Banana Bread

This is my favorite banana bread recipe by far. I has shortening in it which some may turn their nose up at, but any recipe for a quick bread will have plenty of fat (and sugar) in it, so eat them in moderation. Though you do want to make sure you get a shortening that has no trans-fats. I have read that shortening leads to baked goods that are lighter and puffier than those with butter or oil because of the higher melting point of shortening. I don't know how true that is at least when compared to butter, but this bread is light and fluffy with nice and crispy corners. Some say that you can sub butter or oil in for shortening, so do so at your own discretion. I like to cut them into portions and freeze them. You can microwave them for 20-30 seconds and enjoy!

Banana Bread

Servings: 32

Prep Time: 10 mins
Cook Time: 1 hour

Ingredients
2.5 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup vegetable shortening
2 cups sugar
2 cups ripe mashed bananas (about 3-4 bananas)
4 eggs, slightly beaten
1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts
1 cup chocolate chips

Directions
Preheat oven to 350F. Grease and flour 2 8x4x3-inch loaf pans.
In a small-medium bowl, mix flour, salt and baking soda. In a large bowl, mix shortening, sugar, mashed bananas, eggs, nuts and chocolate chips. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ones and stir until combined.
Pour into pans and bake for 35-60 minutes or until a knife or skewer inserted into the loaves comes out clean. Remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes then transfer to a rack to cool completely.