Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

Wow so this is probably the best recipe for banana bread I have yet found. It is a very moist bread and perfectly nutty and sweet. It is very smooth textured and not grainy at all. It is also not as dense as other recipes Ive tried were you find yourself choking down each piece hardly being able to breath as you hurry and try to find something to wash it down with.

The walnuts are entirely optional - and if I made this for my husband he would request I leave them out... but I LoVE them straight down to their nutty little cores.
It is the yogurt in this bread that makes it so moist, but if you find yourself without you can sub it with sour cream. The same goes for the buttermilk - I actually had none so I used heavy whipping cream instead. I doubt it makes much of a difference which one you choose really.

Depending on your taste and like of bananas will determine how ripe your bananas should be. If you are a banana eating monkey than you want them overly ripe - black really.
But if your like me I use regular ripe ones with just a little brown on them and it makes the banana flavor flavor very light, because this is already a sweeter bread I dont want the taste to be completely overpowered by the bananas.

And lastly remember the more you beat the mixture the more drier and airy itll get. Personally, I just mix it by hand to ensure the nice rich and dense texture of the bread.


Allison's Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

1/2 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups white sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract
3 large very ripe bananas, mashed
1/3 cup plain or vanilla yogurt
1/3 cup heavy whipping cream (or buttermilk)
2 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup crushed walnuts (more or less depending on how much of a crunch you want)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease your bread pan.
2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Stir in the eggs one at a time, beating well with each addition, then stir in the vanilla. Mix in mashed bananas, yogurt and whipping cream. Combine the flour, salt, baking soda and baking powder. Stir flour mixture into sugar/banana mixture. Fold in the chocolate chips and walnuts. Pour batter into prepared pan.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 35 to 45 minutes, or until golden brown and top springs back when touched. Remove from oven and let cool for 15 minutes before removing from pan. Cool completely before slicing.