TOFFEE CRUNCH BANANA LOAF

You know I love banana bread. It's a food that keeps on giving and has a myriad of possibilities.

Too, it's just plain thrifty. (Why would you ever throw out a spotty banana?) Some people I know keep bananas for the sole purpose of letting them freckle and soften for the bread they will be baked into later...also me.

This loaf is slightly more dessert-ish, though it doesn't taste so sweet that you need to pound water while you eat it. (It still has less sugar per serving than a muffin or donut from your favorite coffee shop.) You can also omit the toffee crumbles from inside the loaf and only sprinkle them over the top, but having said that, I don't know why you would skip the opportunity to have the melty toffee within and the crisped toffee on the outside.

P.S. if you know someone who is sick, make two loaves and deliver one like a shining food-is-the-best-medicine fairy. They will never forget it. Both you and the loaf.

"I buy the chocolate toffee crumbles ready to go in a bag by the chocolate chips, but a broken heath bar works also- use a rolling pin or wine bottle and take out your stress on it. Self-care baking."

Notes: Oil is organic canola oil.

TOFFEE CRUNCH BANANA LOAF

Ingredients: 1 cup all-purpose flour, 1 cup whole wheat flour, 1 tsp. baking powder, a pinch of salt, 2/3 cup sugar, 1/3 cup dark brown sugar, 1/2 cup neutral oil, two eggs at room temperature, two overripe bananas, 1 tsp. vanilla extract, 1 tbsp. rum, 1/4 cup plus 2 tbsp. toffee crumbles or one bashed Heath bar.

Makes one standard loaf.

1. Preheat the oven to 350*, grease, and line a standard loaf pan.

2. In a large bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, and salt. In a separate bowl, mash the bananas and combine them with the eggs, vanilla, and rum. In another bowl, whisk the oil and sugar together.

3. Add sugar to the banana mixture, mixing well. Make a well in the dry ingredients and pour in the wet. Stir until just combined. Fold in 1/4 cup toffee crumbles.

4. Pour batter into loaf pan, then scatter 2 tbsp. of toffee crumbles over the top. Bake for 50-55 minutes or until a tester comes out clean. Remove to cool.

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