Banana Bread

Every time Seth works a string of night shifts, I go an a baking binge and make cookies, cupcakes, caramels, banana bread and whatever else sounds good to me while I am sitting all alone in a house with sleeping kids. Well, he has been working nights this weekend, thus, my many "goodies" postings. This banana bread is yum, yum, yummy!

½ cup butter
¾ cup sugar
2 eggs
1 ¾ cups all purpose flour
1 ½ tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
½ tsp ground ginger
¼ tsp. ground allspice
¼ tsp. ground nutmeg
1 tsp. grated lemon peel (optional)
¾ cup ground walnuts (optional)
1 ½ cups mashed bananas (approx. 4 medium bananas)

Preheat oven to 350°. Grease 9x5” loaf pan.

Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs and beat until blended. Set aside.

Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ginger, allspice and nutmeg in a bowl. Add lemon peel and walnuts. Stir until combined.

Slowly add dry mixture and bananas, alternately, to butter, sugar and egg mixture and mix until well blended. Pour into prepared pan.

Bake for approx. 1 hour, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Invert from pan and cool completely on rack.