Banana bread addendum

I thought it might be useful to note that the banana bread recipe that I posted about recently can be made without the nuts, for the banana bread purists, and makes two gorgeous mini loaves instead of one big one if you'd like to share with others and don't feel like cutting your big loaf in half.

Since there were some nuts and some non nuts in the group, I opted instead to make a maple pecan brown sugar butter to go with a nutfree bread, thereby pleasing both camps. The butter was a bit of a throw together, but here's an approximation of the recipe. Definitely mix it all up to taste, erring on the side of less sugar and maple syrup first, and adding until it suits your style.

1/4 cup toasted pecans
6 Tb butter, room temp
2 tsp maple syrup
2 tsp brown sugar

If you have a Cuisinart mini chopper, that's perfect for this recipe. If not, a blender or regular Cuisinart will do, but you might have to increase the quantities a bit to get it all blended. Place the nuts and butter in the chopper and mix until combined. Add syrup and brown sugar. Mix until smooth, adding more sugar and/or syrup to taste. The mixture will be soft, with tiny bits of nuts throughout. Refridgerate until firm. Serve with warm banana bread, pancakes, or biscuits.