sour cream banana bread

When we lived in the States, I used to babysit for a Finnish-American family with three sweet under 4-year-olds. Let me tell you, all of those kids absolutely loved bananas. There would always be a huge bunch of them sitting on the kitchen counter and the kids would munch on them whenever given one. Sometimes, though, it happened that a few of those bananas went brown. Those times, the mom would bake banana bread that, in my opinion, was the best of them all.

Somehow, though, I never got the recipe. Since moving back to Finland, I have been making banana bread every now and then, trying different recipes to find the right one, like hers. Finally, a few months back, a friend of mine had baked banana bread and to my surprise, it tasted very much like the banana bread I had been craving for so long.

Bananas in this household usually get brown and baked into something. I buy bananas every now and then, usually for running fuel, or sometimes Grandma gives me a bunch. Often I manage to eat only one or two before they are sitting forgotten in a corner, getting brown. Yet, I find it difficult to feel bad about this because brown, spotty bananas mean delicious baked goods. And those baked goods are made without guilt because hey, those bananas really needed to be used.

This banana bread is sweet with a hint of caramel, thanks to the brown sugar and vanilla. The spices come through just so, deepening the sweetness and the flavour of the bananas. It is somewhat dense, yet with a soft, tender crumb. You can skip the crumb topping if you want more of a breakfast-like banana bread; for me, this (like all banana breads) falls into the dessert category and the crumb topping is more than welcome.

Sour Cream Banana Bread
adapted from Allrecipes
makes 1 (9x5-inch) loaf and a few muffins OR 2 smaller (7x4-inch) loaves

I halved the original recipe as it is rare that I would have 6 very ripe bananas at the same time. If at any point you do have, though, I'd suggest making the whole recipe (that is, doubling this recipe), yielding three (9x5-inch) loaves, and freezing one or two.

2 tbsp white sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon

90g (6 tbsp) butter
3/4 to 1 cup white sugar (depending how sweet you like)
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
3 medium very ripe bananas, mashed
225g sour cream
2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp cinnamon
a good pinch of nutmeg
a pinch of cloves

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt

Crumb topping:
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp cinnamon
40g cold salted butter


Preheat oven to 160C (325F). In a small bowl, combine 2 tbsp white sugar and 1/2 tsp cinnamon. Grease a loaf pan (or pans) and dust it with the cinnamon sugar.

In a bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. Beat in the eggs one at a time. Mix in the mashed bananas, sour cream, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves. Stir in the flour, baking soda, and salt. Pour the batter into the prepared pan(s).

In a small bowl, rub together the brown sugar, flour, cinnamon and cold butter until the mixture resembles sand. Sprinkle the crumb on the top. Bake the 9x5-inch loaf for about 1 hour 15 minutes, 7x4-inch loaf for about 1 hour and muffins for about 25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

spiced banana cookies

On Thursday afternoon, I was watching out of a window with a cup of tea in my hands. The sky was clear and the sun was shining, a ray of sunlight flicking through the blinds and the trees just outside the window made it look like the light was dancing around the room. That moment right there, it was beautiful and peaceful.

Yet, I was sitting there out of tiredness. I was watching out of the window, hoping that the moment of stillness would help me to fight the weariness trying to take over me. I was truly tired, with that kind of tiredness that hadn't gone away with a good night's sleep and a 20-minute nap in the morning (and I  nap very rarely, so that was something).

The thing is, I felt bad about being tired. I honestly felt bad, even a little ashamed, that I would be so tired though I had slept well the night before. As I lifted the cup to my lips and sipped the hot tea, I watched out of the window. I watched, and saw beauty. The rays of sunshine pouring in through the windows. The branch of a tree waving with the wind, the sunshine behind it. The golden hue of the afternoon sun, lighting up the room.

And then, I realized.

It was okay to be tired.
It was okay to feel weary, even at the brink of exhaustion.
It was okay to not be at my best. It was okay.

Because there will always be days when you feel tired and weary. There will be days when you are feeling down, maybe even depressed. There will always be those days and that's nothing to be ashamed of. We all experience them and what matters is whether you get through them. How you get through them. For me, I find rest and comfort in the Lord. This may not be the case for you. But I do pray it would be.

Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light. (Matthew 11:28-30)

Now, I suggest you go and make these cookies. Maybe you are feeling weary or down. Maybe you are feeling rested and happy. Maybe you have a sweet tooth that's acting up. Or maybe your day just needs some sugaring up. However you are feeling right now, if you happen to have a few browning bananas on your kitchen counter, I suggest you go and make these.

These cookies are fun, seriously. They are really cakey and soft, so much so that it's more like you are eating banana bread than cookies. (So if you have problems with portion control, here you go.) They are sweet but not overly so, and the spices come through beautifully. I absolutely love these with a cup of black tea, and have been enjoying these on many afternoons now.


Spiced Banana Cookies
adapted from Simply Recipes

115g butter, room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 large egg
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup mashed bananas (about 2 to 3 medium)
1 tsp baking soda
2 cups plain flour
3/4 tsp groung cinnamon
1/2 tsp groung nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cloves
a good pinch of ground ginger
a pinch of salt


Preheat oven to 175C. With an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugars together until light and fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla, and beat until light and fluffy. In a small bowl, stir together the mashed bananas and baking soda; set aside for 2 minutes. Stir the banana mixture into the wet ingredients.

In a bowl, combine the flour and spices. Stir into the wet ingredients, mixing until just combined. Drop tablespoonfuls of batter on a baking tray lined with parchment paper. Bake the cookies for 11 to 13 minutes, or until golden brown.