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If you have some shortening leftover from Thanksgiving pie making, you might want to try Kona Inn Banana Bread. It’s a banana bread made with shortening rather than butter, so it keeps well and has a very appealing texture. And with six bananas there’s loads of banana flavor! This recipe is very old and well-loved, so I’m looking forward to hearing what you think.
As you can see here, I made this batch in six small (3×5 inch) loaf pans, but the original recipe makes two 8 1/2 by 4 1/2 inch loaves. Nuts are optional, but the bread is on the sweet side so I recommend keeping them in just to cut the sweetness. Also, the original version doesn’t contain vanilla, so feel free to leave it out.
Kona Inn Banana Bread
Kona Inn Banana Bread
Prep Time10 mins
Cook Time1 hr
Total Time1 hr 10 mins
Servings: 16
Ingredients
- 6 very ripe bananas peeled (670 grams)
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour 350 grams
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups sugar 400 grams
- 1 cup vegetable shortening 200 grams
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract optional
- 4 large eggs room temperature
- 1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease two 8 ½ by 4 ½ inch loaf pans. Dust with flour.
- Mash the bananas with a fork or potato masher and set aside. They should still be slightly lumpy.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt.
- In a mixing bowl, using a rubber scraper or large mixing spoon, mix together the shortening and sugar so that it is like a gritty paste. If using vanilla, add that too. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating with the scraper (or spoon) until mixed. Mix in bananas, then add the nuts if using.
- Using the rubber scraper, fold in the flour mixture and stir until fully blended, then stir in the walnuts.
- Divide batter between the pans and spread evenly.
- Bake at 350 degrees for about 1 hour or until fully cooked.
Notes
You can divide this batter among 6 smaller loaf pans (around 3x5) if you prefer. Small loaves should take about 45 minutes.
Hope you like it! I thought it was good on day 1, but even better on day 2.
Snow day today. Just put this in the oven. Can’t wait!
I was recently thinking about banana bread. It’s been a long time since I made it. There are a couple of recipes I like but I bounce from one recipe to another.
Hooray! Can’t wait to hear what you think.
Challenge accepted. I have 6 bananas in the freezer that were waiting on a recipe. I will report back.