Thursday, March 10, 2011

Chocolate Banana Bread!

[  Hi all!  I miss you!  Life is still hectic, but please know that the moment I do something mildly noteworthy, I'll blog it up!  Until then, I'm repurposing this week's newspaper article.  Don't judge me. ;)  ]



It’s no secret amongst our friends and family that I am certainly NOT the cook of the family.  I have never cooked a full meal in my life.  Never!  A knife is foreign in my hands, and I have no clue what to do with a raw piece of chicken.  Luckily, I found myself a husband that not only likes to cook, but is willing to do so every single night.  I come home to a warm meal on the table every day – and you can’t beat that!

However, when it comes to baking – and you’re talking chocolate and sugar and deliciousness – then I’m the one working the oven.  I try not to bake too often, since that simply results in goodies that beg to be, and are, eaten.  But for special occasions, or even rainy weekends, I give in to the goodness.  This weekend, it was banana bread.


My mother in law recently gave us some decades-old McCall’s cookbooks.  They are quite dated, reminiscent of hours spent in the kitchen, making a full meal for the family.  Certainly not the domestic life I lead, but those ladies sure knew how to bake! (remember the Christmas McCall's book?)


Here’s the recipe for the banana bread – and here’s a tip – substitute chocolate chips for the nuts and add a little cinnamon – making it a sweet dessert or breakfast bread.  The secret's in the orange peel!   Enjoy!


Banana Nut (or Chocolate!) Bread·      

·         2 ½ cups sifted all purpose flour
·         3 teaspoons baking powder
·         ½ teaspoon salt
·         1 cup sugar
·         ¼ cup soft butter
·         1 egg beaten
·         1 cup mashed ripe bananas (3 small bananas)
·         2 tablespoons grated orange peel
·         ½ cup milk
·         1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts or pecans (or chocolate chips!)

1.       Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease a 9x5x3 inch loaf pan.
2.       Sift flour with baking powder and salt; set aside
3.       In a medium bowl, with electric mixer, beat sugar, butter, and egg until smooth
4.       Add bananas, orange peel, and milk, mixing well.  Add flour mixture, beating just until smooth.  Stir in nuts.
5.       Pour batter into prepared pan; bake about 1 hour, or until cake tester inserted in center comes out clean.
6.       Let cool in pan 10 minutes.  Remove from pan; cool completely on wire rack.  To serve, cut into thin slices

4 comments:

  1. I buy these protein packed choco chunk & banana muffins from Trader Joes (do you have them?) every 2 weeks because I have a slight obsession with that flavor combo. I eat them everyday. I should just make this and save money.

    Oh and your pics are looking goooooood!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hello heavenly looking food. Please come home with me.

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  3. This looks deeeeeeeeeelicious!

    Hope you get time to relax this weekend. :)

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  4. I can smell it from here. MMMMMMMM. And that's saying a lot since I'm like, 8 or 9 states away.

    ReplyDelete

Your comments make me happy!

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