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September 8, 2020

Maple-Bourbon Banana Bread

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Banana bread gets a boozy upgrade! Studded with chopped toffee for a decadent touch, this super moist maple-bourbon banana bread features the most tender crumb loaded with rich, cozy flavors and an added complexity from everyone’s favorite liquor. You won’t taste a more delicious banana bread recipe. 

A cut loaf of maple-bourbon banana bread on a wooden platter with a glass of bourbon to the side and flowers surrounding it.

Since creating this maple-bourbon banana bread recipe years ago, I’ve shared this treat with countless friends and co-workers, and it’s always been met with the same sentiment: Oh, my, this is the best banana bread! And I’ll be honest — they’re not wrong. If you’re looking for a beloved, tried and tested banana bread recipe, this is it. 

So what makes this the best banana bread recipe? Obviously, the bourbon adds a complexity and depth that other recipes lack, but we also flavor this quick bread with dark brown sugar, maple, cinnamon and toffee. Some banana bread recipes use only white sugar, but by also incorporating dark brown sugar, we impart molasses notes that play up the warm maple and cinnamon, and then the toffee melts into the bread, making for one rich treat.

Oh, and let’s not forget the unbelievable moisture level. Nothing is worse than a dry baked good, but the combination of whole milk, oil and a generous heaping of mashed bananas give us a perfectly moist banana loaf. 

Looking down on a loaf of boozy banana bread on a wooden platter with drops of maple syrup.

Perfect Banana Ripeness for Baking

Whether you make my recipe — and I hope you do — or another, overripe bananas are a must. Overripe bananas deliver so much more flavor than just a yellow banana.

If you look at the photo below, I make sure my bananas turn this spotted at a minimum. I usually let the bananas turn almost black before baking with them, but as long as they’re at least this spotted, you’re good to go.

Bananas that have been ripened and show off large brown spots all over the fruit.

Can You Freeze Bananas for Baking? 

Absolutely. In fact, I rarely bake with fresh bananas. I let them get nice and dark on the counter and then toss them in the freezer. Typical guidance is to use frozen bananas within three months, but I’d be lying if I said I haven’t extended that to six or eight months and still made a perfectly delicious banana bread. 

To freeze, we have a few options. Ultimately, there’s no right or wrong way — it all comes down to personal preference. 

  • Mashed: If you only plan on baking with your frozen bananas, some people like this option because it’s ready to go once thawed. Store in a freezer bag.
  • Whole peeled: For this method, we peel the bananas and then store in a flat layer in a freezer bag.
  • Whole unpeeled: Some people say peeling frozen bananas is tricky, but I disagree as long as you give the bananas a little time to thaw before peeling. With this method, I don’t even bother placing the bananas in a freezer bag, though you certainly can.
  • Sliced: This method is convenient if you also use frozen bananas for smoothies or cocktails. Make sure you store the banana slices in a freezer bag.
The maple-bourbon banana bread on a wooden platter with flowers to the side.
An aerial view of the banana bread with a drizzle of maple syrup around it.

How to Make

Let’s start baking. We begin by mixing together our dry ingredients and setting the bowl aside. Our dry ingredients include flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder and a touch of cinnamon.

In another bowl, we mix our wet ingredients, which include the white sugar and dark brown sugar. I like to start by first mixing the two sugars to make sure we remove most of the lumps from the dark brown sugar.

The white and brown sugars after they've been mixed to remove most of the lumps.

Once our sugar mixture is mostly lump free, we add our eggs, vanilla and maple extracts, oil, milk and bourbon. After combining those wet ingredients into one cohesive mixture, we stir in our mashed bananas.

To mash our bananas, I like to use a potato masher. I find it’s the most efficient tool for the process, but if you don’t have one, a couple forks take care of the process just fine.

A mixing bowl with the wet ingredients mixed and the mashed bananas on top.

And now it’s time to bring together the contents of our two bowls to make one delicious batter. For this process, we simply add a scoop of the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, stir until incorporated and then repeat until we use all the flour mixture.

A mixing bowl after adding part of the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients.

For the perfect finishing touch, we stir in our chopped toffee, and just like that, we’re ready to pour our batter into loaf pans and bake. Easy, huh?

The banana bread batter with the chopped toffee before mixing.

How Many Loaves in One Batch

Wondering how many loaves of banana bread one recipe will yield? It turns out you have options.

If you want to go with the standard quick bread size, this recipe will make two 8 1/2-inch-by-4 1/2-inch loaves. I also love to make mini loaves, which are perfect for gifts. You should be able to get eight 5 1/2-inch-by-3-inch mini loaves.

Or you can mix and match and make one standard loaf and five mini loaves. This is a great option if you want to keep a loaf for yourself and give just a few for gifts. Hey, you put in the work and deserve your own loaf, right? Right.

