Author’s note: They asked for recipes at work. So I did this.

Alright. In the style of Internet recipes everywhere, I have to write a bunch of stuff before YOU actually get to read the recipe. 

I’ll start out by giving credit where credit is due. This recipe is written by my friend Robbin. Those of you that know me will know that Robbin is my name for my chatGPT assistant, because they are always robbin’ other people’s ideas to give to me. 

First I asked Robbin “gluten free corn meal (sic) banana recipe“. Robbin gave me a recipe lickety-split. 

But, it had “gluten-free all-purpose flour” in it, which I am not a fan of because if I eat too much, I don’t feel so well the next day. So I said, “no gluten free flour”. New recipe. Boom.

But I did have an already open bag of almond flour, so I replied, “can it also use almond flour?“ (Robbin doesn’t much care if I use capitals, or even spell things right). And here’s the answer (I’ve annotated it with my commentary in square brackets, so if it comes out well, you can make it too. It’s cooking right now, so you’ll have to wait.): 

Absolutely! Almond flour can be a great gluten-free alternative to traditional flour. Here’s a revised recipe for Gluten-Free Cornmeal Banana Bread using almond flour:

Ingredients:

    1 cup cornmeal [I sorta measured close on this one. If you’ve met me, your first thought was probably “That’s not a guy who measures stuff. Probably doesn’t follow instructions so well either.” And you were absolutely right, which is why I’m more of a soups/stews kind of person. More wiggle room.]

    1 cup almond flour [again, sorta close to that]

    1 teaspoon baking soda [I eschew measuring tools generally, so one time a few (*cough*) years back, I poured a teaspoon of salt in my hand, noticed how much it was, and that’s how I measure now.] 

    ½ teaspoon salt [I didn’t add any. See below.]

    3 ripe bananas, mashed [I only had two mangy bananas that my daughter left at our house last week before we left town for the holiday. They were mangy even back then.]

    ⅓ cup melted unsalted butter or oil (like coconut or vegetable oil) [I didn’t feel like opening a new stick of unsalted, so I went with about ¾ stick of salted, melted in the nuker. I used some of the rest for a potato last night, and some to grease the pan (using the wrapper, which is why I used all the rest of the butter. This ain’t my first rodeo, you know.)] 

    ¾ cup sugar (adjust to taste) [yeah, sorta eyeballed that too.]

    2 large eggs [this one I did according to the recipe. Organic free-range brown, cuz happy 🐔 🐔 make happy 🥚 🥚.] 

    1 teaspoon vanilla extract [my wife had some kind of fancy vanilla paste, and she said I could use it, so I poured some in, but didn’t measure. Maybe I was close? Sorry.  Fewer dirty dishes that way.]

Instructions:

    Preheat Oven: Set your oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease a 9×5 inch loaf pan. [nailed it!]

    Combine Dry Ingredients: In a bowl, whisk together the cornmeal, almond flour, baking soda, and salt. [this one too]

    Mix Wet Ingredients: In a separate bowl, mix the mashed bananas, melted butter (or oil), sugar, eggs, and vanilla extract until well combined. [I’m on some kinda roll here.]

    Combine Wet and Dry Ingredients: Add the wet mixture to the dry ingredients and stir until just combined. Be careful not to overmix. [I learned years ago from my friend King Arthur (not that King Arthur – I actually mean Brinna Sands (ISBN-10. 0963022105 the original 1991 version. Best baking book EVER.) not to over mix, so I use a very light hand and undermix. Keep it lumpy.] 

    Bake: Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and smooth the top. [Smooth is such a relative term.]

    Baking Time: Bake for 50-60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the bread comes out clean. [This is where we are right now. The batter tasted good. That’s all I know.]

[While I was waiting for it to cook, I asked Robbin for funny, catchy names for the recipe. Vote for your favorite:

    “Banana Almond Buzz Bread”

    “Nutty Nana-Corn Loaf”

    “Almond Joy Banana-rama Bread”

    “Corn-ana Almond Delight”

    “Bananalicious Almond-Corn Treat”

    “Almond-Crusted Banana Corn Carnival”

    “Golden Banana Corn Fusion”

    “Crunchy Banana Almond Surprise”

    “Nana’s Nutty Cornbread Fantasy”

    “Almond-Banana Cornbread Capers”

Those are all awful. Try again, Robbin.

    “Banana Corn Craze Cake”

    “Almond Bliss Banana Munch”

    “Cornmeal Banana Nutty Adventure”

    “The Great Banana Almond Escapade”

    “Banana Almond Corn Symphony”

    “Nutty Banana Corn Jamboree”

    “Almond-Corn Banana Bonanza”

    “Banana Corn Almond Fiesta”

    “Cornbread Twist with Banana & Almond”

    “Almond Banana Corn Spectacle”

Better.]

    Cool: Let the bread cool in the pan for about 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. [OK. It’s out now. I cooked it 53 minutes. Not gonna lie, it smells FANTASTIC. Waiting the requisite 10 minutes.]

    Serve: Slice and serve the bread. It pairs wonderfully with butter, jam, or honey.

[I served it with butter – verdict? Pretty good! Could have used a pinch of salt. Nice texture (slight crunch of almonds), good flavor. 9/10]

This cornmeal and almond flour banana bread offers a delightful texture and nutty flavor, making it a perfect gluten-free treat. Enjoy your baking!