Brown Banana Love (Recipe: Blueberry Banana Bread)

It's been pretty chilly outside the last week or so, and I guess I should just accept it because it IS January and we do live in New Jersey where winter does come every year.  Of course, the forecasters say it's going to hit 50 tomorrow, so I'll take it and won't complain too loudly when the next cold front comes through and I have to add an extra few blankets to the bed at night.

One of the nice things about the weather being cold is that I get the itch to bake.  My Oldest is thrilled when this happens because he loves banana bread in all its various forms.  I've made so many different versions, but I still keep playing around with recipes because... well, I have to see if there is another one out there that is better than the last one. 

So, when the bananas started to look a bit like this...

I knew it was time to make My Oldest a very happy boy.  Rather than make the usual banana bread, I decided to add some frozen blueberries from the freezer.  If you are lucky enough to have fresh you could certainly use those instead.

I was happy to finally get a partially used package of frozen blueberries out of my freezer.  Do you ever open a bag of frozen fruit to make smoothies or something, then it gets buried in the depths of the freezer to never be found until the "protective ice coating" has taken over and made it unrecognizable?  That happens when you have a seriously well-stocked freezer, and never really "cook it down"... which is what has been happeing ever-so-slowly around here the last month or two. 

When the banana bread came out of the oven it was all I could do to hold off on cutting into it right away.  The scent just screams deliciousness!

Blueberry Banana Bread

Source:  Patsyk Original

Ingredients

• 4 tablespoons butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups mashed bananas (about 3-4 medium)
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 1 teaspoon grated orange rind
• 1 cup frozen blueberries (not defrosted)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees and spray 4 six-inch mini loaf pans with cooking spray; set aside.
2. In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar with a hand mixer.  Then, add the egg and beat well. 
3. In another bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. 
4. Add the mashed banana, buttermilk and orange rind to the creamed butter and sugar mixture.  Then, add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. 
5. Mix with a rubber spatula until just combined.  Then add the blueberries and gently fold into the batter.
6. Pour an equal amount of batter into each loaf pan and bake for 30-35 minutes. A toothpick will come out clean and the top will spring back when gently touched.

Love banana breads?  Then check out these other recipes I've made:

Strawberry Banana Bread

Banana-Banana Bread

Orange-y Banana Bread

Banana Snacking Cake / Bread

Cooking Light's "Mom's Banana Bread"

Browned Butter Banana Bread

Raspberry Banana Bread

Please note that all photos and content belong to Patsy Kreitman, unless otherwise noted. If you want to use something please ask first.