Snickerdoodle Banana Bread (Printable)

Moist banana bread with a cinnamon-sugar swirl, inspired by classic snickerdoodle cookies.

# What You Need:

→ Dry Ingredients

01 - 2 cups all-purpose flour
02 - 1 teaspoon baking soda
03 - 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
04 - 1/2 teaspoon salt
05 - 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

→ Wet Ingredients

06 - 3 ripe bananas, mashed (about 1 1/4 cups)
07 - 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
08 - 3/4 cup granulated sugar
09 - 1/4 cup brown sugar
10 - 2 large eggs
11 - 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

→ Cinnamon-Sugar Swirl and Topping

12 - 1/4 cup granulated sugar
13 - 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

# How To Make It:

01 - Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour a 9x5-inch loaf pan.
02 - In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon until evenly distributed.
03 - In a large bowl, combine the mashed bananas, melted butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, eggs, and vanilla extract. Stir until smooth and well incorporated.
04 - Add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture and fold gently until just combined. Avoid overmixing to prevent a dense crumb.
05 - In a small bowl, stir together 1/4 cup granulated sugar and 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon until uniformly blended.
06 - Pour half the batter into the prepared loaf pan and spread evenly. Sprinkle half of the cinnamon-sugar mixture over the batter in an even layer.
07 - Spread the remaining batter over the swirl layer and smooth the top. Sprinkle the rest of the cinnamon-sugar over the surface. Draw a butter knife through the layers in a gentle figure-eight motion for a marbled effect.
08 - Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
09 - Let cool in the pan for at least 15 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack. Cool completely before slicing and serving.

# Expert Tips:

01 -
  • The cinnamon sugar swirl gives every slice that snickerdoodle cookie nostalgia without any rolling or chilling
  • It uses up those overripe bananas you keep meaning to do something with
02 -
  • Overmixing the batter activates gluten and turns what should be cakey into something closer to a rubber doorstop
  • The cinnamon sugar on top will get wonderfully crackly and crispy as it bakes, but only if you resist opening the oven door early
03 -
  • Let your melted butter cool to room temperature before adding it to the eggs or you will end up with scrambled egg ribbons in your batter
  • The knife swirl looks prettier with just two passes because more dragging muddies the layers instead of marbling them

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