Spiced Pear Banana Bread

Well I have about 5 over ripe pears and 2 over ripe bananas.  So I Googled "ripe pear and ripe banana recipes".  Well, it worked and I found this great recipe.  The original recipe called for 2 pears and 2 bananas per loaf so I doubled the recipe and just added the rest of my pears.  I think this recipe could be adapted for all pear, all banana, applesauce, or any combination.  Also, if you don't have yogurt on hand, I would think that you could use sour cream or buttermilk.  This is a definite "go to" recipe!

Spiced Pear Banana Bread

 2 cups plain flour
 1 teaspoon baking soda
 1 teaspoon cinnamon
 1/2 teaspoon ginger
 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
 2 mashed bananas
 2 mashed pears (peeled or use canned pears)
 1/2 cup white sugar
 1/2 cup brown sugar
 1/2 cup butter or margarine
 1/4 cup plain or vanilla yogurt
 2 eggs
 1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat the oven to 350F. Grease a loaf pan and coat with flour to prevent sticking.

In a medium mixing bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg.
In another mixing bowl, cream together the white sugar, brown sugar and butter.

Mash the pears and bananas together really well in another bowl.

Stir the pear and banana into the sugar and butter mixture and add in the eggs and vanilla, stirring well. Then stir in the yogurt, again mixing well.

Slowly pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture, stirring constantly. Mix really thoroughly until everything is perfectly blended together.

Spoon the mixture into your prepared loaf pan. You can place a few slices of banana on top and sprinkle with a little brown sugar for decoration if you like.

Place the loaf pan in the center of preheated oven and bake on 350F for 1 hour 20 minutes. Cooking times may vary, especially in fan assisted ovens, so check the loaf is done by inserting a toothpick or knife into the middle of the loaf. If it comes out clean the loaf  is ready.

Allow the banana bread to cool in the loaf pan for about 10-20 minutes. The cooling is important because the loaf will solidify fully as it cools.