Blog Post: Delicious Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

Ripened bananas. Check.

Chocolate Chips. Check. 

Sweet tooth. Check. Check.

What to do? With the days getting warmer and bananas ripening faster, you are often left with a lot of soft bananas. You could throw them away but that would be wasteful. You could make a smoothie. That would be tasty. 

But in my family, there’s only one answer–banana bread, of course, with chocolate chips. I always happen to have chocolate chips on hand because you just never know when your sweet tooth may kick in or when your family will beg you for something sweet.

It’s good to be ready in that kind of emergency situation.   

So, when I saw three perfectly ripened bananas on my counter, I knew exactly what would make my family happy–warm, melted, fresh from the oven, chocolate chip banana bread. The kids were definitely happy and, no, they couldn’t wait until it cooled. I even got some extra hugs...and thank you's. Gotta love that.   

By the end of the day, there was only a quarter of the loaf left and a lot of smiling faces, theirs and mine. 

Let’s see if you can wait until it cools!  

Ingredients

• 3 overripe bananas, mashed

• 1 1/2 cups plus 3 tablespoons flour (all-purpose or whole wheat)

• 1 cup sugar

• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

• Pinch of salt

• 1 egg, room temperature

• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

• 1/2 cup sour cream (can use light), semi room temperature

• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips, coated with a tiny amount of flour (this is to help the chocolate chips spread throughout the bread and not fall to the bottom)  

Directions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. 

Combine butter and sugar in a mixer until well combined. Add egg and combine.  In a separate bowl, whisk flour, baking soda and salt. Add to butter mixture, alternating with sour cream on low speed. Add bananas and mix well. Fold in chocolate chips.

Pour into greased 9x5 inch loaf pan. Bake for 70 minutes until golden. If using only whole wheat flour, check after one hour. A wooden or metal pick inserted in the center should come out clean. You can let it cool completely before taking it out of the pan or if you just can’t stand the wait, feel free to eat it warm. Make sure to run a thin spatula or knife around the edges so it releases easily. 

Enjoy! Oh, and if you happen to have some leftover, toast it lightly the next day for warm bread and melted chocolate chips. Pure heaven.