Banana Nut Bread Baked in a Jar Recipe

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Most Helpful Positive Review

Dec 18, 2003

Using this for teacher gifts. Was planning on using my favorite recipe from the Fanny Farmer Baking Book for the bread, but noticed that the ingredients were almost identical so I used this one instead. I omitted the cloves (don't like them much) and after reading from another reviewer that the bread had tasted a little too spicy. Cut back a little on the cinnamon too. I also used cooking spray to grease the inside of the jars. After filling half-full I placed the jars directly on the rack (as another person suggested). They came out perfect and the recipe is delicious! If when taking them out of the oven you noticed that they've popped out of the jar a little you can carefully (with gloves of course) press the top of the bread down gently so that the sides are away from the seal. I made sure that the rim was clean and even with them being quite full they all sealed perfectly. Found the pint-size wide mouth jars by where I live for only 5.99 for a dozen at Big Lots. Plan on decorating them with 7" round pieces of material with ribbons and will print out gift tags to attach with a note to heat for less than 30 seconds in the microwave so they will slide right out and be ready for slicing. Will definitely make them again, plan on buying more mason jars and storing them for holiday baking! Hope this review helps...all the others did for me as well!

—ITSLAURAF623

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Most Helpful Critical Review

Apr 11, 2003

I was impressed by all the wonderful reviews of this recipe. It did taste good, but none of the jars sealed. I tried it twice! I followed the recipe exactly, so I'm not sure what I did wrong. Since we can't use it as gifts, I guess we'll have to eat all the jars ourselves! :)

—JENMCGOVERN

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230 Ratings

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Dec 18, 2003

I've made these 5 times! Very moist but the real key is to NOT bake them on a baking sheet. Carefully put the jars directly on the oven rack for more even baking. Baking on the sheet causes the middle to be not cooked with the top being too cooked! I got so many compliments from everyone I gave these as a gift to!

—SUSANEST

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Jan 26, 2004

I just made these with 8 ounce Jelly jars and they turned out perfect filling with 1/2 cup of batter. I will put these jars in inexpensive mugs with a packet of hot cocoa mix. wrap with cellophane and ribbon for a cute little gift. Thanks for the recipe and gift idea!!!

—YOUGOTTAEAT

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Jan 25, 2004

Fantastic!! This was my first time making banana bread and it turned out wonderful. My husband, who is a banana bread conniseur, said it was the best he's ever had. I found the jars at Wal-Mart, since I know a few of you were having trouble finding them. I also reduced the cloves from 1 1/2 tsp to 1 tsp. Like another reviewer, I scaled the recipe to make 12 jars. As an experiment, I cooked 6 jars at a time, the first time with a cookie sheet, the second time without. The bread cooked with the cookie sheet turned out just fine, however, the ones cooked without the sheet look more golden brown on the outside (the others were darker). Also, HELPFUL HINT!!, I figured out a super easy way to get the batter into the jars: pour the batter into a heavy gallon freezer bag and cut a small hole in the corner of the bag. This way, you can pipe the batter right into the jars. No mess! Thanks, this recipe is great. Can't wait for gift-giving this year! Next time I'll try pumpkin.

—WHITEYBEAR

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Jan 26, 2004

This bread was very good. I will be taking it to a party in a couple of days, but I had to try one for myself, first. One problem that I encountered was that not all of them cooked all the way, due to where they were situated in the oven. Next time I'll make certain to rotate them at the half way point. Aside from that, they were very good and easy to make!

—MSJAMILLE

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Oct 18, 2005

Very, very impressed with this method. Used the recipe "pumpkin bread" from this website and made two jars as an experiment and two loaves with the batter. In heaven from eating some still warm slides after dinner! It was very easy to pipe batter into the jar with a gallon size bag with a hole cut in the corner. I used 1 cup of batter in each jar and it cooked perfectly up to the top without going over in about 45 minutes. After about 10 minutes being sealed I heard the "ping/pop" noise that it's supposed to make. Haven't tried getting it out of the jars yet, but it doesn't look like it'll be a problem. What a fun idea, thank you! I will definitely make the banana bread and give these out for the holidays.

—Anne Conover

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Jan 26, 2004

You can make this with 2 cups of any fruit that you like. Just be sure not to exceed 2 cups of fruit if you plan to make it in the jars. I have always made it with pumpkin puree. I double the cinnamon when I use pumpkin. I've also used applesauce, but the pumpkin is my favorite. I make this every year for gifts. I originally made it in the jars, but when it got to where I was making 24-36 each year, it was too time consuming. So now I make it in mini-loaf pans and wrap them in colored Saran wrap. Everyone looks forward to receiving them each year!

—CYNDI!

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