Banana Bread

2/3 cup butter, softened
2 1/2 cups flour
1 2/3 cup sugar
1 1/4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 1/4 cup mashed ripe bananas
2/3 cup buttermilk
2 eggs
2/3 cup chopped walnuts (optional - we leave them out)
chocolate chips
cinnamon and sugar

Place butter in medium bowl.
Stir in flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. (It would be a good idea to stir those dry ingredients together and then add them to the butter, but I sometimes skip that step.)
Add bananas and half of the buttermilk.
Mix till moistened. Beat 2 minutes at medium speed.
Add the rest of the buttermilk and the eggs.
Beat for 2 more minutes.
Fold in nuts (if you choose to use them) and chocolate chips.
Bake in two 9 x 6 x 3 loaf pans for about 35 minutes.
Sprinkle top with cinnamon and sugar.

Cool 10 minutes and remove from pans.

Notes: If I don't have buttermilk on hand, I often use sour cream or a mixture of sour cream and milk (about a 1/3 cup of each). Or, you can put a little less than one TBSP or so of lemon juice in a measuring cup and add milk to make 2/3 cup. The texture of the bread will be thickest and richest with the sour cream; the milk alone will be the least rich.

From my Mom and Grandma