peanut butter cup banana bread
We goin’ bananas today.
I rarely have excess bananas in my house: we eat them too quickly, for one, and for second I tend to freeze one or two at a time for use in smoothies later. For three, banana bread involves a lot of wait time for the baking and the resting, so photographing a loaf during the week is impractical and I often have other projects I’m hyped to do on my Saturdays off.
HOWEVER, on a particularly dreary January Saturday, when the mercury dropped from 60 to 53 in an hour and the winds exceeded 30 miles per hour, banana bread fit the bill perfectly. Not to mention I’d allotted four big ole bananas for the job since early in the week I knew this would be my fate.
Thus emerged this gorgeous loaf of Peanut Butter Cup Banana Bread.
Just as the name suggests: banana, chocolate, and peanut butter, a most glorious threesome of personality (heh, threesome). This easy bread is mostly hands off, with lots of time in the oven so you can enjoy the aromas floating from the cavern to the kitchen while you do chores or watch the final few Olympics events.
Whether for a weekend brunch or a week of afternoon coffee snacks, this banana bread will surely steal your heart and a corner of your countertop. It is the way to use up those speckly fruits.
The Tanner the Nanner, the Better
How to choose the best banana:
Speckly or mostly browned all over are the ideal color ranges of your perfect banana bread banana. Yellow bananas will not sweet or soft enough, while liquified black bananas will taste kinda sour when baked. If you put ripened bananas in the fridge and the skin darkened quickly, but the banana itself feels soft and not too mushy, that will work too!
Mash those babies up: you will need 1 1/2 cups total for the recipe, so this might look like 3-4 large bananas or a few more smaller ones.
Some measuring utensils, a whisk, and a bowl are all you need to mix up this super easy bread. First, combine vegetable oil and brown sugar until incorporated, then whisk in two eggs, vanilla, the banana, and creamy peanut butter. As always, I prefer a no-stir peanut butter.
Beat in flour, baking soda, and cinnamon until just combined. Fold in some dark chocolate chips or chunks to finish.
Grease a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan with butter or oil. Pour in that gorgeous batter, spread with a spatula from edge to edge, and sprinkle with a few more chocolate chips.
Bake at 350 degrees for 55-65 minutes. Quick breads always have a larger range since ovens vary and each individual loaf has its own personality. Start poking the center of your loaf with a butter knife or a skewer at minute 50 to check for doneness, and add 5 minutes at a time to the clock until that poking vessel emerges with just a few moist crumbs.
Pull the pan from the oven and cool the loaf in the pan for 20 minutes to let it set up. Then, run a knife around the edges to loosen, and tip the loaf onto a wire rack. Invert upright and cool an additional 30 minutes or so before slicing. If you rush, the loaf will crumble. Edible? Yes. Easily edible? Not really.
Banana bread is honestly best warm, with some butter or extra peanut butter. My god, I’m fucken drooling right now thinking about the slices in my fridge. If you have leftovers, store in a ziptop bag or airtight container for up to 5 days, or freeze up for 3 months. I like to reheat a refrigerated slice in the microwave for 15-20 seconds. A frozen slice will thaw nicely on the counter in about 30 minutes, after which I do the microwave thing.
Banana bread is so simple, and sometimes simple is best, don’t you think?
Tried this recipe out? Leave a rating and comment below with your thoughts, and don’t forget to come say hi on Instagram and show me what you made!
Quick, make bread!:
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Double Chocolate Zucchini Bread
Cinnamon Crunch Chai Banana Bread
peanut butter cup banana bread
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup vegetable oil
- 1/3 cup dark brown sugar
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups mashed ripe banana (about 3-4 large bananas)
- 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
- 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips or chunks
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan with oil or butter.
- In a bowl, whisk the oil and sugar until combined. Whisk in the eggs, one at a time, until incorporated, then the vanilla, banana, and peanut butter. Add the flour, baking soda, and cinnamon. Whisk until just combined. Fold in the chocolate chips with a rubber spatula.
- Pour the batter into the loaf pan and spread evenly with a spatula. Sprinkle a few more chocolate chips overtop as desired. Bake 55-65 minutes until a skewer or knife inserted into the center emerges with just a few moist crumbs. Start checking your loaf at 50 minutes and continue to do so every 5 minutes.
- Cool in the pan for 20 minutes. Run a knife around the edges to loosen, then invert onto a wire rack and flip back upright. Cool at least 25-30 minutes longer, then slice and serve with a pat of butter or extra peanut butter. MMMM.
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