter Banana Bread.

Browning butter is something that sounds super fancy and therefore super fancy can sometimes be intimidating. This can be especially intimidating for those who are Visually Impaired. You truly have to trust your nose and listen to the butter as it is melting to know when it has hit that perfect point. I would suggest using a light colored pot to brown the butter in, as the contrast against the pot will be more apparent once the butter starts browning. When I brown butter, I do it on a medium to medium high heat, and once the butter starts simmering you will hear the little bubbles popping like crazy. Visually the white foam on top starts to turn brown, and you smell an intensely nutty flavor. Once this happens, pull the pan off the heat and swirl it around a few times. Lower the heat, then pull iton and off for just another minute. Voila! Browned butter.

This bread is something you can use those slightly sad looking bananas for, which most of us will have wilting on our counters. All of the other ingredients are pantry staples. This means you can definitely make this any time of year, though I think with the browned butter, maple syrup, and little cinnamon topping, it is special enough to be a holiday morning breakfast to help power you through the crazy day

For those that enjoy chopped nuts in their banana bread, I'd say toast and then chop 1/2 Cup of Walnuts or Pecans and add to the dry ingredients when preparing the batter.

Maple Brown Butter Banana Bread

Author: Iris Anna Gohn

Servings: 1 loaf

A quick note - I used 4 medium bananas for this recipe. If you happen to have the enormous, super big bananas, I’d say 3 of them would be the equivalent of 4 smaller ones.

I do not recommend making this with an imitation maple syrup. The texture and flavor will be off, as it is flavored corn syrup and also has hints of vanilla in it. Sorry to the little plastic bottled lady!! Trader Joe’s has a very nice, affordable pure maple syrup that does not break the bank. If you happen to live in a part of the country that is known for its maple syrup that you can get locally, USE THAT. Trust me, it is a million times better than even the commercial stuff in the stores.

When I bake, I always measure out my dry ingredients first. This allows me to be ahead of the game and double check every ingredient will be included, rather than try and figure out what has and has not made it into the bowl yet. I also use Parchment Paper to line my bread tin, as it makes it incredibly easy to lift the loaf out of the tin to fully cool. Store the leftovers loosely covered with foil - plastic wrap will make the bread soggy as it is pretty moist.

Ingredients

For the Cinnamon Sugar Topping:

2 Tbsp Granulated White Sugar
2 1/2 Tbsp Dark Brown Sugar
1 Tsp Ground Cinnamon

For the Banana Bread:

1 3/4 Cups All Purpose Flour
1 Tsp Baking Soda
1/4 Tsp Baking Powder
1/4 Tsp Sea Salt
1/2 Cup (1 Stick) Browned Butter
1/4 Cup Light Brown Sugar
1/4 Cup Dark Brown Sugar
2 Eggs
1 Tsp Pure Vanilla Extract
1/4 Cup 100% Pure Maple Syrup (do NOT use imitation syrup)
4 Medium Bananas

Directions

For the Cinnamon Sugar Topping:

In a small bowl, combine the sugar, dark brown sugar, and cinnamon until mixed thoroughly. Set aside.

For the Banana Bread:

Preheat Oven to 350 F. Line and spray a 9 inch bread tin with cooking spray and parchment paper. Make sure the ends of the parchment paper overhang the sides of the tin - this will allow for easy removal of the finished bread.
In a small pot over medium, medium high heat, brown the butter. The butter will melt, then start foaming white. This is just the milk solids evaporating - keep going. Once the butter starts smelling very nutty and the white foam starts turning brown pull the pot off the heat. Let cool while prepping the other ingredients.
In a medium bowl, add the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together the light brown sugar, dark brown sugar, and browned butter.
Add both eggs, vanilla, and maple syrup. Whisk to combine thoroughly.
Break each banana into small pieces into the bowl with the wet ingredients. Use a fork to smash the banana pieces into a slightly chunky mixture - banana pieces should be about the size of a chickpea or smaller.
Using a spatula, slowly and carefully incorporate the dry ingredients into the wet. This should take about 15, 20 stirs around the bowl - just until the flour is incorporated. Do not over mix, lest you want a rubbery finished product.
Evenly spread the batter into the prepared bread tin. Then evenly sprinkle the Cinnamon Sugar Topping over the top of the batter.
Bake for 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted int he center of the bread comes out clean.
Let bread cool in the bread pan for 15 minutes, then lift out and let cool completely on a wire rack.