I grew up with my mom being a very mediocre baker, bless her heart. My aunt Maria was gifted with the baking skills, so we usually had some god-awful baked goods. One of these items items that continually vexxed my mom was banana bread. For some reason, every time she made it it was either dry & hard as a rock or never fully cooked and inedible. I could never figure out why we always had such varied results. So over the years I have been determined to be able to make this classic loaf absolutely AMAZING for all to enjoy.
I've tested many recipes, with different flours, amounts and types of sugars, and optional add-iningredients, and I am soooooo proud of this final version that I've been dying to share it with you!
And if you're a smoothie aficionado like me, you might already have a freezer full of frozen bananas just waiting to be used. Alternatively you can use fresh bananas too.
This version of banana bread uses some classic ingredients, but because I like to clean up recipes to make them a smidgy healthier, and kid- and physique-friendly, I opted to reduce the overall amounts of sugar and butter used. While this may not suit everyone's palate, I feel like it's JUST sweet enough to satisfy my sweet tooth, but keeps the overall essence of banana bread intact.
And those dark chocolate chips just make it ooey-gooey and absolutely DEEELISH, so make sure you add them in. Duh!
I'll be making another batch this weekend, and totally indulging after an intense workout!
Enjoy, and let me know what you think if you make it!
Best Banana Bread EVER!
Prep Time: 10min | Bake Time: 55-60min | Total Time: 65-70min | Makes: 8 servings
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose baking flour (I used Bob's Red Mill gluten-free version)
3/4 cup brown sugar
4 bananas, mashed
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Pinch of sea salt
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips (optional, but THE BEST combo with walnuts, IMHO)
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and lightly flour one 9x5 inch pan.
Using a hand mixer, cream butter and sugar until smooth. Then beat in eggs, then bananas, and vanilla extract.
Add flour, cinnamon and soda, mixing until just combined.
Using a large spoon, add in chocolate chips and walnuts, stirring until combined.
Pour banana bread mix into the prepared pan and bake for 55-60 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Remove from the oven and let it sit for 10 minutes before cutting into servings.
Once cooled the banana bread will last in the fridge up to 1 week (if it lasts that long ;) ), or up to 3 months wrapped in plastic wrap and placed in an air-tight container in the freezer.
