Best Ever Hummingbird Banana Bread

Step 1

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Liberally grease a 9" loaf pan with cooking spray. For best results, I like using a light metal loaf pan or a disposable pan as they cook more consistently. Note that your bread may take longer or be cooked inconsistently with a dark loaf pan or glass loaf pan.

Step 2

In a large bowl, cream together the butter and brown sugar with a handheld electric mixer on low speed until fluffy, about 1 minute. Add in the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition, followed by the Greek yogurt, bananas, and vanilla extract. Switching to a rubber spatula or wooden spoon, stir in the cinnamon, baking soda, salt, flour, and dry pudding powder into the batter until just barely combined. Do not over-mix, as this leads to tough bread! Gently fold in the pineapple, pecans, and 1/2 cup of the toasted coconut. Batter may still be lumpy, that's okay!

Step 3

Spread the batter into the prepared loaf pan and smooth out the top. Top the bread with the remaining 1/2 cup toasted coconut.

Step 4

Bake for 30 minutes, then loosely tent a piece of foil over the top of the bread and continue baking for another 30 minutes or until a toothpick or cake skewer inserted near the center comes out clean or with moist, not wet, crumbs. Cool completely before cutting into slices.

Step 5

NOTE: To toast coconut, add the coconut flakes to a dry skillet and toast on medium-low heat for about 5 minutes or until barely toasted. They should have a touch of light golden brown color but should not be darker than that as the coconut will continue to darken in the oven.