The proper time for baking banana flavored goodies is when the fruit has turned a not–so–lovely speckled brown, but the proper time for preparing such items is when I am in the mood to both eat and bake banana treats. The challenge comes in that banana ripeness does not always align with baking readiness. After losing innumerable bananas to the garden bowl (so named because the contents are headed to the garden compost) and trying several techniques for freezing the languishing packets of sweetness, I finally found a simple way to freeze the bananas which allows me to easily incorporate them into my baking at a later time. I am still puzzled as to why it took so long to finally figure it out… oh well, with age comes wisdom.
Peel and cut the bananas in half (they fit in the bag better), place them on a cookie sheet and freeze until they are firm, at which point they can be stored in a dated freezer bag for up to four months. When banana baking sounds appealing simply remove the number needed according to the recipe, allow them to thaw, smash as usual, and Voila you have bananas to use at your convenience. I am happy to say the garden bowl now only gets the discarded peels instead of the entire darkly speckled brown fruit.
