Simple Cooking: Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

By Caitlin Klein in Food on Apr 25, 2012 4:00PM

Last week we showed you how to use leftover oranges, so let's move onto bananas this week. It's a royal bummer when your bananas go over-ripe. They're brown and squishy and no longer suitable for regular consumption.

When your bananas go brown, toss them in the freezer and save them for a baking day. For this chocolate chip banana bread, you'll need 3 brown bananas. Thaw them shortly before you plan to use them.

Chicagoist's Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

3 brown naners
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves (optional)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup milk chocolate chips
1/2 cup walnuts (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350 and grease and flour a 9x5 bread loaf pan.

In a mixing bowl, mash the soft, brown bananas. Add the sugars, oil, and eggs, and beat until smooth. Depending on the ripeness of your bananas, there may be small banana chunks remaining in the batter - this is okay.

Add the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, cloves, and vanilla, and mix lightly. Do not overmix. The batter will be liquid. Fold in the chocolate chips and walnuts.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and top with walnuts, as shown. Bake for 60-70 minutes. To check for doneness, insert a cake tester or toothpick into the bread. If it comes out clean, the bread is done.

Rest and cool on a wire rack. This bread is excellent sliced, toasted, and spread with a little butter.