The world made so much banana bread during quarantine that it only feels right to celebrate the anniversary of the US lockdowns with a banana bread recipe. BUT–also because the world made so much banana bread during quarantine–I could not bring myself to post a plain old banana bread recipe, I wanted to give it a twist. Enjoy!
Cinnamon Crunch Banana Bread
Banana bread leveled up with a cinnamon sugar swirl in the middle and a crunchy, crackly, cinnamon-sugar top
Ingredients
Cinnamon Sugar Swirl and Topping
- 6 tablespoons sugar
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
Banana Bread
- ½ cup butter (1 stick)
- 3 ripe medium-large bananas (about 1 and ½ cups when mashed)
- ½ cup sugar
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ⅓ cup sour cream (you could also use plain Greek yogurt here)
- 2 cups flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and spray a loaf pan (9" x 5") generously with cooking spray
Cinnamon Sugar Swirl and Topping
- In a small bowl, mix together the sugar (6 tablespoons) and cinnamon (2 teaspoons) until evenly combined. Set aside.
Banana Bread Batter
- Put the butter (½ cup) in a mug or microwave safe bowl and melt it in the microwave. A stick of butter usually takes 50-60 seconds to melt in the microwave.
- Add the bananas (3 large) to a large bowl and mash with a fork until there are no large chunks of banana remaining
- Add the melted butter, sugar (½ cup), brown sugar (½ cup), and cinnamon (2 teaspoons) to the bowl and use a whisk or rubber spatula to mix until it's homogenous. Start mixing slowly because the butter will splash around.
- Add the eggs (2), vanilla (2 teaspoons), and sour cream (⅓ cup) to the bowl and use a whisk to mix until you can't see any more streaks of sour cream or egg yolk. You'll want to use a whisk here, not a spatula or a spoon, because it won't combine everything as well. This is what it looks like when it's NOT mixed enough:
- This is what you want it to look like before you add the dry ingredients:
- Add the flour (2 cups), baking soda (1 teaspoon), baking powder (½ teaspoon), and salt (½ teaspoon) to the bowl and use a whisk or rubber spatula to mix very slowly until you JUST can't see any more streaks of flour
Assembly and Baking
- Pour half the banana bread batter into the prepared loaf pan and spread evenly. You can estimate how much half is, but it's better to put too little on the bottom half than too much
- Sprinkle ⅔ of your cinnamon sugar mixture (again, approximating is fine) until it covers the surface of the batter.
- Add the remaining banana bread batter on top of the cinnamon sugar
- Sprinkle the remaining cinnamon sugar on top
- OPTIONAL: Place the loaf pan on a cookie sheet before placing in the oven. I don't like the edges of my banana bread to brown too much, so this helps slow the browning of the bottom "crust" of the banana bread
- Bake for 60-70 minutes, until a toothpick or knife inserted into the middle of the bread comes out clean
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and spray a loaf pan (9″ x 5″) generously with cooking spray
- In a small bowl, mix together the sugar (6 tablespoons) and cinnamon (2 teaspoons) until evenly combined. Set aside.
- Melt the butter ((½ cup) in the microwave or on the stove
- Add the bananas (3 large) to a large bowl and mash with a fork
- Add the melted butter, sugar (½ cup), brown sugar (½ cup), and cinnamon (2 teaspoons) to the bowl and use a whisk or rubber spatula to mix until well combined
- Add the eggs (2), vanilla (2 teaspoons), and sour cream (⅓ cup) to the bowl and use a whisk to mix until very well combined
- Add the flour (2 cups), baking soda (1 teaspoon), baking powder (½ teaspoon), and salt (½ teaspoon) to the bowl and mix until just combined
- Pour half the banana bread batter into the prepared loaf pan and spread evenly. It’s better to put too little on the bottom half than too much
- Sprinkle ⅔ of your cinnamon sugar mixture until it covers the surface of the batter
- Add the remaining banana bread batter on top of the cinnamon sugar
- Sprinkle the remaining cinnamon sugar on top
- OPTIONAL: Place the loaf pan on a cookie sheet before placing in the oven to prevent browning on the bottom
- Bake for 60-70 minutes, until a toothpick or knife inserted into the middle of the bread comes out clean
NOTES
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!