My **Favorite** Banana Bread!

I'm not much of a recipe-poster, but this banana bread makes a great exception to that rule. I've made it several times, and nothing has ever gone wrong with it! It is moist, sweet, and perfectly banana-y.

I found the original recipe here one evening as I was trying to decide what to do with some bananas that were getting too ripe to eat. It took about an hour and a half to bake... but it was so worth it! The next day, I took the rest to a family function and it was gone (literally) 5 minutes after I walked in the door. I got rave reviews! I gave the original website to those who asked for it, but then realized that I had tweaked it just a bit and that the results they got may not be the same.

Here is my (going-to-be-famous-someday) banana bread recipe!

• 1/2 cup margarine
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2.5-3 very ripe mashed bananas
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla
• 1.5 tablespoons vegetable oil

1. Preheat oven to 335 degrees F (165 degrees C). Lightly grease an 8x4 inch loaf pan. (This recipe can make one tall loaf [about even with the sides of the loaf pan, when baked] or two short loaves. I usually make one tall loaf, but you can choose!)
2. In a large bowl, cream the shortening and sugar and add vanilla. Sift in the flour, baking soda and salt. Blend in the mashed bananas. Add vegetable oil and mix. Pour batter into prepared pan(s).
3. Bake in preheated oven for 60 minutes (for short loaf; for tall loaf, add approximately 40 extra minutes), or until it tests done with a toothpick. If the toothpick comes out gummy, clean it off and check another spot to ensure that you didn't poke through a bit of banana!

I hope you enjoy! :)