This High Altitude Cinnamon Toast Banana Bread was born of nostalgia.
Did you ever eat cinnamon toast as a kid? I grew up in the 70’s and 80’s, when Wonder Bread was considered a delicacy rather than a toxin, and I remember clearly toasting those thick, fluffy slices until hot and golden brown, then slathering them with lots of melty butter and dousing them with cinnamon and sugar from a shaker my mom kept in the kitchen. Each crispy bite gave way to the soft butter-soaked bread inside, and that sugar crust crunched so deliciously between my teeth. Man, I loved that stuff.
But now we know Wonder Bread is the nutritional equivalent of a pixi stick, and it’s time for a grown-up alternative. Cinnamon Toast Banana Bread is my answer. It’s still got the buttery flavor and the thick crust of cinnamon-sugar, but it’s also got fruit. Bananas. Potassium! Go with it. It’s substantial enough to serve as a quick breakfast without giving you a blood sugar crash fifteen minutes later.
Banana bread is great because it requires super-ripe, mushy bananas. And if, like me, you have a child who enjoys bananas but will not touch one that has a single brown spot, you likely end up with them often. Banana bread is a great way to use them up (and get your kids to eat them!). And as a bonus, it’s kind of fun to mash them. You want to really mash them for this recipe – think baby food consistency. Which looks pretty gross in the bowl, but when combined with flour, sugar, and eggs, magically transforms into deliciously sweet, caramelized goodness.
I love the versatility of this recipe, which can easily be made into muffins if that’s your jam. You can customize it with other flavors if you like, too – a cup of chocolate or peanut butter chips in the batter, for example, would be a lovely addition.
For us high altitude folks, the good news is that quick bread recipes like these don’t need a lot of altering from base sea level versions. The batter is thick and substantial enough to avoid fear of collapse. Check out that nice domed top.
You’ll notice the loaf pan is lined with parchment. You can grease and flour instead if you like, but smacking a piece of parchment in there is so easy, and you never have to worry about sticking. If you like, you can dab a little butter in the pan first, which helps the parchment adhere and not move around too much while you’re adding your batter. When making muffins, I generally use paper liners for the same reason (although, again, you can easily grease and flour the muffin cups).
This bread (which, let’s be honest, is really a delicious cross between bread and cake), has a sweet surprise inside, too – a delicate ribbon of cinnamon woven throughout the middle. You get this by adding half the batter to the pan, sprinkling half of the cinnamon-sugar mixture over the top, and then adding the remainder of the batter.
If you like this recipe, try my Dark Chocolate High Altitude Banana Bread too!
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Cinnamon Toast Banana Bread
- Prep Time: 10
- Cook Time: 50
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Category: sweet, high elevation, breakfast & brunch
Description
This easy high-altitude quick bread sports a decadent cinnamon-sugar crust with an additional swirl of cinnamon inside.
Ingredients
BATTER
- 2 1/4 cups (10 oz) all-purpose flour
- 3/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 cup (4 oz) brown sugar
- 4 TB (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature (or substitute 4 TB of neutral oil such as canola or avocado)
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 3–4 medium overripe bananas (about a cup and a half of mashed banana)
- 1/2 cup plain or vanilla yogurt
CINNAMON SUGAR TOPPING
- 1/4 cup (3.5 oz) granulated sugar
- 2 tsp cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°. Line a loaf pan with parchment, or grease and flour thoroughly. If making muffins, line a 12-cup standard-size muffin tin with paper liners, or grease and flour the cups.
- In a medium bowl, stir together flour, baking soda, 1 tsp cinnamon, and salt.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, or in a separate bowl if using a hand held mixer, cream butter (or oil) and brown sugar on medium speed until fluffy (if using oil, the mixture won’t get fluffy, but mix for about 2 minutes to thoroughly combine the sugar and fat).
- Add eggs one at a time, incorporating each thoroughly.
- Lower mixer speed to med-low and add mashed banana and yogurt and mix just until combined.
- Carefully stir in flour mixture just until combined (don’t overmix).
- For bread, add half the batter to prepared pan; even it out, and sprinkle half the cinnamon-sugar topping across the top. For muffins, fill cups halfway and add 1/2 tsp of cinnamon sugar to each.
- Add remaining batter to the loaf pan/muffin cups and top with the rest of the cinnamon-sugar.
- Bake for 45-50 minutes for a loaf, or 25-30 mins for muffins, until golden brown on top and a cake tester or knife comes out clean, or with a moist crumb or two.
- Allow to cool before removing from pan/tins
Keep leftovers in an airtight container for up to 3 days, or wrap tightly and freeze. Banana bread freezes best if cut into individual slices that are wrapped individually.
Hi Robyn!
This looks delicious and I can’t wait to make it!! Do you think it would be alright if a used plain Greek yogurt instead of regular yogurt? I know Greek yogurt is thicker so I just want to make sure it won’t mess with the texture or anything.
Thanks!!
Hi Kelianne! You can use any kind of yogurt – greek is just fine.
Can’t wait to make this! The flour seems bit much, is this because of the altitude?
I’ve found that 2 1/4 cups works well in proportion to the other ingredients at my altitude – it comes out nice and moist for me. If you are at a lower altitude, it might be worth experimenting with a lesser amount (I wouldn’t go below 2 cups, though).
Thank you for your answer! I am at 7400 ft, but i will try it with this measurements first =)
As I am trying to follow & try some of your recipes, I’m a little lost still, can I use this 00 flour for this recipe. Can I use 00 with any recipe you have?
Melinda, generally I don’t advise subbing 00 for all-purpose flour (except in pizza dough). 00 flour is very finely milled and tends to cook faster, absorb water differently, and will affect the texture of baked goods like breads and cookies. Think about the difference between granulated white sugar and confectioner’s sugar and you’ll get an idea of what I’m talking about.
HOLY WOW! Made this tonight with my daughter. Did I say holy wow? DELICIOUS, very soft on inside, while crunchy ends lol looking forward to coffee & this banana bread in the morning!!!
So glad you loved it! 🙂
Could canola be substituted for the butter?
Yes, just substitute an equal amount of oil. The flavor will obviously not be as buttery but it should still be delicious!
I had some dead bananas and I was going to make your dark chocolate banana bread… But then this recipe called out to me!
I made them as muffins… Absolutely delicious! Beautifully moist and full of cinnamon-y goodness!
That sounds just amazing and I’m tempted to do the same myself now! 🙂
Perfect at 9600 ft (Twin Lakes) . Thanks for the great recipe.