Peanut Butter Banana Bread

I don't know about you guys but I LOVE peanut butter and bananas.  The only thing peanut butter goes better with is cheese - yes I am that person and don't knock it till you have tried it!  When I stumbled upon this recipe I knew it needed to be made as soon as possible.  As usual, I tweaked the recipe a little for my own preferences and this is what turned out:



Peanut Butter Banana Bread

• 3 RIPE Bananas, mashed
• 1/2 c Peanut Butter (I use creamy but use what you have)
• 2 T Olive Oil
• 2 T Unsweetened Applesauce
• 1 Egg
• 1/2 c White Sugar
• 1/4 c Brown Sugar
• 1 1/2 c Flour
• 1/2 t Baking Soda
• 1 1/2 t Baking Powder
• 1 c Peanut Butter Chips 

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.  Prepare one or two loaf pans (depending on your preference for two small loaves or one giant loaf) by greasing them and set aside.
2. Combine sugars, peanut butter, oil, applesauce, and egg.  
3. Add in flour, soda, and powder.  Follow with the mashed bananas
4. Finally stir in peanut butter chips. Keep in mind that the batter is supposed to be lumpy, don't over mix.  
5. Scoop batter into pan(s) and cook for 30-40 minutes for 2 loaves or 50-60 minutes for one, until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
6. Allow the bread(s) to cool for 5 minutes in the pan before transferring to a cooling rack for complete cooling.
7. ENJOY

This is one of those recipes that is dangerous.  It goes together extremely easily and tastes wonderful - which of course makes it something that can be made often.  The original recipe calls for mini reese's peanut butter cups in the cake, for some reason that didn't sit well with me.  I am a fan of chocolate and peanut butter, but I didn't like the thought of that in my bread.  If you are inclined to introduce chocolate, you can always substitute semi-sweet chips for the peanut butter chips.  You can also omit the peanut butter chips all together.  Make the recipe your own!

Nutritionally the bread comes in right where one would expect.  I made two short loaves (for some reason that makes me feel like I have more bread - I know, weird) that I cut into 22 pieces.  With that in mind, the calories came in at about 150 calories per slice.  Lower than that of the apple bread (and the slices are a bit larger), but obviously the taste is very different.  I would say all in all I am happy with this recipe.  I am not sure I will abandon my regular banana bread recipe all together, but I will most likely be inserting this one into the banana bread cycle!