My never-ending search for banana bread recipes landed me at Joy the Baker. I’m not sure how I never knew about her blog before — she gets a ton of comments. I must be living under a rock or something. Not only do her recipes look great, but her posts totally crack me up. I really like the Bake Out with Jill & Joy videos too, but what’s up with her gigantic kitchen? It’s bigger than most NYC apartments. Before I saw this recipe, I don’t think I knew bananas and cranberries were a yummy combination, but now I’m a convert. Here’s how it went.
So far so good, but I thought I didn’t have any bourbon (actually, it was just really well hidden in my cabinet), so I used Grand Marnier, which turned out to be a nice substitution.
I used those dried cranberries instead of fresh. I knew the recipe would turn out a bit differently, but something told me it would be pretty good. You can see in Joy’s post that the fresh berries bake into the bread really nicely though, and I knew I wouldn’t get that effect.
The bread got a really nice, dark crust to it. Of course it softened up after sitting overnight, but those first few pieces while the bread was still warm were spectacular. Then I started wondering what this would be like with walnuts.
See, my cranberries didn’t get that ooziness like Joy’s, but I wasn’t complaining. The texture was fantastic, and this was a recipe I’d definitely make again.
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I'm Justin Schwartz, a cookbook guy and occasional food writer, and this blog is about what I'm up to these days. I'm the author of Veg Out Vegetarian Guide to New York City and The Marshmallow Fluff Cookbook. You can email me at justin at justinschwartz.com. I'm also on Instagram.
A lot of the books I write about are ones I've edited, so my opinions are very biased. And if I didn't work on the book, someone probably gave it to me for free. So keep that in mind before you take my word for it. Sometimes I just like to give a shout-out to my friends. And oh yeah, my opinions have nothing to do with my employer...
Looks delicious; I haven't tried the banana-cran combo, but now I want to.
i love joy's recipes. my fav were those flourless pb cookies that i kicked up a notch. oh man, dude i'm telling you. i got a nod from martha stewarts daughter on those. i haven't made banana bread in a long time because of the heat. my oven has been off for months now. but i will soon be changing that. so this bread looks good justin!
With the rain in Boston this weekend, I meant to do some baking but never got around to it. This looks really delicious and perfect for a rainy day like today!
isn't her kitchen gorgeous? i was drooling over it. haha!i am now drooling over your banana-cran bread.
Your bread came out perfect Justin. And yes – Joy's blog rocks!
I love Joy and her super funny style of writing! It always makes me happy when I see that she's posted. I have never paired cranberries and bananas either but if you give it rave reviews, then I will definitely try it. Plus, I need to use the cranberries I have frozen in my fridge before they come into season again!
Banana seems to go with anything with "berry" at the end. Maybe it's the mellow backdrop it provides. I agree you cannot have too many banana bread recipes. Chocolate…cinnamon….berries… oatmeal…and now – cranberries!
big apple nosh: yeah, trust me on this onedawn: i'm totally checking out that recipe nextf&f in beantown: yeah, the weather changed here too — baking time!in an oyster: i want a kitchen like thateliana: thanks, and totallyjoanne: i had the dried berries in my freezer. i keep nuts in the freezer too. i'm always happy when i want to bake and something from the freezer comes to my rescue.claudia: ha, we think alike
And I`ll make it too.Really delicious ♥
Bookmarking this recipe for a try-out. It looks splendid!
No wonder you gave this recipe a try – the cranberries would make the banana bread so awesome (I'd use dried, too).
Thanks for sharing this. I have bookmarked it for my next bake
ana: i hope you try itcool lassie: it's a good onebel: right, they're a lot easier to getelin: i hope you try it too
Looks great…a nice way tro transition to fall. (Not that that will ever happen!) But I do have some over-ripe bananas just waiting to be turned into something.
This bread looks fabulous. I'd have to use dried cranberries, too, as fresh ones are just not available here.
newlywed: yeah, it feels like fall here right now, but i think that will change fastdajana: right, i can't get the fresh ones at this time of year, but they'll be around soon
confession: it's my parents' kitchen. my real life kitchen is about half the size.your bread looks totally rad. i like the idea of grand marnier. divine!see yo ass at blogher food.
joy: okay, that makes more sense. and thanks. and i guess i'll see you there too.
I love Joy's blog too. Looks delicious