So I had a sick kid at home again the other day. The fact that it was snowing in April probably has nothing to do with the fact that my youngest just cannot stay healthy right? Pair that with him being in kindergarten, and basically he barely stands a chance. I secretly love snuggling him when he is home though, so I am not complaining. Unfortunately, he won’t let me snuggle him all day though, so in between snuggles, I decided to do my favorite thing…clean.
Haha! Gotcha! You know what I really did.
I baked.
My favorite thing these days is to take a decadent recipe and try to “health” it up a bit…eliminating ingredients that don’t really need to be in there, and replacing them with more wholesome ingredients.
I know, #lifegoals, right?
It has been fun, and the results have been nothing short of delicious. This decadent bread is moist, loaded with chocolate chips and dense with deep, dark chocolate flavor. The bananas give it a natural sweetness, and the peanut butter makes the bread tender and rich. You will enjoy every bite!
- 3 overripe, mashed bananas
- 2½ tsp vanilla extract
- 1 egg, beaten
- ⅓ cup buttermilk (Almond milk or other nut milk works too!)
- ⅓ cup peanut butter (I used natural peanut butter. Use chunky or creamy based on what you like!)
- ⅔ cup pure maple syrup
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 1¾ cup whole wheat pastry flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ¾ tsp salt
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ cup cocoa powder
- ½ cup chocolate chips
- Preheat your oven to 350 F.
- Grease a loaf pan and set aside.
- In a large bowl, mash bananas.
- Whisk in vanilla, egg, buttermilk, peanut butter and syrup.
- In a separate bowl, combine brown sugar, flour, baking soda, salt and baking powder.
- Whisk in cocoa powder.
- Slowly add dry ingredients to the wet, mixing just until combined. Do not over mix!
- Slowly stir in chocolate chips.
- Transfer to the pan, and spread out evenly.
- Bake 50 minutes.
- If the top is still gooey, turn off oven and let the bread sit in the warm oven for 10 more minutes.
- Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes.
- Turn out onto a cooling rack and let cool completely.
- Slice and serve.
- Leftovers can be stored at room temperature in a tightly sealed container for one day.
- Store in refrigerator or freezer after one day.
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