Bourbon Banana Butter

Bourbon Banana Butter, it’s the stuff of your wildest B&B fantasies — silky, rich, and a little bit decadent — let’s just say mornings are about to get a whole lot more interesting.

This is my favorite kind of stuff to share — something neither of us probably even knew existed, but turns out to be fantabulous.  Banana butter is definitely unusual, but, when you think about it for a minute, it makes perfect sense.  Every other fruit has been jammed, jellied, or made into a butter…why not bananas?

I admit I wasn’t sure what I was in for as I sliced up my 2 pounds of bananas and pureed them with some brown sugar, and then set it all on the stove top to reduce down —  but very soon my nose told me it was going to be good.  The banana puree thickens up quickly.  I cooked it until there was a clean trail when I ran my spoon across the bottom of the pan, it only takes about 5 minutes.  I stirred in lots of vanilla bean paste and a pinch of cinnamon, and then filled a couple of small jam jars.

The butter continues to thicken even more as it chills in the refrigerator.

Team this up with the obvious — toast, scones, hot biscuits…but after that, why not make a to-die-for peanut butter and bourbon banana sandwich?  Or even bake it into the best banana bread you’ve ever tasted, or use it as a filling for crumble bars.

notes:

• No need to wait for your bananas to turn black, I used yellow bananas and the flavor was great.
• Leave out the bourbon if you don’t like it.
• Change out the cinnamon for nutmeg, or cardamom for a different flavor.
• You can experiment with using honey or maple syrup in place of the sugar.

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