Cinnamon Swirl Banana Bread (Lightened Up)

Cinnamon Swirl Banana Bread

I finally did something with those brown bananas that have been sitting on the counter for days, disgusting all of us. Or maybe just me. I don’t know. I find them disgusting!

But I’d seen this lightened-up version of cinnamon swirl banana bread a while ago and wanted to try it out. Its time had come.

I was supposed to use three bananas, but I had four, and I was tired of looking at them, so I used all four and mashed, mashed, mashed. To that I added pure cane sugar (instead of white), a beaten egg, vanilla, and finally, a quarter cup of melted butter.

adding melted butter

I stirred it all together. The next step was a little odd, I though. I sprinkled a teaspoon of baking soda over the mixture.

adding baking soda

I did the same with a dash of salt. Then I added the flour.

adding flour

(As an aside, I finally looked up the difference between a pinch and a dash, and discovered that there is also a specific measurement for a smidgeon! And a tad!)

I stirred to combine.

combined

Then I made the cinnamon sugar. The blogger who posted the recipe suggested reducing the sugar to 1/8 cup, but even at that I ended up with an awful lot of it. (That’s why it didn’t matter much when I spilled some onto the counter.)

cinnamon sugar

I poured half the batter into a loaf pan, then sprinkled a reasonably thick layer of cinnamon sugar on top.

cinnamon sugar on top

Then I added almost all the rest of the batter, and added more cinnamon sugar.

another layer

And then I poured on the rest of the batter, and sprinkled more cinnamon sugar down the middle in a line.

sprinkled in middle

It said to bake for 40-60 minutes, but mine was done at closer to 30.

banana bread, baked

I let it sit in the pan for another 15 minutes or so, then flipped the pan and removed it. It smelled wonderful.

side view

And look how lovely it was inside when I cut it open.

inside banana bread

Perfect texture, with nice banana blobs (but not too many) and a sugary cinnamon swirl that enhances without overpowering. It will not make your teeth sing…just your tastebuds. Here’s proof:

Nathaniel eating cinnamon swirl banana bread

I made this last night, and there is just one thin slice of it left. You know, I loved the original recipe but it was very heavy on the Weight Watchers points, and this one is reasonable, and just as delicious. I think it’s best eaten the day after baking. and if you wanted to add a little decadence, I think mini chocolate chips, used sparingly, would be fantastic.

LIGHTENED UP CINNAMON SWIRL BANANA BREAD RECIPE

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