Bob Evans built his first restaurant on a farm in Rio Grande, Ohio in 1962, primarily to sell his own brand of high-quality sausage. Business was good. Really good. There are now over 500 Bob Evan's Restaurants in 18 states, each one decorated in a country-living theme that reminds us of the original farm location. Customers seem to like it. They also seem to like the packaged baked goods sold at each of the restaurants under the Bob Evan's Farms brand, especially this top-selling, chewy, chocolate chunk cookie that can now be hacked in a snap by you.

When I checked out the ingredients for the Banana Nut Bread Loaf--the most popular baked item at Bob Evans Farms—I was surprised to discover that the banana bread has very little real banana in it. In fact, banana is the second to last ingredient, just before water. Apparently the banana taste in the loaf comes mostly from artificial banana flavoring. But I have to assume that there was once a time when these delicious loaves were made with more real banana, and with real butter instead of the less expensive margarine that is used in the loaves today. So that is how I crafted my clone. This recipe below calls for old-school wholesome ingredients, and it produces a moist, delicious banana bread loaf that tastes like the real thing—and maybe even a little bit better. So, if you like Bob Evans Banana Nut Bread Loaf, you're gonna lose your mind over this new recipe hack.