Like so many other people, I nearly always have a couple of bananas laying around that are getting overly ripe. Sometimes I just stick them into the freezer for later use, but I often toss them into a loaf of banana bread. Banana bread is fast, easy and works great for both breakfasts and for snacking. The only drawback is that you can get tired of it after making the same loaf recipe several times in a row. It is easy to dress up a loaf by tossing in chocolate chips, nuts or raisins, but it's nice to have some more varied variations available, as well. In this month's Vegetarian Times magazine, I saw a recipe for Peanut Butter Banana Bread with Chocolate Chips that looked quick, easy and tasty. Not surprisingly, it lived up to my expectations. The bread is slightly heavy, but not too dense, and has a good balance of peanut butter and banana flavors. I used milk chocolate chips instead of semisweet and cut back on the amount slightly. The bread is good plain and toasted, for breakfast, with tea or for dessert!
Peanut Butter and Milk Chocolate Chip Banana Bread1 cup white whole wheat flour (or whole wheat pastry flour)
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
2 medium bananas, very ripe
1/3 cup natural, crunchy peanut butter (I used salted)
1/4 cup plain nonfat yogurt
1 large egg
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1/2 cup milk chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 350F and lightly grease a 8x4.5-in loaf pan In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
In a large bowl, mash bananas and whisk together with peanut butter, yogurt, egg and vegetable oil until smooth. Stir in flour mixture until combined, then mix in chocolate chips.
Pour into pan and bake for 40-50 minutes, until a tester comes out clean.
Cool on a rack in the pan for 15 minutes, then turn loaf out of pan and let cool completely before slicing.
Serve 8-10.
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