Bourbon Banana Bread - vegan

I have been ogling this recipe for a while now. But given normal life events and the predictable procrastination that goes along with them, and the fact that bananas rarely come home from the grocery store with me (yech), "a while" stretched to "too long." Seriously people, when you want bananas to brown, it takes forever, but when you buy them with the intention of eating them like a responsible adult they brown while your back is turned.

I understand Old Man Winter is just not letting go of his grip on some parts of the U.S. This bread? This will help you cope. Spring is right around the corner (and boy am I annoyed to be losing an hour of sleep Sunday morning), and with that will be an abundance of asparagus and strawberries. But until then, hunker down and make some comforting banana bread. Adding a splash (or two) of bourbon can only help.

Bourbon Banana Bread - vegan
adapted from Smitten Kitchen

This recipe is doable with just a bowl and a mixing spoon. However, because I'm lazy I spend my days lifting and mixing heavy batters, I used a hand mixer to do it all- from mashing the bananas to adding the flour. Bourbon isn't something you'd typically find in the kitchen cabinets here, so I bought a mini bottle (airplane size) and used about half for one loaf. 

As written, this loaf isn't uber sweet. It was excellent with some peanut butter smeared on top for breakfast. If you want a sweeter, more dessert-like bread, just use more sugar (up to a cup).

4 to 5 (1 to 1.25 lbs, peeled) ripe bananas, smashed
1/3 C vegetable oil
1/2 C to 3/4 C sucanat or brown sugar (depending on the level of sweetness you prefer; I used the smaller amount)
1 tsp vanilla
1 Tbsp (or more) bourbon (optional)
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
Pinch of ground cloves
1 C flour
1/2 C whole wheat flour
1 to 2 Tbsp flax seeds (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350°F. With a wooden spoon, mix oil into the mashed bananas in a large mixing bowl. Mix in the sugar, vanilla and bourbon, then the spices. Sprinkle the baking soda and salt over the mixture and mix in. Add the flour last, mix. Pour mixture into a greased 4×8 inch loaf pan. Bake for 50 minutes to one hour, or until a tester comes out clean. Cool on a rack. Remove from pan and slice to serve.

Note: I used a 10- x 5-inch loaf pan, and my bread took about 55 minutes. Deb over at Smitten Kitchen split hers into two mini-loaf pans, and they baked for 45 minutes. There are lots of loaf pan sizes and lots of ovens out there, so use your best judgement.