While cooking, listen to this: Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For by U2 (according to my mom, this is because you can't live with or without dessert. It should also be noted she loves U2.)

My mom makes the best banana bread ever.

Growing up, it was one of her two dessert staples, her other being chocolate chip cookies (sometimes baked in the form of a cookie-cake) followed verbatim from the back of a bag of Nestle Tollhouse chocolate chips. Even still, her back-of-the-bag cookies were so divine they never lasted more than a couple of days (especially when my brother’s friends came over). But her banana bread is something else.

My mom doesn’t consider herself to be much of a baker, and I’ll concur that she has little patience for things that require rising, frosting or kneading. But her tried and trued recipes are always crowd pleasers, and prove that you don’t need to make fancy eats to be considered a good baker.

That’s where you come in. Don’t be intimidated by your oven – this recipe is foolproof! Let this banana bread be the training wheels to the bike of your kitchen skills. I swear. I was you once, so take my word for it.

When I was younger, I wasn’t much help in the kitchen. I was a dedicated batter eater and hated using sponges (I still have mixed feelings about it). But as I grew up, I became more determined to cook for myself, eat healthily (sometimes) and wow my friends. By the time I was senior in college, I was experimenting in our kitchen, cranking out everything from lopsided chocolate cakes to crumbly cinnamon-sugar pecans. Most were successes. All were lessons learned.

This recipe is so simple it fits on half of a notecard. I’m not kidding – when I texted my mom for this recipe, she sent me a picture of the recipe card. If you can read her chicken scratch below, you’ll see it says, “Mix & bake at 350 for 45 min to 1 hr.”

Yes, that’s really it. No yeast, no sour cream. Not even an egg! All things you probably have in your cupboard or can pick up at your corner bodega for cheap.

Now, what are you waiting for? Head to the kitchen, grease your loaf pan and prepare to embark on a culinary journey. Or something like that.

Xo, Alyssa

Foolproof Banana Bread

Yield: 8-10 servings

Cook Time: 1h - 1h 15m

Category: Sweets, Baked

Source: Alyssa's mama

Ingredients

½ cup of butter (1 stick)

1 cup sugar

1 cup mashed banana

1/2 cup milk

1 tsp vanilla

2 cups flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1 heaping cup chocolate chips

Instructions

Mix ingredients: I mixed the wet ingredients first, then added the dry ingredients.

Fold in chocolate chips: A good tip for this is flouring the chocolate chips first so they don't sink to the bottom when they bake.

Bake for 45 min-1 hour: Grease a loaf tin and pour in batter. Bake according to your oven. I'd check in at the 45 minute mark - stick a knife in the center. If it comes out clean (minus some gooey chocolate), you're good to go. If there's batter on the knife, stick it in for another 5-10 minutes and check again.

Let cool and serve: This banana bread lasts nicely, so if you have leftovers (lucky you!), stick it in an airtight container in your pantry.