Two at a Time Baking

We had 3 lonely, getting too ripe bananas sitting on our counter on Friday and I decided to put them to good use in some banana bread. I decided to try a variation of a prior post on banana muffins. Erik, who is not a big fan of banana bread generally, had the great idea to add chocolate chips to the recipe. I wasn't sure how many to add so I decided to try a 1/2 cup. I was pretty pleased with the way it all turned out - next time I might try 3/4 cup of chocolate chips and maybe decrease the walnuts from 3/4 cup to 1/2 cup. I used Trader's Joe's chocolate chips since that is what I had on hand (and I happen to think they are the best anyway). I looked up some banana bread recipes on other blogs and decided to try one of the suggestions - toast a slice of banana bread and put a little butter on it. I loved it! I'm not sure I'll ever eat banana bread any other way . . .

Banana Walnut Bread with Chocolate Chips
Makes 1 loaf

0.75 cup chopped walnuts
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
0.5 teaspoon salt
1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
0.75 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1.5 teaspoons vanilla
1.5 cups mashed very ripe bananas (about 3 medium)
0.5 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1. Preheat over to 350 degrees F. Grease a loaf pan (I used one that's a little bigger than 9X5 and I used Baker’s Joy baking spray).
2. Spread nuts on a tray and toast in oven for 8-10 minutes. Set aside.
3. In a bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt.
4. In another bowl, cream butter, sugar and vanilla until smooth and creamy. Beat in eggs one at a time. Add mashed bananas and beat until combined.
5. Stir dry ingredients into banana mixture just until flour disappears. Lightly stir in nuts and chocolate chips.
6. Scoop batter into loaf pan. Bake 45-55 minutes, until toothpick comes out clean.
7. Allow to cool 10 minutes in the pan. Run knife around edges, turn out onto wire rack and allow to cool completely before slicing.
8. Enjoy! (I recommend have a slice toasted with some butter)

This weekend I took a break from blueberry muffins because we had a few VERY ripe bananas that were just begging to be baked into something. As a quick aside, I should mention that I come from a long line of banana-loving folks. I don't think Erik fully realized this until we attended my Aunt Joan's funeral about 10 years ago and at least one of her friends stood up to say a few words, including - and I'm not kidding here - her love of bananas. And I have adopted my father's #1 rule of grocery shopping: always, no matter how many you think you might have at home, buy some bananas. Our logic: better to have too many than to run out. As a result, we sometimes end up with some very ripe bananas. Not a problem any longer since I have found the perfect banana nut muffin recipe. I think it was the first time I've ever made any banana nut muffins and, unlike the elusive (at least for me) blueberry muffins, I wouldn't change a thing on this recipe. The recipe came from, of course, my new favorite Totally Muffins Cookbook:

Banana Walnut Muffins
Makes 12 regular or 6 large muffins

3/4 cup chopped walnuts
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1 1/2 cups mashed very ripe bananas (about 3 medium)

1. Preheat over to 375 degrees F. Grease muffin tins or line with paper cups (for muffins, I always prefer to skip the paper liners and use a baking spray like Baker's Joy).
2. Spread nuts on a tray and toast in oven for 8-10 minutes. Set aside.
3. In a bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt.
4. In another bowl, cream butter, sugar and vanilla until smooth and creamy. Beat in eggs one at a time. Add mashed bananas and beat until combined.
5. Stir dry ingredients into banana mixture just until flour disappears. Lightly stir in nuts.
6. Spoon batter into muffin cups to the top (I like to use a 1/4 cup ice cream scoop for this). Bake 20-25 minutes, until toothpick comes out clean.
7. Allow to cool 5 minutes in the pan. Turn out onto wire rack and allow to cool 10 minutes before enjoying.