Prize Winning Banana Bread

Credit: Krumkake {at GroupRecipes.com}

Ingredients:

½ cup butter, softened
¼ cup vegetable oil
1 cup white sugar
½ cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1½ cups mashed ripe bananas (3 medium well-ripened bananas)
½ cup sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
additional brown sugar for top of batter

Directions:

Mix together butter, oil, sugars, and eggs. Don't worry about overmixing these ingredients-- get them all well blended!

Add mashed bananas, sour cream, and vanilla, stirring together well.
In separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and salt. Stir into batter, being careful not to overmix.

Pour into 1 greased large loaf pan until it is 2/3 full. If you run into the same situation I did, there will be extra batter! Find a smaller loaf pan to make a mini-loaf or opt to use 3 small loaf pans instead of 1 large loaf pan (3 of the 7 3/8 x 3 5/8 inch loaf pans should work). Get creative with your extra batter-- you could easily make muffins for those who aren't as patient and want to decrease their wait time for the main loaf of banana bread. :)

No matter what you choose to do, make sure to sprinkle additional brown sugar generously over the top of the batter, using your hand to gently pat some of it into the batter. Mmm... I hope your mouth is starting to water! It's so delicious.

Bake at 325 degrees: large loaf pan for about 1 hour, smaller loaves for about 45 minutes. Check the loaves early on with a toothpick and to make sure the top isn't getting too brown. If it's brown enough and you still have cook time remaining, cover it with foil {works like a charm...}.

Allow bread to cool in pans for 5-10 minutes, then run a sharp knife around the edges, tap the pan on the counter several times to release the bread from the bottom of the pan, and release loaf onto a wire rack to cool completely.