Peanut Butter Banana Bread

There is a blogger/ baker of mine I can’t get enough of, Joy the Baker. Everything I have made from her blog has been delicious. I am talking about not one thing didn’t taste good.

Sidenote: Let me talk about the one time I made her Double Chocolate Indoor Smores. Let me repeat… her DOUBLE CHOCOLATE INDOOR SMORES! They took patience, but were one of the best things I have ever eaten. Just take a look!

I like my marshmallows burnt

The recipe for tonight’s dinner party with my friends came from an inspiration I always have from bananas: I don’t like them. In fact, I buy bananas, collect bananas, etc all things bananas and they always wind up doing one thing in my apartment. Rot. So I make banana bread.

I have a recipe from my mother for banana bread that I love. But seeing as I haven’t tried Joy’s Peanut Butter Banana Bread, and I am working out today, I thought I would give it a try.

As I like a little more butter in my bread, this recipe below is an adaptation of Joy’s. Although, by all means try hers. She has never disappointed me.

1 1/2 cups mashed ripe bananas (this is usually about 2 or 3 depending on the size)

1/3 cup creamy peanut butter

1/4 cup, melted butter
1/4 cup unsweetened apple sauce (keeps it moist)

2 large eggs

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon ground allspice (if you don’t have allspice, add a dash of nutmeg and cloves)

1/4 cup chopped dry roasted peanuts

Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 9×5-inch loaf pan. Set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, ground cinnamon and ground allspice. In a medium bowl, whisk together mashed bananas, peanut butter and melted butter. Whisk in eggs and sugars. Blend mixture until no sugar lumps remain.

Pour the wet mixture into the larger bowl with the dry ingredients. Fold together with a spatula until no more flour bits remain. Fold in the chopped nuts as well. Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan and cake for 55 to 65 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the pan for 20 minutes before running a butter knife along the edges of the pan and inverting the bread onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Now as you have notices on mine, there is chocolate?? The oother day, as a thank you for helping him out with something, a client of mine sent me 8, 8oz bags of chocolate from his company in Hawaii… EIGHT BAGS!!!

I love the combination of chocolate with this, so I crumbled some chunks of the Macadamian nut chocolate on top. You can always get creative with your recipes. I made this for a dinner party last night and it was a smashing success. Hanging out with friends, drinking wine, and eating great food is one of my favorite things to do.