Happy Mother’s Day!!  What a perfect day – seriously – 75 degrees and sunny, that alone creates a happiness in the air – especially with the cold spring we have had.  We joked that it was nicer today than it was all last summer.  We have been hit hard with the bad weather here…and even I, who loves the clouds, had a smile on my face with the clear blue sky day.  It didn’t hurt that my girls were extra special good today, and showered me with cards, gifts, and lots of hugs.

My mother is an incredible cook – she cooks just about everything and anything – but my favorite recipe of hers is still her banana bread.  It is really just the most perfect bread there is.  I seldom try other recipes, but this one caught my eye in Cooking Light – mostly because it was created by a 10-year-old.  I knew that my mother’s would be better, but I decided to try this one anyway.  My husband loves cinnamon, and if nothing else, I would add these spices to my mother’s bread the next time I make it.  This one uses butter instead of oil, and it is much healthier than my mother’s recipe – much less sugar, and less fat.  I made a couple of slight changes to the recipe, because I thought the dough needed a little more moisture – and I decided against the glaze on top – it really didn’t need it.

This bread was really not bad at all – in fact, we actually enjoyed it a lot.  My mother’s is still moister, but this gave it a good run for its money.  I am definitely going to try to add the spices to my mother’s recipe next – just for fun.

So – I hope all your mother’s out there had a wonderful day – and Happy Mother’s Day to you Mom – wish I could share a slide with you!

Preparation

• 1 1/2 cups mashed ripe banana (about 3)
• 1/3 cup plain fat-free yogurt
• 1/4 cup buttermilk
• 5 tablespoons butter, melted
• 2  large eggs
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 10 ounce all-purpose flour (2 1/4 cups)
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1 1/4 teaspoons vanilla extract, divided

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350°.

Combine first 5 ingredients in a bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed just until blended. Add sugars; beat at medium just until blended.

Weigh or spoon flour into dry measuring cups. Combine flour, soda, and salt. Add flour mixture to banana mixture; beat just until blended.

Combine cardamom and next 3 ingredients. Stir 1 1/2 teaspoons spice mixture and 1 teaspoon vanilla into batter. Pour into a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 65 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes in pan on wire rack. Remove from pan; cool.

For a printer-friendly version of this recipe, please click here:  Chai Banana Bread