Maple Bourbon Banana Bread

I’ve never met anyone who loves bananas as much as my boyfriend, Jack. When we first moved in together, I learned that he owns a “banana case.” It’s a neon yellow, curved plastic container made to hold and transport a single banana, to protect it from bruising. Since he won’t eat brown-speckled bananas, you might assume correctly that his passion means I often need to use up ripe bananas. Creative banana bread recipes, like this maple bourbon banana bread recipe, are some of my favorite ways.

In this recipe from Elise Jesse, classic banana bread ingredients like butter, sugar, eggs, vanilla and flour are dressed up with a few fun, less-expected additions. There is enough maple extract to appeal to the maple recipe seekers, while bourbon gives it a sophisticated, earthy taste and chopped toffee-and-chocolate candy bars lend crunch. It’s a good thing this recipe makes two loaves; you’ll go through both in no time.

Maple Bourbon Banana Bread Ingredients

• Bananas: According to the Mayo Clinic, on average, each American eats around 1/2 pound of bananas each week (about 90 per year). The ones we don’t get around to eating and that ripen too much are perfect for making banana bread—the darker the skin of the banana, the sweeter the interior will be.
• Sugars: Using a combination of pure cane sugar and light brown sugar adds a hint of molasses that complements the caramel-like flavor of ripe bananas. If all you have is dark brown sugar, that’s a fine substitute for light brown, just watch it as it bakes. If it starts to darken quickly, tent the top with aluminum foil.
• Butter: The butter for this recipe is melted and cooled rather than creamed, resulting in a dense, moist bread. I love it because it doesn’t require as much mixing, and you don’t need to remember to pull the butter from the fridge in advance.
• Bourbon: To qualify as bourbon, the spirit must be aged in new, charred oak containers (among many other specifications). This gives bourbon an earthy, smoky flavor with caramel notes that match beautifully with banana. If you are avoiding alcohol, try steeped black tea instead for a similar deep taste.
• Eggs: Baking with room-temperature eggs helps the batter come together quickly and smoothly. The lecithin in the egg yolks acts as an emulsifier, bringing together the liquid and the fat, and it works better when the chill has been taken off. Place the eggs in warm water for 5 to 10 minutes to speed up the process.
• Extracts: Maple extract and vanilla extract flavor the batter very differently. Vanilla extract, made by steeping vanilla beans in alcohol, is floral and fragrant. Maple extract is typically made from fenugreek seeds and has a distinct maple flavor that makes your whole kitchen smell like pancakes.
• Flour: All-purpose flour is great for making sweet loaves. It has just enough protein (aka gluten) to provide structure without making the cakes chewy. Nevertheless, it’s important not to overmix the batter.
• Baking powder: Baking powder is double-acting, so it will start releasing carbon dioxide as soon as it hits the liquid ingredients and again with the heat of the oven, helping the heavy batter rise.
• Baking soda: Baking soda, a second leavening agent, is activated by acidic ingredients, helping baked goods rise and brown. In this case, it reacts with bananas and the molasses in the brown sugar. Never eyeball baking soda, as too much can make your bakes taste soapy.
• Cinnamon: Made from the bark of trees, cinnamon is rolled up into “quills” and dried before being sold. This recipe calls for ground cinnamon, but if you love cinnamon recipes, it’s worth keeping cinnamon sticks in your pantry for steeping into syrups and custards.
• Heath candy bars: This crunchy candy bar features a hard almond-studded buttery toffee coated in milk chocolate. If you can’t find Heath bars, Skor bars are similar, or you can make your own English toffee. I like to smash the candy bars in a food storage bag with a rolling pin for slightly irregular chunks.

Directions

Step 1: Preheat the oven and prep your pans

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease two 1-1/2-quart glass loaf pans and set aside.

Step 2: Mix the wet ingredients

In a large bowl, mash the bananas. Add the granulated sugar, brown sugar, butter and bourbon, and beat until smooth. Add the eggs with the maple and vanilla extracts, and beat until well mixed.

Editor’s Tip: If you don’t have enough soft bananas, you can quickly ripen bananas in a few easy ways to mimic the texture and flavor of overripe bananas.

Step 3: Mix the dry ingredients and finish the batter

In another bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon. Add to the banana mixture, stirring just until combined. Fold in the crushed candy bars.

Step 4: Bake and cool

Pour the batter into the prepared pans. If desired, top with additional candy bar pieces. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 55 to 60 minutes. Cool in the pan for 15 minutes before removing to a wire rack.

Maple Bourbon Banana Bread Variations

• Use chocolate chips: Instead of the Heath bars, stir semisweet or bittersweet chocolate chips into the batter. To deepen the chocolate flavor, whisk a teaspoon of espresso powder into the batter, just as in these espresso brownies.
• Add nuts: Pecans and walnuts are natural additions to banana bread and would taste great with the bourbon-laced batter here. Toast the nuts first for more crunch and flavor.
• Change the booze: Rum, with its tropical flavor, is a perfect pairing with bananas if you don’t love the taste of bourbon. Or, you can use rye whiskey; it’s a bit spicier than bourbon. Use the same amount of either as you would bourbon.

How to Store Maple Bourbon Banana Bread

For short-term storage, tightly wrap the cooled bread and leave it on the counter for up to three days. The bananas, bourbon and sugars will help keep it moist. If you’d like to keep it for longer, refrigerate it for up to one week.

Can you freeze maple bourbon banana bread?

This bourbon-spiked recipe freezes beautifully for up to three months. When the loaves are cool, wrap them tightly and then pop them into a freezer-proof bag or container for two layers of protection from freezer burn. You can also freeze individual slices using the same method so you can easily grab a single serving. Thaw the bread in the refrigerator.

Maple Bourbon Banana Bread Tips

Can you bake this maple bourbon banana bread recipe in a different-sized pan?

You can make this recipe in different-sized pans, but you’ll need to adjust the cooking time. For mini loaf pans, spoon the batter into greased pans and start checking them for doneness after about 30 minutes, using the toothpick method in the original recipe. To make muffins, use paper or foil liners instead of greasing the cups. Fill each cup two-thirds to three-quarters full, then start checking them 18 to 20 minutes into the baking time.

Watch How to Make Elise Jesse’s Bourbon Banana Bread

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