Glamourous Banana Bread with Applesauce and Cinnamon

This is one of the most simple recipes I have made in awhile - big return on flavor I can tell you. Banana Bread with Applesauce and Cinnamon...no butter. Hmmmm...



From the new cookbook 100 Recipes Every Woman Should Know.
This was quite a find for me at the local library. It’s published by Glamour Magazine. Truly, I think I ought to purchase this book as there are so many recipes in it I need to make.



They have cutsie names for the recipes (and believe me, I’m not a cutsie kinda woman) but the recipes are fantastic. Here is an example:

Prove to Mom You're Not Going to Starve Meat Loaf
Impress His Family Chardonnay Cake
Let's Make a Baby Pasta
Forget the Mistake You Made at Work Margarita (that’s correct – there are cocktail recipes!)
Bribe a Kid Brownies

Ok, on to the banana bread.....

From the book: “Glamour photo assistant Joanna Muenz has been making banana bread since elementary school. She loves that it’s a culinary multi-tasker – perfect from breakfast, nice for snack time and delish for dessert with a dollop of whipped cream. This version calls for applesauce instead of butter and only the whites of eggs, so it has all the luscious moistness without the extra calories.”



Now – Glamour did all the introduction for me so…..on to the recipe:

3 ripe bananas
½ cup applesauce
4 egg whites
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup granulated sugar
½ cup light brown sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 TB cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
¾ teaspoon baking powder
¼ cup vegetable oil

Preheat oven to 350 F. Lightly grease a 9 by 5-inch loaf pan. Using a blender or mixer, mash the bananas. Add applesauce, egg whites, vanilla and both sugars. Blend until smooth.

In a medium bowl, mix flour, cinnamon, baking soda and baking powder. Slowly add the banana mixture to the flour mixture and stir until combined. The stir in oil gently, until just blended.

Pour batter into prepared loaf pan and bake for 5 minutes. Use a toothpick to test doneness.


This will be difficult, because the aroma will drive you wild, but wait 15 minutes before serving.

On my list to make soon are Perfect Lobster Pot Pie and Engagement Chicken. Oh, and for the difficulty level of each recipe there is a one page guide using a stiletto icon for level of difficulty. One stiletto is easy, two requires more prep, etc. I’ll be reviewing more of this book as soon as the library gives it back to me…sadly, the due date arrived before I was able to put a dent in it.

This book, and the bread, come recommended from an avid reader, cookbook lover and sugar addict!