1/2 c. butter butter
1 c. sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 c. flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. ground allspice
1 tsp. ground cloves
1/4 tsp. salt
3 lg. bananas, mashed
3/4 c. chopped pecans or walnuts
3/4 c. raisins or currants

Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs, one at a times, mix. In separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon, allspice, cloves sand salt. Mix gently and combine with butter mixture until blended. Mash bananas and stir in nuts and raisins, add to other mixture and stir gently until well blended. Do not use an electric mixer. Pour into 2 greased and floured 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 x 2 1/2 inch loaf pans. Let sit on counter 20 minutes (this should prevent top from cracking when baked). Bake at 300 degrees for about 1 1/4 hours or until tester comes out clean. Yield: 36 slices.

TIP: Do you have bananas going brown and no time to make banana bread? Put bananas, with skin on, right into your freezer; they'll be there when you are ready to mash them.