Bananas in the Kitchen

I normally have to make a milk/banana run to the store midweek. Last week I guess we ate less bananas than usual and ended up with some over ripe ones sitting on the counter.

It was banana bread time.

My friend Jamie, just posted a new recipe for banana bread on her blog that I thought I'd give a try. I'd never seen banana bread made in a bunt pan, but it called for 4 bananas, so I was game!

As I read the list of ingredients I mentally checked off everything I had in my kitchen for the recipe. Then I went through my checklist of what was missing in the recipe.

I'm not a good rule follower when it comes to cooking and baking. 99% of the time I put my own twist on things. I'm also not much of a measure-er. I like to eye-ball it. Keeps things interesting in the kitchen.

So here's Jamie's recipe, I believe she adapted it from the Pioneer Woman.

My modifications are in green. Don't hate me for my estimated measurements. :)

Ingredients:

2 sticks of butter
1-1/2 C + 2 Tbl of sugar
3 eggs
1-1/2 C mashed ripe bananas (this was about 4 bananas)
4 C + 2 Tbl all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
A few shakes of cinnamon
Apx 4 Tbl of flax seed
1-1/2 tsp baking powder
1-1/2 C sour cream I used maybe a 3/4 cup of sour cream, then used around 3/4 cup vanilla yogurt. Basically, I just spooned in equal amounts of sour cream and yogurt. Not really sure the exact amount that went in.
1 Bag of chocolate chips I used a little less than a whole bag so that I had some extra chips to use in the frozen chocolate banana bite recipe below.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

Grease and flour bundt pan

Cream butter and sugar together. Add eggs one at a time, beating after each. Add mashed bananas and mix together.

Combine dry ingredients in a separate bowl.

Add dry ingredients and sour cream alternately into the butter/sugar mixture, beating after each addition.

Stir in chocolate chips

Pour into prepared pan, and bake for 1 hour and 10 min. or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
Invert onto a cooling rack or plate and let cool before slicing.

Here's the thing about this bread: it plays with your mind. You know you just made bread (albeit with chocolate chips!), but when you take that bundt pan out of the oven you SEE cake.

Try not to let this deception skew your opinion of how it tastes. If you think cake, then you're going to be disappointed in the sweetness. If you think bread, then I have one word for you: YUM.

After I made the bread, I still had some left over banana. I just whipped up some frozen chocolate banana bites. REALLY easy recipe!

Here's the cast of characters:

Even amounts of chocolate chips and creamy peanut butter, bananas, wax paper, tooth picks and sprinkles.

Cut the banana into bite sized chunks. Stick tooth pick in each bite. Lay the bananas on wax paper.

Throw the chocolate chips and peanut butter in a microwave safe bowl and microwave in 30 second intervals until melted. (Stir after 30 seconds before heating again.)

Dip the bananas into the melted chocolaty goodness and place back onto wax paper. Remove tooth picks and cover in sprinkles.

Freeze for at least an hour to set the chocolate. (Bananas will not be frozen at this point, so freeze longer if you want a nice ice cream-like treat.)

Enjoy!