Chocolate Chip Banana Bread and Snow

With the forecast hinting of snow falling in our area tonight, my cold weather loving heart is getting pretty excited. Now when I say the forecast is calling for snow, I mean like less than 2". So those of you who live in the north would be terribly unimpressed, but here in southeast Oklahoma, snowflakes are few and far between, so when we get them, we take what we can get.
Having spent the beginning of my childhood in Colorado, with proper snow, my heart leaps with joy when I see white flurries falling (even if it's not the same).

There is something about cold weather that begs for yummy food. Giant pots of bubbling soup or chili, cups of coffee and hot cocoa  (with marshmallows of course) and loaves of warm bread. All followed by cozy blankets and Disney movies.

Today, in hopeful preparation, I am going to bake a loaf of our favorite Chocolate Chip Banana Bread. Yep, you heard me right. Chocolate Chip Banana Bread. If you've never tried this combination, consider this your invitation. It's pretty legit. I do not like nuts in my desserts or really, much anything else. I either want them by themselves or not at all and certainly not in my banana bread. Chocolate chips bridge that gap of wanting that little bit of bite in the soft bread while adding their own magical flavor. I prefer dark chocolate chips in mine, but milk or semisweet will work just fine as well. You do you.

I don't even remember where I found this recipe years ago, but it has become a sweet staple in our home. We often gift it to others when we want to share the love and in that spirit, thought I'd share it with you.

Obviously, there are probably more fussy recipes that could compete with this one, but you can't hardly beat the simplicity here.

Before I start with the recipe, let's talk bananas.

You want your bananas to be ripe. Like ugly, brown, but not rotted ripe. We like to let ours sit out until really brown, peel them, throw them in a ziploc bag and throw them in the freezer until we are ready to use them. At that point, we'll throw the bag on the counter to thaw. Let me warn you that it will look gross, slimy and just plain messy, but that's a good thing! It means your bread will not only be sweeter, but be moist and delicious. (If you're one of those people who the word 'moist' offends, sorry.)

If your banana's are not ripe enough and you're aching to make this recipe, no worries. I got you! Here is a super quick method to get them ready for bread making.
Heat your oven to 300 degrees. On a baking sheet lined with foil, line up your bananas so there is room for air to move around them. Slide into the oven for about 30 minutes until the skin is black and shiny. You might flip them half way through to make sure it's even. Then, removed from the oven and let cool completely. Ta-Da! Slimy, ripe bananas. Perfection!

Now that we have that out of the way, here is the recipe for the our favorite Chocolate Chip Banana Bread:

Ingredients:

3-4 Over ripe bananas, mashed

3 eggs, lightly beaten

1/3 cup of oil

1 box of yellow cake mix

1 cup chocolate chips (any variety will work. We prefer dark)

Supplies:

Loaf pan or muffin tins

Ice cream scoop (for muffins)

Bowl

Spatula

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. If using loaf pan, grease well. If using muffin tin, use liners.

In a bowl, mix your wet ingredients (eggs, oil and bananas)

Add boxed cake mix and stir until well combined.

Stir in chocolate chips.

If using a loaf pan, pour your mixture into your pan and place in the oven for 35-40 minutes. Bread will be done when a knife inserted into the middle comes out clean (sans gooey chocolate). Another good way to tell if you press on the center of the bread and it is firm.

If baking muffins, use the ice cream scoop to scoop batter into each muffin liner. The scoop will ensure each cup is filled consistently. Bake 12-15 minutes until muffin top is firm and light brown.

Remove from oven. Let rest 5 minutes and then take out of the pan to completely cool (to help stop the cooking process). Enjoy warm or at  room temperature. If you can hold off until the next day, they'll get even better, but I won't blame you if you gobble them right up.

Wa-la! You are done! See...so simple, right? 

If you or your kids are beginning cooks, this is a great recipe to start with. My girls can make it without any help at this point and there is a lot of pride in that for little ones. Shoot, I feel pretty proud of myself too. It's just. so. stinking. good!

Happy Eating! - Amanda