Bake, Run, Live

It’s time for another Daring Bakers‘ challenge! This month is all about quick breads. Savory or sweet, these are easy to put together. Quick breads do not contain yeast, so there isn’t extra time involved in letting the dough rise. It’s a quick mix of ingredients, pour it into a pan, and bake away! Sweet quick breads are a wonderful addition to a weekend breakfast, while savory ones would be great for dinner or brunch!

The Daring Bakers’ February 2012 host was – Lis! Lisa stepped in last minute and challenged us to create a quick bread we could call our own. She supplied us with a base recipe and shared some recipes she loves from various websites and encouraged us to build upon them and create new flavor profiles.

I am a fan of banana bread. However, any banana bread that I bake, has to have chocolate chips in it (what a surprise!)! A thought that came to mind was a post I read last month, from Heather Eats Almond Butter. She added mini peanut butter cups to her banana bread. What a great idea! While I didn’t add peanut butter cups, I did add peanut butter. Not a lot, so I think there is just the right amount of flavors- banana, chocolate, and peanut butter! I baked mine in mini loaf pans, but you could make a regular sized loaf, or make these into muffins!

Banana, Peanut Butter, and Chocolate Chip Bread
Makes: 8 small loaves
Prep time: 10 minutes     Bake time: 32 minutes

4 ripe peeled bananas, divided
1/3 cup creamy peanut butter
2 eggs
1/4 cup oil
2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup + 4 teaspoons brown sugar, divided
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 cups flour
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Spray mini loaf pan with cooking spray and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, mash 3 of the bananas (I do this with a fork), then add in the peanut butter and mix well. Stir in the eggs, oil, and heavy whipping cream. Add in the sugar and 1/4 cup brown sugar, stirring well to combine. Add in the salt, baking powder, and flour, and stir until just combined. Chop up the remaining banana into small bite-sized pieces and add into the batter, along with the mini chocolate chips. Stir gently to combine.

Spoon the batter evenly into the prepared pan. Sprinkle the remaining 4 teaspoons brown sugar over the top of the batter. Bake in a preheated oven for 30-33 minutes (if you bake this in a normal loaf pan, you will have to extend the baking time).  The loaves will be done when the toothpick test comes out clean. Remove from the oven and let cool 15 minutes, then remove the loaves from the pan. Cool completely on a cooling rack. Enjoy!

Question of the day: Other than bananas (!), what do you like in your banana bread?

Made with love, not calories!