Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

After much agonizing over the loss of my old banana bread recipe, I started a new one, adding to what I could remember of the old one, and adding something new: mini chocolate chips! This is such a yummy, moist bread!  I can't wait to make another one without the chips and with some other ingredients added.


I used something called a SilverBullet little mini-mixer thing my son convinced me to buy a few months ago, and I have to say, it has grown on me and I may love it more than my pesky blender that doesn't seem to do much better than a 20 dollar blender.  Did I say that? I'm sorry blender. :p

Anyway, I took my bananas out of the freezer to thaw, then squeezed the insides out into this mini blender thing that I originally didn't want to buy (lol), and gave it a few whizzes. It took about 7 frozen, thawed bananas to make about 2 cups of whizzed banana.  It seems like a lot of bananas, but it really isn't if you consider that it always seems the last one or two bananas in a bunch start to go spotty and no one wants to eat it, so I toss it in a freezer baggie and throw it into the freezer. Better than throwing it away and having fruit flies until garbage day. ha!  You think I kid!

So go thaw out your bananas, grab your blender or mini-blender because you'll want them more than just mashed, and take your eggs out of the fridge to come to room temp.  Ready? Let's make some banana bread, I'm hungry!

• 1/2 cup butter, softened, don't use the microwave for this, just let it sit out at room temp until you can leave a squishy fingerprint, but the butter isn't melting all over the place.
• 1 cup white sugar
• 2 eggs, room temp
• 2 cups whizzed thawed frozen bananas
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup mini chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Grease a loaf pan with spray pam or similar.

Cream the butter, sugar and vanilla in a large glass bowl until smooth and light on med-high speed.
Beat in eggs one at a time.
Beat in bananas on med-low speed.

In a smaller bowl, mix together flour, baking soda and salt, and dump into the wet mixture in the large bowl. Stir with large wooden spoon JUST until combined. You don't want to over stir.
Fold in mini chocolate chips gently.

Carefully pour into your loaf pan and bake uncovered for about 1 hour, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Check about 15 minutes before the end of the cooking time and, if needed, cover with foil to keep top from getting too dark.  Uncover when you take it out of the oven to cool.

Serve with soft butter warm out of the oven! MMMmmmm !!