My regular readers know I often bake Banana Bread. It isn't that I love Banana Bread so much. It is more because I hate to waste food and even though I try very hard to buy just the right amount of bananas, I often don't eat them all before they get overripe. Sometimes I freeze the bananas with skins on for later use when I don't have time or interest in baking the bread. When I make it, I try to give some away or freeze some for another day. There is only so much banana bread a person can eat.
After freezing some bananas last week and having a few more that were beyond eating this week, I decided I needed to bake banana bread once again. I do not really like the recipe I've been using so I took inspiration from a new and delightful blog I've been following called "Food and Thrift".
I didn't follow the original recipe but have made a few adjustments (added oats, oat bran and pecans and omitted the granola and one egg). I've added oats and oat bran to help keep the blood sugar in check. I should really be using whole wheat flour also but I don't have any on hand today. See the original, rather delicious looking recipe here .
I think I may at last have found the kind of banana bread recipe for which I've been searching. One that isn't overly sweet or too "sticky" and has a bit more substance than what I've been used to making. Next time I can omit the chocolate chips and pecans for an even healthier bread.
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| The batter has a smooth consistency. |
Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Banana Bread
¾ cup all purpose flour
¾ cup all purpose flour
1 cup uncooked oats
¼ cup oat bran
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 egg*
3 ripe mashed bananas
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup milk
1/3 Crisco shortening (you can use oil)
dash of salt
½ cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips
½ chopped pecans
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 egg*
3 ripe mashed bananas
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup milk
1/3 Crisco shortening (you can use oil)
dash of salt
½ cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips
½ chopped pecans
* The original recipe calls for 2 eggs and I think 2 eggs is best to hold the bread together when sliced.
In a small bowl, mash the bananas with a fork or potato masher. In a medium bowl cream the sugar and shortening together, then add the milk and egg. Mix well. In a large bowl, add the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add the liquid mixture to the dry ingredients, then add the bananas, chocolate chips and pecans. Turn the mixture into a bread loaf pan. If you want, you can sprinkle some chocolate chips on the top. Bake at 350 degrees for the first 30 minutes. Lower the temperature to 325 degrees for an extra 10-30 minutes until the bread is done.
To test for doneness, you can press your fingertip gently in the middle of the loaf. If it springs back and isn't too moist it should be done. Alternatively, if you have chocolate chips on top like I do, you can insert a toothpick in the middle of the bread. If it is free of batter (clean) when you pull it out, the bread should be done.
Taste Test:
This is by far the best banana bread I've ever made or tasted. It wasn't very sweet and so the chocolate chips did not overpower the bread. I really enjoyed the addition of the oats and pecans which gave it added crunch. It was difficult to make "clean" slices of the bread because the chocolate chips melted in my hand and stuck to the bread knife. However if you aren't trying to be dainty for guests, this is probably okay. As for me, I think I will be making this recipe more often and will omit the chocolate chips and substitute walnuts for pecans. This will reduce calories.
In a small bowl, mash the bananas with a fork or potato masher. In a medium bowl cream the sugar and shortening together, then add the milk and egg. Mix well. In a large bowl, add the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add the liquid mixture to the dry ingredients, then add the bananas, chocolate chips and pecans. Turn the mixture into a bread loaf pan. If you want, you can sprinkle some chocolate chips on the top. Bake at 350 degrees for the first 30 minutes. Lower the temperature to 325 degrees for an extra 10-30 minutes until the bread is done.
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| Cooling the banana bread. It looks and smells delicious. Taste test will come after cooling. |
To test for doneness, you can press your fingertip gently in the middle of the loaf. If it springs back and isn't too moist it should be done. Alternatively, if you have chocolate chips on top like I do, you can insert a toothpick in the middle of the bread. If it is free of batter (clean) when you pull it out, the bread should be done.
Taste Test:
This is by far the best banana bread I've ever made or tasted. It wasn't very sweet and so the chocolate chips did not overpower the bread. I really enjoyed the addition of the oats and pecans which gave it added crunch. It was difficult to make "clean" slices of the bread because the chocolate chips melted in my hand and stuck to the bread knife. However if you aren't trying to be dainty for guests, this is probably okay. As for me, I think I will be making this recipe more often and will omit the chocolate chips and substitute walnuts for pecans. This will reduce calories.
28 comments:
This is a fantastic chenge from the usual banana bread. My daughter loves chocolate so she will be delighted. Thank you for the recipe Joyful!
Oh wow! You are quick to reply. Thank you. I actually was trying to post this recipe on Sunday and somehow it got published early, lol. Please let me know how your daughter enjoys the banana bread.
choc chippies in banana bread, YUM!!!!!
