Ingredients

½ cup unsalted butter, softened
¾ cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
½ tsp vanilla extract
4 medium very ripe bananas
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon

Cinnamon Sugar:
1 tbsp granulated sugar
½ tsp ground cinnamon

Steps

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease and flour a 9¼ x 5¼-inch loaf pan.

In a large mixing bowl, cream ½ cup butter and ¾ cup sugar with a hand mixer until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and mix until smooth, then mix in ½ tsp vanilla. Set the mixer aside — everything from here is mixed by hand with a spatula. In a separate bowl, mash the bananas with a fork, leaving them slightly chunky. Gently fold them into the batter.

In another bowl, whisk together 1½ cups flour, 1 tsp baking soda, ½ tsp salt, and 1 tsp cinnamon. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet and gently fold until just combined. Don't reach for the hand mixer. Overmixing will make the loaf dense.

Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan. In a small bowl, stir together 1 tbsp sugar and ½ tsp cinnamon, then sprinkle evenly over the top. Bake for 60 minutes.

Remove from the oven and loosely cover with foil. Let it rest for 10 minutes. The loaf will continue to cook slightly as it sits. Uncover, transfer to a wire rack, and cool before slicing.