Ingredients

½ cup unsalted butter, softened
½ cup granulated sugar
¼ cup light brown sugar, packed
2 large eggs
1½ tsp vanilla extract
4 medium very ripe bananas
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
¾ tsp kosher salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon

Cinnamon Sugar:
2 tbsp turbinado sugar
1 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, ½ cup granulated sugar, and ¼ cup brown sugar with a hand mixer until light and fluffy. Set the mixer aside. Everything from here is mixed by hand with a spatula. Add the eggs and mix just until smooth, then stir in 1½ tsp vanilla. 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 (spooned & leveled, never scooped), 1 tsp baking soda, ¾ 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 here; overmixing will make the loaf dense.

Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan. In a small bowl, stir together 2 tbsp turbinado sugar and 1 tsp cinnamon, then sprinkle evenly over the top. Bake 60–65 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out mostly clean (200–205°F internal temp).

Let the loaf rest in the pan for 15 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack. The loaf needs time to settle, so let it cool for about an hour before slicing.