Bess's Famous Banana Walnut Bread

This has been a family favorite of mine for years, and the perfect amount of sweetness and moist texture of this recipe will make it a new family favorite of yours. This recipe also makes 12 muffins, soft on the inside and chewy on the outside!

Recipe:
1¼ cup flour
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
2 large eggs, room temperature
½ tsp vanilla extract
½ cup (one stick) butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar(for low-sugar recipe, use 1/2 c Splenda, 1/2 c sugar)
3 ripe bananas
½ cup walnut pieces

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, prepare four mini loaf pans, or 9x5x3 bread pan. (Mini loaf pans work better, bread stays really moist!) Sift flour, soda and salt in medium bowl, set aside. Whisk eggs and vanilla together, set aside. Cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Pour egg mix into the butter and sugar mix, stir until mixed together. Mash bananas thoroughly, then pour them in to wet mixture. Fold in dry mix, beat all ingredients together. Add nuts, stir several more times. Bake mini pans for about 40-45 min, bread pan for 50-55 min. Done when inserted toothpick (or butter knife!) comes out clean. Cool for 5 min.

NOTE: The LOW sugar version of this bread uses ½ cup Splenda and ½ cup sugar – still moist, but much lower calories and sugar content! Another fun tip for a special treat is to add 1/3 cup mini chocolate chips to the mixture when the nuts are added.