Coconut Banana Bread

On occasion, I find that I have an abundance of ripe bananas on my counter. Have you ever been there? At the beginning of the week I usually pick up a bunch of bananas at the store full of good intentions. Bananas are definitely my go-to fruit of choice. They are relatively inexpensive, easy to grab-and-go, don't have to be refrigerated, and are nice and soft. If you have sensitive teeth, you know the dilemma. Apples are tasty, but not so fun to bite into, grapes are delicious, except I don't like the cold on my teeth, and oranges are just, well...a pain in the pa-toot if you know what I mean.

Anyways...I'm always on the lookout for the next great banana bread recipe. When I came across this one that calls for shredded coconut, I knew I had to give it a try. The added sweetness from the shredded coconut and coconut milk make this bread a real treat. It could easily be served for breakfast, and afternoon snack, or if you're like me, maybe with some frozen yogurt as a light after-dinner dessert.

Step One: Gather the ingredients.

Step Two: Mix together the sugar, oil, eggs, vanilla and almond extracts in the bowl of a stand mixer. In a separate bowl, mix together the coconut milk and mashed bananas. In yet another bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.

Step Three: Alternately add the dry and wet ingredients to the bowl of a stand mixer with the mixing speed set on low. Finally, add the shredded coconut, stirring well to combine. Transfer to lightly greased loaf pan(s).

Step Four: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, and bake for 40-45 minutes if using mini loaf pans, or 1 hour - 1 hour 15 min if using a 9x5 inch loaf pan. Allow to cool completely before serving.

Recipe adapted from piarecipes

COCONUT BANANA BREAD | Yield: 4 mini loaves or 1 large loaf | Total Time: 1-1.5 hrs.

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 C olive oil
1 C sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp almond extract
2 1/2 C all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3 ripe bananas, mashed (about 1 cup)
1 C light coconut milk
1 C sweetened shredded coconut

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9x5 loaf pan, or 4 mini loaf pans.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine oil, sugar and eggs. Beat until well combined. Mix in the vanilla and almond extract.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

Mash the bananas in another bowl, add in the coconut milk, and stir to combine.

With the stand mixer on low setting, alternately add the wet and dry ingredients, mixing until just combined. Finally, mix in the shredded coconut.

Pour the batter into the loaf pan(s). Bake for 1 hour -1 hour 15 min. if using a 9x5 loaf pan, or about 40-45 minutes if using mini loaf pans.

Allow the bread to cool for 10 minutes in the pan(s), then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely before serving.

Do you have a favorite recipe that uses ripe bananas?