Cream Cheese Banana-Nut Bread

What could be better than Banana-nut bread?  Banana-nut bread with a block of cream cheese in the batter!  That is what is in this bread, recipe from a January 2005 issue of Southern Living.  The cream cheese makes a melt-in-your-mouth texture with a slightly tangy taste from the cream cheese.  

Ingredients:

3/4 cup butter, softened

1 (8 oz.) package of cream cheese, softened

2 cups sugar

2 large eggs

3 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1 1/2 cups mashed bananas (1 1/4 pounds unpeeled bananas, about 4 medium)

1 cup chopped pecans, toasted

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Beat butter and cream cheese at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy. Gradually add sugar, beating until light and fluffy.  Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating until just blended after each addition.

Combine flour and next 3 ingredients; gradually add to butter mixture, beating at low speed just until blended.   Stir in bananas, pecans, and vanilla.  Spoon batter into 2 greased and floured 8-x4-inch loafpans.  

Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour or until a long wooden pick inserted comes out clean and sides pull away form the pan, shielding with aluminum foil last 15 minutes to prevent browning, if necessary.  Cool bread in pans on wire racks 10 minutes.  Remove from pans, and cool 30 minutes on wire racks before slicing. 

Makes: 2 loaves

 *Note- I eliminated all nuts, my kids don't like them.

Topping:

This is the topping I used.

Cinnamon Crisp-Topped Cream Cheese Banana Bread

 Prepare the batter as directed and spoon into desired pans.  Stir together 1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar; 1/2 cup chopped, toasted pecans; 1 tbsp all-purpose flour; 1 tbsp melted butter; and 1/8 tsp. ground cinnamon.  Sprinkle mixture evenly over batter.  Bake and cool as directed.

I included this picture just so you could see the nuts in it!  Pic from: Southern Living Jan. 2005

Topping pictured above:

Orange-Pecan Topped Cream Cheese Banana-Nut Bread

Prepare batter as directed, and spoon into desired pans.  Sprinkle 1 cup of coarsely chopped, toasted pecans evenly over batter in pans.  Bake as directed.  Cool bread in pans 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks.  Stir together 1 cup powdered sugar, 3 tbsp. fresh orange juice, and 1 tsp grated orange rind until blended.  Drizzle evenly over warm bread and cool 30 minutes on wire racks.    

Enjoy!

Sherry

I will link this to: 

Friday Food at Mom Trends

Foodie Friday at Designs by Gollum
What's It Wednesday   at Ivy and Elephants  
Thriving on Thursdays  at Domesblissity
On the Menu Monday at Stonegable 
Rooted in Thyme Simple and Sweet Fridays
Wow Us Wednesday at Savvy Southern Style
A Pinteresting Party  at Tutus & Tea Parties
Food on Friday  at Carole's Chatter