tonys brown butter banana bread

dense, moist banana bread with nutty brown butter, warm spices, and chocolate chips. makes ~9 servings in a 9x9 pan.

ingredients

• 3 1/2 very ripe bananas, mashed
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, to be browned
• 3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
• 2 large eggs
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup milk (+ optional 1 tbsp, see notes)
• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips

steps

1. brown the butter. put the butter in a light-colored pan over medium heat. stir and swirl as it melts. it'll foam, then you'll see golden-brown bits form on the bottom and it'll smell nutty.
2. cool the butter. immediately pour it into a heatproof bowl so it doesn't burn. let cool 10–15 min (warm is fine; piping hot can scramble the eggs). optional: whisk 1 tbsp milk back in for extra moisture.
3. prep. preheat oven to 325°F and grease a 9x9 pan.
4. mix wet. in a large bowl, mash the bananas, then whisk in the cooled brown butter, brown sugar, eggs, vanilla, and milk until smooth.
5. mix dry. in a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
6. combine. add the dry to the wet and stir just until combined — don't overmix. fold in the chocolate chips.
7. bake. pour into the pan and bake at 325°F for 45–60 min. start checking at 45; a toothpick should come out with a few moist crumbs.
8. cool. let it cool at least 30 min before slicing so it sets up and doesn't crumble.

notes

1/2 cup chocolate chips keeps it dense without crumbling; swap for 1/2 cup walnuts if you prefer.

1/8 tsp cloves works as an alternative to nutmeg.

don't overmix, and pull it as soon as you see moist crumbs — that's the key to dense and moist.