toasted coconut banana bread with vanilla toasted coconut glaze!

i LOVE banana bread! truly, its one of those things that i can make with my eyes closed and it always always always comes out perfect. EVERY TIME. but sometimes i get tired of that so i love experimenting and changing it up a bit. so today i made this toasted coconut banana bread. and the glaze is just out of this world! its perfect for afternoon tea or coffee. but then again what sweet bread isn't? now that i think of it i'm not sure why i never posted my banana bread on here yet. its one of those old and true recipes. i will attach it to this one. anyway the coconut flavor in this is great. its one of those things you bite into and it makes your eyes roll to the back of your head. i'm telling you its not to much or not to little its just right! so the next time you have some extra bananas hanging around you know what to do with them :)  

for the bread:

• 3 large bananas, very ripe (I like to keep mine in the freezer and save myself some mashing)
• ½ cup plain low-fat yogurt
• 1 tsp coconut extract
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 cups whole wheat (or all-purpose) flour
• ¾ tsp baking soda
• pinch of salt
• ½ cup toasted coconut

For the glaze:

• ½ cup toasted coconut
• 3-4 tbsp milk
• ½ cup icing sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350. and lightly grease a 9x5" loaf pan. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, mash bananas. Add yogurt, extracts and eggs and whisk until combined. Add sugar and whisk until combined.
3. Add flour, baking soda, salt and coconut and whisk until combined, being careful not to overmix.
4. Pour into prepared loaf pan.
5. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and cover with tin foil that has been sprayed with non-stick spray. Bake another 25-30 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean.

For the glaze:

1. In a food processor or Magic Bullet, grind coconut until a fine powder. To the food processor, add milk and puree until smooth. Add icing sugar and puree again until smooth. If glaze is too thick, add 1 tsp milk. If too thin, add a couple tablespoons icing sugar.
2. Pour over slightly cooled bread and allow to set.

My Original Banana Bread:

• 3 very ripe bananas, peeled
• 1/3 cup melted butter
• 1 cup of sugar 
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• Pinch of salt
• 1 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour

Preheat the oven to 350°, and butter a 4x8-inch loaf pan.

In a mixing bowl, mash the ripe bananas with a fork until smooth. Stir the melted butter into the mashed bananas.

Mix in the baking soda and salt. Stir in the sugar, beaten egg, and vanilla extract. Mix in the flour.

Pour the batter into your prepared loaf pan. Bake for 1 hour to 1 hour 10 minutes (check at 50 minutes) at 350°F, or until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean.