Recipe Classic: Banana Bread (or Muffins) Extraordinaire

 So everyone has a banana bread recipe, because we all need to find a way to use up those brown, freckled bananas that accumulate on our kitchen counters ... but do you LOVE yours? Does your family love your version?  If not, I invite you to try this one.  I can say with confidence that this recipe is the rock-star of banana breads.  It is moist and heavy and stays fresh for several days after baking.  (And it's even better with chocolate chips in it.)

Banana Bread (or Muffins) Extraordinaire

1/2 Cup butter (1 stick) softened, but not melted
1 Cup white sugar
2 large eggs
1 Cup mashed bananas (very ripe, approx. 3 medium bananas)
1 1/2 Cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 Cup Sour Cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
Optional: 1/2 Cup chocolate chips OR chopped nuts (pecans or walnuts)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease a 9-by-5-by-3 inch loaf pan OR put paper liners into 24 muffin tins. (See comment below.) Set aside.

Cream butter and sugar together until well blended (I use an electric mixer for this part). Beat eggs into mixture and blend completely.  Add the mashed bananas and blend again.

In a separate bowl,  thoroughly whisk flour, baking soda and salt together.  Using a large spoon, begin stirring this into the butter/sugar/banana mixture.  Alternate adding the flour mixture and the sour cream & vanilla until all are combined.  Do not over-mix; stir only until all ingredients are just blended.   If desired, gently stir in chocolate chips or nuts last.

Pour into prepared pan (or muffin liners) and bake.  For loaf, bake approximately 1 hour and 10 minutes, until center tests done with a toothpick. Rest in pan for 10 minutes before turning out to cool.  
For muffins, bake approximately 20 minutes until golden on top.  (Note, you may not get 24 muffins from this.  It depends on how full you fill the muffin liners.  I usually get about 20-22 muffins).

On a personal note, I highly recommend making this in the form of muffins.  Muffins are easy to grab and go, but mostly muffins are easy to share.  I took some of these over to our new neighbors across the street this past week, and they invited me into their home for a cup of coffee and conversation... how wonderful is that?  A friend told me that baking for neighbors is very "old school".  I took it as a compliment. :)