Gather all the ingredients you'll need. This saves you time and effort.

The recipe calls for 1 3/4 cups overripe bananas. Mine aren't as over ripe as I'd have liked them and I only had 2 bananas on hand.

So I mashed the bananas and then made up the difference with unsweetened applesauce. The bananas and apples chemically do very similar jobs in baking, so it is OK to substitute if needed. Just make sure you have more bananas than apples or else you won't get the banana flavor.

The reason we're combining the brown sugar with the wet ingredients is so it doesn't clump when combined. In one bowl, mix together:

• 1 3/4 cups mashed, very ripe bananas (about 3 1/2 bananas)

• 3/4 cup plus 2 Tablespoons firmly packed dark brown sugar

• 1/2 cup vegetable oil

• 1/3 cup well-shaken buttermilk (or 1/3 cup milk, or 1/3 cup milk +1/3 tablespoon vinegar)

• 2 large eggs

• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Remember. we are mixing now to avoid having to mix more later when our dry ingredients are added.

Combine:

• 2 cups plus 2 Tablespoons all purpose flour

• 1 tsp baking powder

• 1 tsp baking soda

• 1/2 tsp fine sea salt

Because of the mashed bananas, your batter will definitely look lumpy this time. That is OK! If you want to add nuts or chocolate chips, now would be the time to fold them in.

Don't have a 9x5 pan? Use another pan, but you'll need to adjust your baking time. Muffins will take much less time. The material of your pan might also cause your baking time to increase or decrease. I am using a heavy ceramic baking dish.

Put 3 tablespoons of sugar in a small bowl and drizzle a little bit of water over it (I used less than a teaspoon total but started with just a few drops). Pinch the sugar together. It should clump slightly but not melt into syrup. When it resembles snow, stop working with it. Sprinkle it in chunks across the top of your batter

The best way to tell if quickbreads are done cooking is by checking the internal temperature of your loaf. When they are 195-205F they are done cooking. If you don't have a thermometer, you can check by inserting a toothpick or knife into the bread and checking for raw batter. The top should be golden brown and your sugar snow should have turned into a crunchy sugar topping for your bread. Let the bread completely cool before slicing and enjoy! Because of the fruit in the bread, it is usually better and more moist the second day. Store wrapped with plastic wrap or in an airtight container for up to 1 week or slice and freeze.