Banana bread meets gingerbread in these easy little mini-loaves! So grab those bananas and bake up a batch with this delicious holiday recipe.
So, we’ve all got ’em from time to time. Bananas that were once a bright and cheery yellow that are now a droopy, speckled brownish.
I usually automatically turn to my tried and true recipe for banana muffins, but every once in a while I throw caution to the wind, banana-wise, and I try something different. In this case, baby banana gingerbreads dusted with a little powdered sugar.
You obviously need to have some bananas on hand. I’ll spare you the shot of the kind you really need (the brownish ones) in favor of showing you my bananas in their prime.
You also need the ingredients you usually find in gingerbread – molasses, ground ginger and all that good stuff – and you also need mini loaf pans.
If you don’t have them, I highly recommend getting yourself a set. I make everything from baby banana gingerbread to little baby meatloaves in them.
It’s helpful when your baby goes off to college and takes all her friends with her and has a fine old time carousing with other college students and leaves you with only your husband and a hound dog to cook for.
Aren’t they adorable? I kind of want to jump into the picture and clean up their dorm room, though. Just a little.
Meantime, you are going to mix up all that banana gingerbread deliciousness and scoop it into your mini loaf pans and bake it up. And when it is cool, you are going to sprinkle it with powdered sugar. Be generous with the sprinkling.
One of the nicest things about making baby banana gingerbreads? You have a couple to share, and one to keep all for your very own self.
And we all lived happily ever after.
Baby Banana Gingerbreads
Banana bread meets gingerbread in these easy little mini-loaves! So grab those bananas and bake up a batch with this delicious holiday recipe.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Total Time: 55 minutes
- Yield: 3 mini loaves 1x
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 2 1/4 cups flour
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 3 medium very ripe bananas, mashed
- 1 stick butter, softened
- 1/2 cup molasses
- 3 eggs
- Powdered sugar for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375, and grease three mini loaf pans (5x3x2).
- Combine flour, sugar, ginger, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon in a large mixing bowl.
- Mix in banana, butter and molasses until well blended, about 2 minutes on medium speed.
- Stir in eggs until well combined.
- Divide batter among loaf pans and bake for 40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Cool in the pans for about 15 minutes, then continue cooling on wire racks.
- When completely cool, gently spoon powdered sugar into a wire mesh strainer, and shake the strainer over the loaves to garnish.
nomnomnom says
Great recipe!! I tweaked a bit by adding in vanilla and nutmeg (gotta have nutmeg in gingerbread), and added more cinnamon and ginger and made muffins out of them – made a dozen overfilled muffins or 14 regular sized ones.. likely make closer to 16 or 18 cupcake sized ones if you only filled 3/4 way up.
I’ve posted the modified recipe here.. and sprinkled some powdered sugar in shape of a Christmas tree cuz its the holidays! :D http://www.eatyourcity.ca/2014/12/banana-gingerbread-muffins-or-loaves.html Thanks for a new recipe to help me get rid of my frozen banana gremlins!! :D
nomnomnom says
Oops, and swapped out some of the butter with sour cream/yogurt and added in flax and chia seeds so its a low fat, high fibre, guilt free treat – fiancé didn’t even notice the healthy bits hahaha!
Love all your variations – and yay for healthiness! :)
Nutmeg Nanny says
Yum, I love banana loaves :) this recipe sounds so tasty!
Anything banana is automatically my favorite! :)
ry says
i JUST put some banana loaves in to the oven. then came to check out what’s cooking over here. i obviously need to switch that order around because then i would have been putting some banana gingerbread loaves into the oven! thanks kate! this is a combo of 2 of my favourite things so i will definitely try this next time!
Ha! Well, I find there are ALWAYS more ripe bananas around the next corner, so there’s still time! :)
Rachel says
Sadly I don’t have mini loaf pans, so wondered how many cupcakes these might make? They look splendid!
Hmmm – I would guess probably 12-16 or so? And you should probably cook them a little less time too. If you try them this way, let me know how they turn out! :)
Lindsay @ The Lean Green Bean says
want these right now!!!
I think you should make some TODAY! :)
Joanne says
I really need to invest in some mini loaf pans because the.boy and I can never finish a whole loaf ourselves before it gets stale! LOVE the gingerbread flavor in these! What a fun twist.
You do – you won’t believe how much you use them!