Banana bread is a perennial favorite and quick to disappear. Whether your add-in of choice is chocolate chips, nuts or even peanut butter chips, this super-moist banana bread may become your new favorite.
Ingredients:
- 2 1/2 cups flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup butter, softened
- 1 1/2 cups brown sugar
- 2 eggs
- 3 cups mashed very ripe banana (6 to 7 bananas)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 1 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips, plus additional for topping, if desired
- Equipment: Two 8 1/2 x 4 1/2-inch pans or six 3 x 6-inch pans
Directions:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Grease and lightly flour loaf pans.
In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt, whisk well, and set aside. In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar on medium speed for 1 to 2 minutes until fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well with each addition. Add mashed banana and vanilla and continue mixing on medium speed until well combined. Add dry ingredients in thirds blending on low speed after each addition until just combined. Fold in chips and pour batter into pans. Top with additional chips, if desired.
Bake for 45 to 55 minutes for mini loaves (55 to 70 minutes for a full-sized loaf) or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean and bread begins to pull away from sides of the pan. Cool completely before removing from pan.
Tip: Mini chocolate chips will distribute throughout the cake and create a more uniform chocolaty texture. If using regular chocolate chips, toss them with a teaspoon of flour before incorporating them to help keep them from sinking to the bottom of the pan.
