October 2020: Peanut Butter and Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

Swirls of creamy peanut butter and a smattering of chocolate chips turns this simple banana bread recipe into a decadent affair. I know the word “decadent” seems like a stretch of a description for the humble banana bread but you gotta trust me here. Warm chocolate and gooey peanut butter? Yeah… there’s not much more to say… You’re gonna want to make this recipe!

A close-up of all the gooey goody in this banana bread.

INGREDIENTS

• 3 overripe bananas
• 1/2 cup melted coconut oil or melted butter
• 1/2 cup honey
• 2 eggs
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 cups flour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 cup chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 350F degrees and grease your bread pan and lay a piece of parchment paper inside.
2. In a large bowl, mash your bananas.
3. Then, add in the coconut oil, honey, eggs, and vanilla and combined.
4. Next add the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt, and mix until the batter forms.
5. Gently fold in the chocolate distributing the chocolate chips throughout.
6. Using teaspoon size amounts, dollop 3/4th of the peanut butter into the batter and gently swirl it throughout.(Don't over mix. You want them swirls!)
7. Pour the batter into the prepped pan with parchment paper.
8. Dollop your remaining peanut butter on top and gently swirl it through the batter.
9. Bake for 50-60 minutes, or until center is set being careful not to over cook. (Cover with foil if necessary.)
10. Remove the bread from the oven and let cool for 5 minutes in the pan.
11. Gently lift the bread with the parchment out of the pan and let cool for another 15 minutes on a wire rack before cutting into it.

October 2019: 1 Bowl Banana-Chocolate Chip Mini Muffins

These banana-chocolate chip mini muffins are a game changer for senior eating! Mini anything is always enticing but these muffins are made in a single bowl making caregiver clean-up a breeze. They are sure to win over everyone thanks to chocolate chips. Kids too! And with some sneaky ingredients for extra nutrition, what’s not to love? They are mini but mighty, which seems like an important details when it comes to muffins.

Ingredients

• 3 ripe bananas mashed
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup plain yogurt
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup coconut oil
• zest on 1 lemon
• 1/2 cup coconut flour
• 1/2 cup almond flour
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 cup chocolate chips

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. In a large bowl mix the mashed bananas, egg, yogurt sugar and oil.
3. Throw in the flours and baking powder and mix until it's well combined.
4. Fold in the chocolate chips (I used mini chips however regular size will work just fine).
5. Scoop batter into well greased muffin tins.
6. Bake at 350 degrees F for 15ish minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean from a center muffin. (If using tradional sized muffin tins they will likely take longer to cook. Just keep a watchful eye while baking.)

A mini but mighty muffin recipe with banana and chocolate chips.

Make and bake! And then tell me what you think, especially how many is too many, cause, ugh… I’m asking for a friend? Hehehehe…