Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

(Adapted from Cooking Light Magazine)

It has been like a month since I've posted (or what seems like). Either it's the embarrassment of posting more pumpkin recipes (nope, still not over pumpkin!) or the busyness of my life lately. As some of you know we are currently in the process of finding and buying the perfect house. Also hockey has started and we all know that consumes plenty of my time as well (not that I'm complaining!). Life in our household has been constantly on the go and I don't think I've ever appreciated being able to sit down for a couple of minutes like I do now!

This recipe caught my eye because it was on the front page of my Cooking Light magazine. Number one, for those of you who know me well, know I am ADDICTED to peanut butter-- even more so than pumpkin (IMAGINE THAT!). I also happen to adore banana bread, and bananas and peanut butter together. That right there explains why this recipe was a must try ASAP. 

The recipe itself didn't call for chocolate chips, but I figured, what could possibly make a peanut butter banana bread recipe even better? Well chocolate, of course! So it may add a couple extra calories to a low fat/calorie recipe but hey, in my opinion it was worth it.. though ultimately, the choice is yours!

This bread is moist and very flavorful. The glaze is delicious and I don't recommend going without it. I was so excited that it was made with more healthy ingredients and less fattening ingredients and felt the need to express this to Jeff as he sampled it last night. I exclaimed, "This banana bread only has 3 tablespoons of butter in the whole loaf!" His response? "Well then that means I'll be consuming about two tablespoons of butter because I will be finishing this off over the next few days" haha. And so this makes more sense-- there was 2/3 left after my mom, sisters and I sampled some of it before Jeff got his hands on it.

Definitely worth the post. That should say it all. Here's the beloved recipe-

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

Bread:

1 1/2 cups mashed ripe banana

1/3 cup plain fat-free yogurt (I used non-fat vanilla greek yogurt)

1/3 cup creamy peanut butter (I used creamy Jif but you could use a chunky peanut butter and omit the chopped peanuts)

3 tablespoons butter, melted

2 large eggs

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 cup ground flaxseed (I substituted wheat germ)

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon ground allspice (I made this at my mom's and she didn't have allspice on hand so I ommited it)

2 tablespoons chopped dry-roasted peanuts (omit if using chunky peanut butter)

1/4 cup mini chocolate chips (if desired)

Cooking spray

Preheat oven to 350°.

To prepare bread, combine first 5 ingredients in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed. Add granulated and brown sugars; beat until blended.

Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour and next 5 ingredients in a small bowl. Add flour mixture to banana mixture;  just until blended. Stir in nuts and chocolate chips if using. Pour batter into a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 1 hour and 5 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove from oven; cool 10 minutes in pan on a wire rack. Remove bread from pan; cool.

To prepare glaze, combine powdered sugar, milk, and 1 tablespoon peanut butter in a small bowl, stirring with a whisk. Drizzle glaze over bread. Sprinkle with mini chocolate chips if desired.

Glaze:

1/3 cup powdered sugar

1 tablespoon 1% low-fat milk

1 tablespoon creamy peanut butter