Best Brown Butter Banana Bread Recipe

Brown butter banana bread — could a recipe be any more alliterative? Apart from its euphonious assonance, this bread has other attributes, as well. Recipe developer Jessica Morone calls it "an upgrade to the classic banana bread," and she credits that towards the addition of sour cream. As she explains, "The extra fat from the sour cream makes the banana bread more moist and rich." An argument could be made, however, for brown butter being the ingredient that sets this apart from other banana breads, as she adds that "browning the butter makes the flavor of the bread a deeper, nuttier flavor."

Not a fan of plain banana bread? You can always add some nuts (walnuts are always a good choice) or maybe some chocolate chips. "I actually made this recipe recently with milk chocolate toffee bits in it and it was delicious," Morone says, so feel free to get creative with it. The way she likes to do it is to stir in about a cup of chips or nuts right before the batter goes into the loaf pan. Of course, this bread is delicious even without any add-ins, but you'll find that out for yourself soon enough.

For banana bread you will, of course, need bananas, and slightly overripe ones are best. You'll also need flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and brown sugar as well as some butter, eggs, sour cream, and vanilla.

First, preheat your oven to 350 F and lightly grease a 9x5-inch loaf pan with nonstick spray. Melt the butter in a pan with the stove burner set to medium-low, then keep cooking it until it browns and smells nutty — be sure to keep stirring during this period. Morone cautions that the butter "can go from brown to burnt pretty quickly if you aren't paying attention." She feels that using a lighter-colored pan helps you gauge the color better. Another way you can tell if your brown butter is done is when it stops sizzling.

Mix the dry ingredients: the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Mix the brown sugar into the brown butter, then combine this doubly brown mixture with the eggs, sour cream, vanilla, and mashed bananas. Combine the dry ingredients with the banana mixture, stirring until the batter is just combined. You don't want to over-stir here as too much air won't give the proper texture.

Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Cook the bread for 55 minutes to an hour, checking to see if it's done by sticking a toothpick into the middle. If it comes out covered in damp batter, the bread needs more oven time. Once the bread is done, though, you will need to let it cool before you slice it.

If you don't plan to eat all of the banana bread straight away, you can always freeze it for later as such dense, unfrosted types of baked goods tend to freeze pretty well. Morone suggests that you wrap either the full loaf or individual slices in plastic wrap before freezing.