A standard loaf pan and mini loaf pan filled with banana bread batter.

For baking, the mini loaves take about 40 minutes while the standard loaves take approximately 55 minutes. If you decide to mix and match mini and standard loaves, you can bake the two together. Just pull the mini loaves and let the standard loaf continue to bake.

A loaf of this boozy banana bread with a glass of bourbon behind it and flowers to the side.

Perfect Pairing

A bourbon barrel-aged barley wine couldn’t be a more perfect match. Barley wine shows off dried fruit and brown sugar notes that meld seamlessly with our maple, bourbon and cinnamon. 

Feeling wine? You’ll love a tawny port on the side of this maple-bourbon banana bread. With toffee and caramel notes, the tawny port offers the perfect richness to our sweet, dense banana bread.

And, of course, you will love this boozy banana bread with a bourbon cocktail. I especially recommend my apple cider old fashioned or gingered bourbon-apple cider cocktail with this banana bread. 

For the most delicious banana bread that everyone is sure to love, I hope you try this recipe. Please let me know how you enjoyed this maple-bourbon banana bread in the comment section and don’t forget to sign up for my newsletter. You can also catch me on Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook and Twitter.

Cheers!

The banana bread before it's been sliced on a wooden platter with flowers all over.
The maple-bourbon banana bread with a stack of flowers in the background.

Looking for More Cozy Baking Recipes?

  • Carrot pound cake with cream cheese glaze
  • Toffee-bananas foster cheesecake
  • Fudgy stout brownies
  • Apple spice cupcakes with praline filling and brown sugar frosting
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A cut loaf of maple-bourbon banana bread on a wooden platter with a glass of bourbon to the side and flowers surrounding it.

Maple-Bourbon Banana Bread


★★★★★

5 from 8 reviews

  • Author: Amanda McGrory-Dixon
  • Prep Time: 20 minutes
  • Cook Time: 1 hour
  • Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
  • Yield: 2 loaves standard loaves or 8 mini loaves 1x
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Description

Banana bread gets a boozy upgrade! Studded with chopped toffee for a decadent touch, this super moist maple-bourbon banana bread features the most tender crumb loaded with rich, cozy flavors and an added complexity from everyone’s favorite liquor. You won’t taste a more delicious banana bread recipe. 


Scale

Ingredients

3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup white sugar
1 cup dark brown sugar
4 eggs, room temperature
1 cup vegetable oil
2/3 cup whole milk
1/4 cup bourbon
1 1/2 teaspoons maple extract
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups mashed overripe bananas, about 5-6 bananas
1 (8)-ounce package chopped toffee


Instructions

  1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. 
  2. In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and baking powder.
  3. In a different large mixing bowl, whisk together the white sugar and dark brown sugar to try to get as many lumps out of the brown sugar. Whisk in the eggs, vegetable oil, whole milk, bourbon, maple extract and vanilla extract until smooth. Again, make sure to break up any lumps from the brown sugar. Stir in the mashed bananas.
  4. Add a few spoonfuls of the flour mixture to the wet mixture and stir to combine. Repeat in batches until all the flour mixture is combined. Stir in chopped toffee. 
  5. Coat two 8 1/2-inch-by-4 1/2-inch loaf pans or eight 5 1/2-inch-by-3-inch mini loaf pans with cooking spray. Alternatively, you can also use one 8 1/2-inch-by-4 1/2-inch loaf pan and five 5 1/2-inch-by-3-inch mini loaf pans. Pour the banana bread batter into the loaf pan, leaving about an inch or so at the top. Bake until a toothpick comes out clean, about 40-45 minutes for the mini loaf pans and about 55-60 minutes for the larger loaf pan. If baking two different sizes, you can bake both at the same time and just leave the larger loaf pan in for the remaining time. 
  6. Allow to cool. Cover tightly with plastic wrap. Enjoy!

Notes

  • The overripe bananas should be mostly brown before using, and you can store them in the freezer before baking. Just be sure to pull the frozen bananas ahead of time to thaw before making the batter.
  • For baking at 5,200 feet, I used 1 3/4 teaspoons of baking soda and did not adjust the baking powder.
  • For full tips, please see blog post.
  • Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
  • Category: Breads
  • Method: Baking
  • Cuisine: American

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 1 slice
  • Calories: 321
  • Sugar: 27
  • Sodium: 210
  • Fat: 15
  • Saturated Fat: 4
  • Unsaturated Fat: 7
  • Trans Fat: 0
  • Carbohydrates: 43
  • Fiber: 1
  • Protein: 3
  • Cholesterol: 35

Keywords: maple bourbon banana bread, bourbon banana bread

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Shelley says

    September 15, 2020 at 8:37 am

    Every time I visit your site, I’m so blown away with your creative, yummy twists on recipes! You’ve done it again – as soon as I saw just the recipe name, I literally thought to myself, “Oh YESSSS!” And then I read on to see that besides the maple-bourbon flavors, we’ve got toffee bits in here, too. It just kept getting better and better lol! I can 100% see why your friends and co-workers say this is the best banana bread!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Amanda McGrory-Dixon says

      September 18, 2020 at 10:12 am

      Aww, thanks so much, Shelley! I hope you try it!

