Moist + Healthy(ish)! Butterless Banana Bread

growing up in texas, there was basically a stick of butter in everything we ate for dinner in our household. so naturally, i've had this knack for baking, besides the fact i usually always get something wrong. baking is that form of art that requires consistency and precision, so basically, i am setting myself up for failure knowing i'm everything other than a perfectionist.

but! i digress. you basically can't do banana bread wrong. this is where i found out i'm reaalllly good at baking.... banana bread. it's fool proof! i'd like to say this is a healthIER option, not necessarily healthy. but i love the idea of not using any butter in the baking mix and barely any sugar at all, and no milk. Almond Milk works wonders, is delicious, and barely even a fraction of the calories, sugar and fat of regular milk. I also can't completely call this a totally butter-less bread because the glaze calls for a teeeny bit, but it is so worth it. that teeny bit of butter on top goes a long way, y'all. but if you hate the idea of it, just skip the glaze and the bread is delicious on it's own!

sundays are the only days i have actual time to relax and enjoy other hobbies besides painting, so i bake! i've been trying to find that one thing that i'm good at making where andrew and our future kids can be like... "moooom! wiiiiife! make your amazing banana bread pleeeeease!". y'all know what i mean? any who - i got a lot of people interested in this banana bread recipe i pretty much made up myself, through trial and error, so feel free to add and subtract anything you want to my recipe! like i said, it's basically fool proof. my family loves it, and that means a lot coming from the crazy, picky eating coslett family. enjoy!

ingredients

for the bread

• 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/2 cup maple syrup of your choice {i use a sugar free maple syrup}
• 1/4 cup Unsweetened Almond Milk of your choice (or regular milk) {I use Blue Diamond Almond Breeze Unsweetened Almond Milk}
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup light brown sugar
• 3 medium ripe* bananas mashed (the more ripe, aka brown, the sweeter!)
• 1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• pinch of nutmeg

for the brown sugar glaze (the not so butterless part)

• 1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 2 tablespoons Almond Milk (or cream of your choice)
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter

directions for bread

1) preheat oven to 325 degrees. grease a 9x5 inch bread pan with cooking spray, or line with foil/parchment paper, and set aside.

2) In a large mixing bowl, whisk together olive oil, maple syrup, almond milk, eggs, brown sugar, vanilla extract, until combined and smooth. Whisk in mashed bananas until mostly smooth. There will be some small lumps remaining from bananas.

3) In a separate large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg until combined. Pour dry ingredient mixture into wet mixture, and stir until evenly combined. Careful not to over-mix.

4) Pour batter into prepared baking dish and spread the top to be flat and smooth. Bake for about 50-60 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in the middle of the bread comes out clean. {Careful to not burn the top of the bread, if your top starts turning dark brown, add a piece of aluminum foil on top of bread until it's finished baking.}

5) Remove from the oven and let cool on wire rack for 15-25 minutes before adding topping & slicing.

directions for brown sugar glaze

In a small sauce pan, melt butter with the honey. Once butter is melted, whisk in brown sugar and almond milk until smooth. Allow mixture to heat for a few minutes until very hot without coming to a boil. One mixture is ready, take off heat and allow to cool and thicken for about 10 minutes. Pour over warm or cooled bread and enjoy!

viola! let me know if you try it, and if it worked for you! i ain't no pro, but my taste buds know what's good, y'all. 

xoxo celo