Recipe for success: Banana nut bread

I am currently basking in the delicious aroma of banana nut bread and cannot wait for the pans to cool enough to spread way too much butter on a slice of my own. Part of me really loves banana bread because it is a way to salvage bananas that are just one step away from composting. The rest of me loves making banana bread because it is so freakin' good. Here is the recipe I have been using, no idea where it originally came from, but it hasn't failed me yet. Makes 6 muffins or 2 mini loaves.

1. Assemble the ingredients:

   2 c. flour, sifted 3 tsp. baking powder 1/2 tsp. salt 1/2 c. shortening

   1 c. sugar 2 large eggs 1 1/3 c. mashed ripe bananas (3 med.) 1 c. chopped walnuts (optional)

2. Preheat the oven to 350 F.


3. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt together in a bowl and set aside (until step 7).


4. Cream together the shortening and sugar until light and fluffy using an electric mixer at medium speed.


5. Beat in the eggs one at a time and mix after each addition.
   
6. Add the mashed bananas and mix until blended well.
   
7. Add the dry ingredients all at once and mix until just wet/combined.
   
8. Stir in the nuts, if you are adding them.
   
9. Pour your mix into greased loaf pans or scoop into greased muffin tins, filling 2/3 full.
   
10. Bake at 350 F until done. Done should be golden brown on top and a toothpick comes out clean. For muffins this will be about 20 minutes, for small loaves this should be around 40 minutes.

When I was waiting for the bread to cool, I had visions of whipping up some kind of light cream cheese spread (maybe whipped cream and cream cheese together?) If I come up with anything noteworthy I will update.