What was your favorite cereal growing up? For us, one of our favorites was Cinnamon Toast Crunch. Even drinking the sweet, cinnamon-y milk at the end was good! Yeah, yeah this sounds incredibly off-brand for us. All the cereals we ate growing up (and that are still on the market) are filled with terrible ingredients and LOADS of sugar, especially considering this was breakfast sometimes. But come on, let’s just admit that sh*t was GOOD.
We got to talking about our childhood and how much we loved and missed cereal, which got us craving Cinnamon Toast Crunch. When I looked over and saw two overly ripe bananas, I naturally thought about banana bread then, figured we could marry the two together and recreate the Cinnamon Toast Crunch flavor without all the sugar and questionable ingredients.
This banana nut bread might be our best ever... no.... it is our best. Don't worry, it still holds the same as all of our other recipes and treats— gluten free, dairy free, low sugar/no refined sugar, and easy/minimal ingredients. This bread came out to be the perfect texture, holds up well, is fluffy and dense, and the cinnamon sugar nut layer in the middle and the crunchy top is such a game-changer.
While, this bread recipe looks complicated at first glance because it has a layer in the middle and on top, we promise it’s super simple and actually really quick and easy to make. Plus, those layers are kinda what makes this bread so great. A cinnamon glazed walnut layer and a toasty, crunchy cinnamon sugar top? Yes, please! We're reminiscing those childhood days all over again.
Ingredients:
Bread Batter:
2 eggs 1 C mashed banana (2 medium sized about) 1/3 C coconut oil (melted and cooled) 1/4 C coconut nectar 2 C + 1 Tbsp oat flour 1 tsp cinnamon 2 tsp baking powder 2 tsp vanilla powder
Cinnamon Glazed Nut Layer: 1 Tbsp coconut cream or yogurt 1 Tbsp coconut sugar 1 tsp cinnamon 1/4 C walnuts pieces/chopped walnuts *mix these in a separate bowl Crunch Topping: 1 Tbsp melted coconut oil 1 tbsp coconut sugar 1 tsp cinnamon 1 tsp vanilla powder *also mix these separate Instructions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350.
2. In a large bowl, combine all wet ingredients for the bread batter (eggs, banana, coconut oil, coconut nectar). *The coconut oil should be melted and fairly cooled.*
3. In a separate bowl combine all dry ingredients for the bread batter (oat flour**, cinnamon, baking powder, vanilla), then add to the wet ingredient mixture little by little until completely combined and smooth.
4. In a separate small bowl, mix together all ingredients for the nut layer until the walnuts are evenly coated, and set aside.
5. In another small bowl combine the crunch topping ingredients, and set aside.
6. Line a loaf pan with parchment paper and fill it with about half of the bread batter. On top of the batter, add in about half of the nuts for the middle nut layer.
7. Pour the remaining bread batter, add the remaining nuts on top, then pour the crunch topping over that. Swirl and spread with a spoon so that the entire top has an even coating.
8. Bake for 45 minutes, then once ready, allow time to cool before cutting into slices.
**You can make your own oat flour by putting 2 C + a few extra tablespoons oats into a high quality blender or food process until it turns into a flour, then measure out the 2 C + 1 Tbsp flour that this recipe calls for.
The bread keeps well on the counter for a day or two, keeps in the fridge for about 5 days, and also tastes great if you freeze any leftover slices!
