Sugar Crusted Banana Walnut Bread

Moist banana bread studded with walnuts and wrapped in a crunchy sugar crust-- It's banana bread at it's finest! (and most decadent)

I have a few recipes for banana bread that I absolutely love. The first being my mom's (which I've yet to gain permission to divulge the recipe of), this Healthy-ish Chocolate Chip Banana Bread, my Whole Wheat Banana Blueberry Bread, and last (but certainly not least) this delicious gem!

For Best Results Do this:

1. Use VERY ripe bananas. Ripe bananas are sweeter and have more "banana-y" flavor that will add depth and loads of banana flavor to your bread. When I have some overly ripe banana on my counter, I like to peel and place them in a zip-top freezer bag. The bananas store well in the freezer for a few months and you'll always have some on hand for baking!
2. Use ROOM temperature ingredients. Adding cold eggs or bananas to warm butter makes the butter clump and your batter won't be as smooth.
3. Don't over mix! The key to moist and tender banana bread is to keep the mixing as minimal as possible! You want to stir it by hand, just long enough to combine the dry ingredients into the wet, but no longer. The batter will be lumpy and chunky and that's ok!
4. Toast your walnuts. Toasting the walnuts slightly before adding to the batter adds an extra layer of nuttiness to the bread and helps the walnuts stay crunchy during baking.

How to dust baking pans with sugar

Dusting your baking pans with sugar before adding the banana bread batter to the pan does two things: It keeps the bread from sticking to the pan and adds a layer of crunchy sugar to the outside of the bread. Here's how to do it:

1. Spray baking pan evenly with non-stick cooking spray.
2. Add a few tablespoons of granulated sugar to the pan and tilt and turn the pan until all the sprayed surfaces are coated in sugar.
3. Tilt any remaining sugar into a bowl to save for later use or tilt over the sink like I usually do.

Let's Make it Together!

Sugar Crusted Banana Walnut Bread

Crunchy, crusty, moist, and sweet this banana bread is decadence in a pan.

By Heather Cheney

Print Pin Rate

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour

Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes

Servings: 2 standard-sized loaves

Ingredients

• ▢ 10 ounces salted butter melted
• ▢ 2 ¼ cups white granulated sugar
• ▢ 2 ¼ cups over-ripe bananas mashed, room temperature (about 5 large bananas)
• ▢ 3 large eggs room temperature
• ▢ 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ▢ 3 ¼ cups bread flour
• ▢ 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• ▢ 2 teaspoons baking soda
• ▢ 1 ⅓ cups walnuts chopped

Instructions

• Preheat Oven to 350° F
• Combine the sugar with the melted butter and stir in the mashed bananas, eggs, and vanilla.
• Pour the flour over the banana mixture and sprinkle with the baking soda and salt.
• Gently mix just until no dry spots remain- the batter will be lumpy, do not over mix.
• Heat a medium-sized skillet over medium heat and add the walnuts. Cook, stirring until the walnuts are gently toasted and remove form the heat.
• Prepare 2 standard-sized loaf pans by spraying liberally with non-stick cooking spray and coating the sides with granulated sugar by swirling and tapping until all the sides of the pan are coated.
• Fill the pans ⅔ of the way full and sprinkle more sugar on top.
• Bake for 55-65 minutes. Bread is done when a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean or with just a few moist crumbs on it and the bread is just starting to pull away from the sides of the pan.
• Remove bread from the oven and cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes, then invert to remove loaves from the pan.

Nutrition Facts

Serving: 1 loaf | Calories: 3381 kcal | Carbohydrates: 422 g | Protein: 48 g | Fat: 176 g | Saturated Fat: 80 g | Cholesterol: 550 mg | Sodium: 4535 mg | Potassium: 1276 mg | Fiber: 14 g | Sugar: 248 g | Vitamin A: 4007 IU | Vitamin C: 16 mg | Calcium: 186 mg | Iron: 6 mg

Nutrition and Food Safety Disclosure

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