      Reply
  2. Andrea Howe says

    September 15, 2020 at 2:50 pm

    Oh my gosh the flavors in this banana bread – BEST Ever! And thanks for the tip on freezing the bananas mashed up. Makes prepping the recipe so much easier!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Amanda McGrory-Dixon says

      September 18, 2020 at 10:13 am

      For sure! I’m all about the freezing!

      Reply
  3. Alyssa says

    September 16, 2020 at 7:45 am

    What a treat! The bourbon is awesome, but the addition of the toffee takes it to the next level. This is my favorite edible gift to take to friends and family during the fall months. SO good.

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Amanda McGrory-Dixon says

      September 18, 2020 at 10:14 am

      I’m so glad to hear that, Alyssa!

      Reply
  4. Candice says

    September 16, 2020 at 9:27 am

    Who knew banana bread needed a boozy upgrade? You did! This recipe is a winner. It came out so delicious, and really was a great addition to the traditional… yum!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Amanda McGrory-Dixon says

      September 18, 2020 at 10:23 am

      Yay! That makes me happy. Thanks, Candice!

      Reply
  5. Eva says

    September 17, 2020 at 12:56 am

    After the banana bread boom seen with the pandemic trends, I must admit I was getting a little tired of the same old banana breads. Yours is so unique I can’t wait to give it a try! Sure bet this is the best, it’s not boring and the combination of flavours really sounds promising!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Amanda McGrory-Dixon says

      September 18, 2020 at 10:24 am

      It’s totally different from other banana breads! The bourbon and maple really add something special.

      Reply
  6. Marta says

    September 17, 2020 at 2:42 pm

    Anything with bourbon is bound to be a hit in my house. I love the combo of maple and bourbon, especially.

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Amanda McGrory-Dixon says

      September 18, 2020 at 10:24 am

      Same! I just love the rich flavor it adds.

      Reply
  7. Tammy says

    September 20, 2020 at 11:56 am

    Mm the maple bourbon is a fantastic combo…a perfect banana bread for the fall. This sounds absolutely delicious!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Amanda McGrory-Dixon says

      September 23, 2020 at 6:21 pm

      It’s truly divine! Hope you try it.

      Reply
  8. Uma Srinivas says

    September 20, 2020 at 12:26 pm

    Banana bread looks super moist and delicious. I will never say No to banana bread and this one looks and sounds even better than the normal bread 🙂

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Amanda McGrory-Dixon says

      September 23, 2020 at 6:22 pm

      It’s the best! Definitely a guaranteed hit. 😀

      Reply
  9. Nicole Washington says

    September 20, 2020 at 8:05 pm

    Your photos are gorgeous and I love this spin on Banana Bread!

    Reply
    • Amanda McGrory-Dixon says

      September 23, 2020 at 6:23 pm

      Thanks so much, Nicole!

      Reply
  10. Neha says

    September 20, 2020 at 9:45 pm

    Such amazing flavors in this banana bread. I absolutely love this recipe, can’t wait to try it out.

    Reply
    • Amanda McGrory-Dixon says

      September 23, 2020 at 6:23 pm

      I think you’ll love it!

      Reply
  11. Sarah says

    December 16, 2020 at 4:45 pm

    I have a couple of questions. Could I use maple syrup instead of the extract, and only use brown sugar instead? I’m looking forward to making this as soon as the bananas on my counter start turning brown.

    Reply
    • Amanda McGrory-Dixon says

      December 16, 2020 at 6:07 pm

      Hi, Sarah! I do recommend the maple extract over maple syrup. Extract is just much more concentrated, so I don’t think that small amount of maple syrup would come through. As far as substituting brown sugar for white, some recipes you can substitute them interchangeably, but brown sugar does have more moisture because of the molasses. Since this is a moist batter, I’d probably add a tablespoon or two of extra flour. Of course, I haven’t tested this, but that’s probably the safest bet without a test run.

      Reply

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About Me

I'm a Denver-based lady and believe life is best spent with comforting meals, tasty beverages and good company. When I'm not playing in the kitchen, I'm probably exploring new breweries with my husband, Matt, or obsessing over my adorable dog, Baylor. Read More…

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