We never have bananas left over, we both eat masses of them. One day maybe I will get the chance to bake this recipe :) Diane
Madam here is English version of my post....
A REAL STORY...OF A DOCTOR.....PLEASE READ....W/F...
A doctor entered the hospital in hurry after being called in for an urgent surgery. He answered the call asap, changed his clothes & went directly to the surgery block. He found the boy’s father pacing in the hall waiting for the doctor. On seeing him, the dad yelled:
“Why did U take all this time to come? Don’t U know that my son’s life is in danger? Don’t U have any sense of responsibility?”
Th…e doctor smiled & said:
“I am sorry, I wasn’t in the hospital & I came as fast as I could after receiving the call…… And now, I wish you’d calm down so that I can do my work”
“Calm down?! What if your son was in this room right now, would U calm down? If your own son dies now what will U do??” said the father angrily
The doctor smiled again & replied: “I will say what Job said in the Holy Book “From dust we came & to dust we return, blessed be the name of God”. Doctors cannot prolong lives. Go & intercede for your son, we will do our best by God’s grace”
“Giving advises when we’re not concerned is so easy” Murmured the father.
The surgery took some hours after which the doctor went out happy,
“Thank goodness!, your son is saved!” And without waiting for the father’s reply he carried on his way running. “If U have any question, ask the nurse!!”
“Why is he so arrogant? He couldn’t wait some minutes so that I ask about my son’s state” Commented the father when seeing the nurse minutes after the doctor left.
The nurse answered, tears coming down her face: “His son died yesterday in a road accident, he was in the burial when we called him for your son’s surgery. And now that he saved your son’s life, he left running to finish his son’s burial.”
Moral-Never judge anyone….. because U never know how their life is & what they’re going through”
I love banana bread...and one with oats and bran sounds good!
~Have a lovely day!
I love banana bread, too, and the oats sound good, but not the bran. Not for me. As for chocolate chips and pecans, I'm sure I could think of something to do with the ones you don't use for your banana bread next time. Let me see: melt the chocolate, stir in the pecans, cool slightly, then eat with a spoon, or perhaps over ice cream. LOL
K
Hmmmmm... The chocolate chips will stay in for me!
Uhhhh YUM! I actually love banana bread. Like seriously a lot. Also obsessed with oats. So this is like a dream recipe.
Oh my, Mr. Shaw, that is very touching. Thank you for coming to leave me a translation of what I could not read at your blog.
Ha, ha, good plan.
I'm glad. I hope when your weather cools down you will be able to make this with the chocolate chips ;-)
I love oats too and so the addition to the bananas was quite good!
Yummo! giggle. It is good. You have a lovely day too!
Wow. You too really do eat a lot of bananas. Perhaps you can buy a few extra next time and try some banana bread :-) Have a lovely weekend, Diane.
Glad you like them, Ann. Hope all is well in Singapore.
Dear Friend,
This looks totally yummy. Some day, I will try this, the chocolate sounds good to me!
It's years since i made banana bread. I used to bake lots when my son was small. I would like to try this one with the bran and the choc chips very soon, maybe I will make it as a treat when I reach my first healthy weight goal(I am trying very hard to get healthy at the moment!). Or maybe I will make it then eat just a tiny piece and give away the rest! Good idea! Thank you Penny. x
Mmm-yum! I saved this recipe in my Recipes file on my computer. I'm the same way with bananas in that I hate to waste food, so if I end up with over-ripe bananas, I make banana bread out of them. Thanks for sharing your delicious-sounding recipe!
Thanks Brenda. Let me know how you like it.
Hi Jan, I bet your son really enjoyed having banana bread. I never had it as a child. Congratulations on working toward getting healthy. I trust you make your first goal soon. I hope you are able to try the banana bread and if you are able to give most of it away, you won't feel guilty :-)
Hi Pat, I really don't like to waste things, especially food. Since my freezer is not that large, I have to bake or make soups and what you to use up what I do buy. I'm glad this recipe sounds good enough to try. Let me know how you like it ;-)
This looks very tasty. I have to give it a try too.
Joyful,
Hi! Your banana bread recipe sounds delicious. I'm also going to file this in my to do list. Thank you for sharing.
I'm feeling like a cuppa and a slice of banana bread now
Enjoy your banana bread ladies, and thanks for your visit.
Hi Penny, I also don't like to waste bananas but haven't made a banana bread since leaving Kenya. I have, however, copied this recipe of yours, (hope you don't mind) and will try it this coming week. Thanks for your visits to my blog. Blessings and hugs
Jo
Hi Jo, by all means you can use the recipe. That is the fun of sharing recipes on line. In turn, I will use some of the recipes on your blog ;-)
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