Brown Sugar Banana Bread Recipe | Barbara Bakes (2024)

Published by Melissa on December 20, 2013 | Updated March 2, 2024 | 27 Comments

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Quick breads are the perfect gift for neighbors and friends. I like to bake them in cute, little mini loaf pans so they’re easy to share.

Lorraine, Not Quite Nigella, sent me a fun new cookbook for Christmas this year, The Back in the Day Bakery Cookbook. Lorraine is my virtually adopted Australian daughter. If you’re not visiting her blog, you’re missing out. She’s an excellent writer with a bubbly, magnetic, quirky personality. She loves great food, travel, Harry Potter, Halloween and all things American.

The recipes in The Back in The Day Bakery Cookbook, are the recipes they use at The Back in the Day Bakery, a popular neighborhood bakery in Savannah, Georgia. The cookbook has a fun intro section and a great method to the magic section with tips on successful baking.

Their version of banana bread is spiced up with mace and cinnamon. I didn’t have any mace, and we’re not nutmeg lovers, so I substitute pumpkin pie spice which is a combination of nutmeg, clove, cinnamon, and ginger. I also changed the amount of baking soda, sugar and sour cream to accommodate my higher altitude.

The recipe calls for toasted pecans. Toasting nuts before you use them helps to crisp them up and intensifies the flavor of the nuts. Be sure and measure the nuts before chopping and toasting. Spread them out in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet to bake them; then put them on a plate to cool before adding them to your batter.

The cookbook includes a chocolate chip version of the Brown Sugar Banana Bread, but I decided it would be even better with both pecans and chocolate chips. I also added a few chocolate chips to the top of the loaves before baking, to dress up the loaves.

The addition of pumpkin pie spice and the cinnamon mellows out the banana flavor. The banana flavor isn’t as prominent.but the bananas still add a great sweetness and moist texture to the bread.

I baked the bread in mini loaf pans, including one adorable Christmas loaf pan my daughter gave me. I’m sure those on your gift giving list would love receiving these beautiful, tasty little loaves.

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5 from 1 vote

Brown Sugar Banana Bread with Pecans and Chocolate Chips

Prep Time10 minutes mins

Cook Time55 minutes mins

Total Time1 hour hr 5 minutes mins

Course: Quick Breads

Keyword: baking, Breakfast, Chocolate, Dessert

Servings: 1 9×5-inch loaf or 4 5×3-inch loaves

Author: Barbara Schieving

Ingredients

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon salt
1 ½ cups well-mashed very ripe bananas about 3 bananas
⅔ cup packed light brown sugar
⅓ cup sour cream
2 large eggs
6 tablespoons unsalted butter melted and cooled
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup pecans toasted and chopped*
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350°. Spray a 9×5-inch loaf pan with baking spray with flour. (I used four mini loaf pans – 5 ¾ x 3 ¼ x 2 ¼. Don’t fill more than ⅔ full.)
In a medium bowl, mix together flour, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon and salt; set aside.
In a large bowl, mix the mashed bananas, brown sugar, sour cream, eggs, melted butter, and vanilla until well blended. Add flour mixture to banana mixture, mix just until moistened. Stir in pecans and chocolate chips.
Spoon batter into prepared pan. Top with additional chocolate chips if desired. Bake for 45 to 55 minutes (bake mini loaves for 30 minutes), or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.
Cool 10 minutes in pan on a wire rack; remove from pan, and cool completely on a wire rack before cutting.

Notes

*Toast pecans at 350° for 5 minutes stir and cook 5 minutes more.

Pumpkin Pie Spice Substitute: ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon plus ¼ teaspoon ground ginger, ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg and ⅛ teaspoon ground cloves for 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice.

About Melissa & Barbara

As of June 2022 Melissa Griffiths now is the one adding recipes. So think of it as Barbara Bakes, and Melissa too! Melissa and Barbara have been blogging friends for over 10 years and when Barbara was ready to retire and spend more time with her family, Melissa took over the site. Read more...

Reader Interactions

Comments

Pamela Blakeney
July 29, 2017 at 2:33 am

Barbara,
Thanks a million for posting your Hynotic Heavenly Banana Chocolate Chip Spice Bread. None other dares to approach it’s delightful and delicious qualities.
I work at a fresh produce market. Therefore, I usually am blessed with an ample supply of very ripe bananas. Your receipe is my new favorite for turning those overlooked bananas into a delectable dream.
Reply
- Barbara Schieving
  July 29, 2017 at 6:27 am
  
  Now that’s a great review – thanks Pamela!
  Reply
Nora Isabel
March 07, 2014 at 3:47 am

Hola al traducir tu receta al espanol me dice que debo de utilizar las especias del pastel de calabaza, si es posible me puedes especificar cuales son y poder utilizarlas al realizar la receta. Me encantan tus recetas, muchas gracias
Reply
- Barbara Schieving
  March 07, 2014 at 7:11 am
  
  Hola Nora – I have updated the recipe with the spices needed to make pumpkin pie spice. Enjoy!
  Reply

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