Banana Bread with Chocolate & Cinnamon Sugar

I've shared so many banana bread recipes with you all, but banana bread is one of those baked treats that I will never get tired of. We always have overripe bananas, and we never get tired of slicing and eating warm banana bread right out of the oven. Most recently I stumbled across this recipe from Molly Wizenberg of Orangette (who also wrote one of my favorite books!). The curious thing about this recipe is that there's no butter or oil. The banana bread is still moist as can be, and it's best sliced into big squares and served while it's still warm. Happy Monday!

Banana Bread with Chocolate & Cinnamon Sugar
3 ripe bananas
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

for topping:
2 Tbsp sugar
1/8 tsp cinnamon

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Butter or spray an 8-inch square pan.

In a medium mixing bowl, mash the bananas well with a fork or potato masher. Add the eggs, and stir well to combine. Add the flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, and vanilla, and stir to mix. Add the chocolate chips and stir briefly. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, and set aside.

In a small bowl, stir together the topping ingredients. Sprinkle the mixture evenly over the batter in the pan.

Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cool in the pan on a wire rack for at least 15 minutes before serving.

source: recipe barely adapted from orangette

Chocolate Bourbon-Spiked Banana Bread

I've spent lots of time in my kitchen making banana bread.  I've added zucchini and loaded it with chocolate, I've mixed in cream cheese, and even thrown in caramel too.  But never have I ever added bourbon to my banana bread. And I've been missing out!  This is the first recipe I've made from the (newly published) Joy the Baker Cookbook and it was amazing!  The bourbon adds this wonderful extra flavor that I never knew banana bread was missing. 

Chocolate Bourbon-Spiked Banana Bread

2 cups flour

3 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened 

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 1/2 cups mashed ripe bananas (about 3)

1 tsp lemon juice

3 Tbsp bourbon

1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts (I omitted these)

1 cup (6 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips

Place a rack in the center of the oven and heat to 350 degrees.  Grease and flour an 8x4 or 9x5-inch loaf pan.  Set aside.

In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, and salt.

In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy, 3-5 minutes.  Add eggs one at a time, beating for 1 minute between each addition.  Stop the mixer, scrape down the sides of the bowl and add bananas, lemon juice, and bourbon.  Beat until well incorporated.

Turn the mixer to low and add the flour mixture all at once.  Beat until almost incorporated.  Stop the mixer and remove the bowl from the mixer.  Add the walnuts and chocolate chips and incorporate the rest of the ingredients with a spatula.

Spoon the mixture into the loaf pan.  Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until a skewer inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean.  Remove from the oven and allow loaf to cool in the pan for 20 minutes before inverting onto a wire rack to cool completely.  Bread will keep for up to 5 days, well wrapped, at room temperature.

source:  recipe from Joy the Baker Cookbook

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

I've made a number of banana breads in my life, but never had I tried a chocolate banana bread.  Not until this week.  I wondered if the chocolate would overpower the bananas, but it didn't.  This bread is moist and perfectly blends the chocolate and banana together.  A new favorite banana bread for sure!

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Banana Bread
2 cups flour
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 stick (8 Tbsp) unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
2 eggs
2 ripe bananas, mashed
3/4 cup buttermilk
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Sift together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, salt, and baking soda.

Using a stand mixer with the paddle attachment (or hand mixer in large bowl), beat the butter at medium speed until soft, about 1 minute.  Add the sugar and brown sugar and beat another 2 minutes.  Add the eggs one at a time, beating a minute after each addition.  Reduce the mixer speed to low and mix in the mashed bananas.  Add the dry ingredients in three additions, mixing only until they disappear into the batter.  Still on low, add the buttermilk, mixing until incorporated.  Stir in the chocolate chips.

Pour batter into buttered 9x5 loaf pan and place on insulated baking sheet or two regular baking sheets on top of each other.  This will keep the bottom of the bread from over-baking.  Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.  Cover the bread loosely with a foil tent and bake another 40-50 minutes (total baking time is 70-80 minutes), or until knife inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean.  Cool pan on cooling rack for at least 20 minutes before running a knife around the edges of the bread and unmolding it.  Invert and cool to room temperature right side up.

source:  recipe from joy the baker, from Baking: From My Home to Yours


Other favorite banana breads:
Banana Zucchini Bread
Best Banana Bread
Caramel Pecan Banana Bread

linking up with this chick cooks, delectable tuesday, tasty tuesday party, full plate thursday