Sunday afternoon treats

I woke up with banana bread and peanut butter cookies on my mind. So, I made a hybrid.

I used the old recipe from my eldest sister's first boyfriend's grandmother for perfect banana bread. It's a family classic and something that all of us hold dear. I have memories of peaking under a tea towel in my Mother's kitchen at the perfect golden loaves, resting until they were cool enough to eat, the whole house filled with the warm aroma of baked bananas and the sweetness of bread.

Here it is:

1/2 cup butter mixed with 1 cup sugar (I like half golden brown and half white) until smooth and fluffy. Add two eggs and 1/4 cup crunchy peanut butter and mix until ultra smooth. Add 3-4 mashed, ripe bananas and completely mix in.

In a separate bowl, mix 1 3/4 c all purpose flour, 1 tsp baking powder, 1 tsp baking soda and 1/2 tsp salt, in that order.

Mix the dry ingredients into the wet and stir until all the flour is combined.

Pour into a greased loaf pan and bake at 325˚ for 55 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Wait about 15 minutes after you take it out of the oven to cut it, or your slices won't be lovely and sharp and crisp.

I like it with a nice pad of butter smeared on it and a hot cup of orange pekoe tea. That's my kind of Sunday treat.