Fall was in the air and then a heat wave came rushing through middle Tennessee, but the Kelley’s are still dreaming about fall.  It’s one of our favorites.  I made some banana bread the other day which made me think about my banana bread jars, so I’m doing a re-post today in honor of fall (almost) being in the air and my deep rooted love for banana bread.

You can read the original post HERE.  I also addressed questions I had in the comments section from last year in this current post at the end 🙂

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I had no intentions of doing a post on my banana bread jars, but when you post a picture on instagram and people ask, well, you give them the answer…in blog post form.  It’s what I do.

Every week I make baked goods to share.  I like baking.  I like homemade sweets and treats.  And I think other people do to   This is something I can do to show love to people in our community.  Some I know, some strangers…either way I am a firm believer that baked goods can change the world.

Cue the banana bread jars.  My cousin Rebecca taught me a long time ago that when your bananas go bad and you can’t use them immediately just put them in a ziplock bag and freeze them.  I’ve been using her trick ever since.  Yesterday I decided to finally use up the 6 black bananas in our freezer.

Fall is officially here and the weather is magnificent and banana bread and all sorts of chilis are on my mind…weird combination I know, but goh!!!!!  I just love banana bread and any type of chili.  So yesterday I got to baking.  I made our family a regular loaf for breakfast and then decided to bake some mini loafs in small mason jars.  This is so crazy easy and it’s one of my most favorite ways to share cakes and breads.  I always have these small jars on hand and it’s a really simple process.

I always…I repeat always…use my Aunt Betty’s banana bread recipe.  Our family has our own cookbook and if there is a recipe for whatever and it’s in our family’s cookbook, that typically is the recipe I use.  Not only is it nostalgia, but it’s also a part of my legacy.  I love using my MawMaw’s and my Mom’s and my Aunt’s recipes…I love our family’s recipes.  Plus everything the Halls make is delicious.

To make 12 small jars I double this recipe.  And my Mom taught me when I made banana bread for the first time not to measure out 1 cup of banana puree, but instead just always let 1 cup banana = 2 bananas.  So I never measure out smashed up bananas, but I digress.

Once everything is all mixed up, I grease each jar with a little spray oil and then spoon in two large spoonfuls filling the jars about 1/2-1/3  full.  I sit the jars on a cookie sheet and bake at 325 for 40 minutes.  My oven does burn a little hot so you may need a little longer, but not much.

I let them cool a bit and then screw the tops on.  It’s fine if they’re still a little warm.  I like to cut squares of fabric and put that between the seal and the rim.  This just makes them a little more colorful and fun especially to give to people.

And there you have it.  Not rocket science at all…super easy…really fun…and a great little something to make someone’s day a little better…a banana bread encouragement.

I really wasn’t planning on blogging this…hope I didn’t leave anything important out…if you have any questions just leave them in the comments and I’ll answer them.

Happy Monday!

PS:  Since I mentioned chili, I had to share this Creamy Crockpot White Chicken Chili.  It’s ahhhh-mazing.  Made it last night for dinner.  I did go a little rogue though.  I actually already had chicken cooked up, so I skipped the all day crockpot thing and just combined the crockpot ingredients in a pan.  I also winged it on a few ingredients and it was still super good.  I used almond milk instead of milk, just crushed up one chicken bullion cube, didn’t have any white pepper so skipped it, no cayenne pepper so I used chipotle chili pepper and I used plain greek yogurt instead of sour cream.  And everyone devoured it…minus Amon, but he’s a crazy toddler.

Now go make banana bread and chili.

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Questions:

Do you have to eat it with a spoon?  It doesn’t come out whole does it?

Since I spray them with a little oil (coconut, canola, whatevs), they actually will come right out of the jar like a small jar shaped loaf or you could totally eat it straight out of the jar. As the bread cools you can see it pull away from the inside of the jar.

 I know you said small Mason jars but can you tell how many ounces? 

They are 8oz jelly jars.

What is the fabric square size?

Maybe 5×5 or 6×6 inch squares. I always just eye ball it.

Where do you get small jelly jars like that?

You can get them at most stores…Target, Walmart, Kroger, etc.  You can also thrift them…pretty common size jar.

How long will the bread keep in these jars and not spoil?

I have no idea   Ha…we eat ours up or give them away too fast.

So there you have it.  A little something to kick your fall off with and share with those around you.  Hope your week is going great so far!

Happy Thursday!

I had no intentions of doing a post on my banana bread jars, but when you post a picture on instagram and people ask, well, you give them the answer…in blog post form.  It’s what I do.

Every week I make baked goods to share.  I like baking.  I like homemade sweets and treats.  And I think other people do to   This is something I can do to show love to people in our community.  Some I know, some strangers…either way I am a firm believer that baked goods can change the world.

Cue the banana bread jars.  My cousin Rebecca taught me a long time ago that when your bananas go bad and you can’t use them immediately just put them in a ziplock bag and freeze them.  I’ve been using her trick ever since.  Yesterday I decided to finally use up the 6 black bananas in our freezer.

Fall is officially here and the weather is magnificent and banana bread and all sorts of chilis are on my mind…weird combination I know, but goh!!!!!  I just love banana bread and any type of chili.  So yesterday I got to baking.  I made our family a regular loaf for breakfast and then decided to bake some mini loafs in small mason jars.  This is so crazy easy and it’s one of my most favorite ways to share cakes and breads.  I always have these small jars on hand and it’s a really simple process.

I always…I repeat always…use my Aunt Betty’s banana bread recipe.  Our family has our own cookbook and if there is a recipe for whatever and it’s in our family’s cookbook, that typically is the recipe I use.  Not only is it nostalgia, but it’s also a part of my legacy.  I love using my MawMaw’s and my Mom’s and my Aunt’s recipes…I love our family’s recipes.  Plus everything the Halls make is delicious.

To make 12 small jars I double this recipe.  And my Mom taught me when I made banana bread for the first time not to measure out 1 cup of banana puree, but instead just always let 1 cup banana = 2 bananas.  So I never measure out smashed up bananas, but I digress.

Once everything is all mixed up, I grease each jar with a little spray oil and then spoon in two large spoonfuls filling the jars about 1/2-1/3  full.  I sit the jars on a cookie sheet and bake at 325 for 40 minutes.  My oven does burn a little hot so you may need a little longer, but not much.

I let them cool a bit and then screw the tops on.  It’s fine if they’re still a little warm.  I like to cut squares of fabric and put that between the seal and the rim.  This just makes them a little more colorful and fun especially to give to people.

And there you have it.  Not rocket science at all…super easy…really fun…and a great little something to make someone’s day a little better…a banana bread encouragement.

I really wasn’t planning on blogging this…hope I didn’t leave anything important out…if you have any questions just leave them in the comments and I’ll answer them.

Happy Monday!

PS:  Since I mentioned chili, I had to share this Creamy Crockpot White Chicken Chili.  It’s ahhhh-mazing.  Made it last night for dinner.  I did go a little rogue though.  I actually already had chicken cooked up, so I skipped the all day crockpot thing and just combined the crockpot ingredients in a pan.  I also winged it on a few ingredients and it was still super good.  I used almond milk instead of milk, just crushed up one chicken bullion cube, didn’t have any white pepper so skipped it, no cayenne pepper so I used chipotle chili pepper and I used plain greek yogurt instead of sour cream.  And everyone devoured it…minus Amon, but he’s a crazy toddler.

Now go make banana bread and chili.