Brown Butter Bourbon Banana Bread

Ever since Alex bought me a stand mixer, I've been doing a lot of baking.  I've developed a patience for it and definitely an appetite for homemade baked goods.  I'm getting much better at not sitting on the floor in front of the oven waiting for cookies, cakes, and muffins to rise.  One thing hasn't changed though; the fewer the ingredients, the more likely it is that I'll make it. Let's just say, that mixer has gotten us into a lot of snacking trouble lately and I've gotten a lot better at finding baked goods recipes I'm willing to try. I've also fallen in love with browned butter--in all types of cookies and now in banana bread/ muffins.


Last weekend, I got out of bed early, walked into the kitchen and saw three spotty, sad looking bananas sitting at the top of the fruit bowl.  Sad looking bananas = b-a-n-a-n-a bread.  I'm a huge fan of banana bread because it's an easy, delicious breakfast and there's no better way to start the morning than with a warm, freshly baked banana muffin with a pat of Vermont Creamery Sea Salt butter.

I wish we still had more muffins...

I adapted this recipe from Smitten Kitchen's Jacked-Up Banana Bread and used a splash of Grand Marnier instead of bourbon and I added the zest of one orange to add more of that fresh, citrus flavor.  

3 ripe bananas, smashed

1/3 cup browned, salted butter
3/4 cup light brown sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 tablespoon Grand Marnier
1 teaspoon baking soda
Pinch of salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 1/2 cups flour
zest of 1 orange

Preheat the oven to 350°F. With a wooden spoon, mix butter into the mashed bananas in a large mixing bowl. Mix in the sugar, egg, vanilla and Grand Marnier, then the spices. Sprinkle the baking soda and salt over the mixture and mix in. Add the flour last, mix. Pour mixture into your muffin tin. Bake for 45 minutes to one hour, or until a tester comes out clean. Cool on a rack. Remove from pan and serve with a smack of butter, jam, or Grand Marnier and orange zest creme fraiche.