Foodie Fridays: Peanut Butter Banana Bread with Chocolate Chips

A couple of overripe bananas in our fruit bowl inspired me to search for a banana bread recipe that I had never tried before.  When I found the recipe for Peanut Butter Banana Bread with Chocolate Chips I could not resist, because I love peanut butter and I had some leftover chocolate chips to use up (my chips were milk chocolate, but I think semisweet is actually the better choice here).  The other reason I had to make this bread was to appease my husband after my annual fruitcake baking.  He enjoys the aroma of the fruitcakes as they bake, but, like me, does not like the taste (I bake them every year for my siblings, who all love fruitcake).  My husband wanted me to make a bread with nuts but no candied fruit, and I figured he would be happy with nuts in the form of chunky peanut butter, so I made this bread for him.  He loved it, so it is a winner in our house!

Peanut Butter Banana Bread with Chocolate Chips

2 C. flour
3/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
2-3 medium bananas, mashed
1/2 C. peanut butter (I used extra chunky)
1/2 C. sugar
1/2 C. light brown or coconut sugar
1/3 C. buttermilk or plain kefir
1/4 C. vegetable oil
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
1 C. semisweet chocolate chips

Grease a loaf pan and line with parchment paper so that it hangs over the two long sides.

In a large bowl, stir together the first three ingredients.  In a separate large bowl, whisk together all of the remaining ingredients except the chocolate chips until smooth.  Pour the wet ingredients into the flour mixture and fold together with a spatula until completely combined.  Gently stir in the chocolate chips.

Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan, smoothing the top as evenly as possible.  Bake at 350 degrees for 60-75 minutes, until a skewer or knife inserted into the center comes out with just a few moist crumbs.  If the bread is browning too quickly, tent a piece of foil over the top.

Cool the loaf in the pan for 10-15 minutes.  Using the overhanging parchment paper, lift the bread from the pan onto a wire rack and cool completely.  The cooled bread can be wrapped in plastic and stored at room temperature for up to five days.