Roasted Coconut Banana Bread recipe

Let the banana recipes begin. I told you this weekend I was able to score 63 pounds of bananas for only $7 (only 11 cents a pound) – so we’ve been making the most of them! Yesterday I made a roasted coconut banana bread that my family loved! The recipe comes straight from Bernard Clayton’s New Complete Book of Breads.

INGREDIENTS 

1 cup flaked coconut

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter or margarine, room temperature

3/4 cup sugar

2 eggs, room temperature

3 tablespoons milke

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon almond extract – If you like almond flavor, I’d maybe add a full teaspoon?

2 cups sifted all purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup mashed ripe bananas (about two medium bananas)

DIRECTIONS

1. Grease a 9 x 5 loaf pan. I just used butter.
2. Spread coconut onto baking sheet and toast in oven at 350 degrees. The recipe said 15 minutes – but mine was very brown after five minutes, so keep a close eye on it.
3. In a large mixing bowl (or mixer) – mix together butter and sugar. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Mix in milk, lemon juice, and almond extract.
4. Sift flour again into mixing bowl with baking powder, baking soda and salt.
5. Blend well. Add in bananas and gently fold in coconut (save some coconut to sprinkle on top of loaf)
6. Pour mixture into greased loaf pan. Push dough to corners with a scraper.
7. Sprinkle remaining coconut on top
8. Bake until light brown at 350 degrees – for about an hour. You’ll know it’s done if you stick a toothpick in middle and it comes out clean (no batter on it).
9. Let loaf cool about 10 minutes, then turn over onto wire rack.