Banana Bread

We had some wonderfully dark brown bananas begging to be baked into something tasty today. I thought I'd try out a new recipe from King Arthur that I haven't tasted yet. So, here goes banana bread!

This is something that many bakers make, but I've had a hard time finding a recipe that I just love. Well, I tweaked the one from King Arthur. Give it a whirl and see what you think -- I was pretty happy with the results. Here's my version:

Banana Bread
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at cool room temperature
2/3 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups mashed ripe bananas
1 tablespoon orange juice (optional)
1/4 cup honey
2 large eggs
2 1/4 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
1/2 cup chocolate chips

1. Preheat the oven to 325°F. Lightly grease a 9" x 5" loaf pan.
2. In a large bowl, combine the butter, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, baking powder, and salt, beating till smooth.
3. Add the mashed bananas, jam, honey, and eggs, again beating until smooth.
4. Add the flour, then the walnuts, stirring just until smooth.
5. Spoon the batter into the prepared loaf pan, smoothing the top. Let it rest at room temperature for 10 minutes.
6. Bake the bread for 45 minutes, then gently lay a piece of aluminum foil across the top, to prevent over-browning.
7. Bake for an additional 25 minutes. Remove the bread from the oven; a long toothpick or cake tester inserted into the center should come out clean, with at most a few wet crumbs clinging to it. The tester shouldn't show any sign of uncooked batter. If it does, bake the bread an additional 5 minutes, or until it tests done.
8. Allow the bread to cool for 10 minutes in the pan. Remove it from the pan, and cool it completely on a rack.