Banana Bread with Chocolate Chips
Like a lot of people, recipes I make are associated to a memory. For banana bread, I think of how my best friend Kathryn's mom bought me a bread pan in college because my roommate wouldn't let me use hers since I didn't want to puree the bananas - seriously.
One day Kathryn and I were just hanging out and I had ripe bananas and chocolate chips so what better thing to make than banana bread?! Kathryn posted up on the counter eating chocolate chips and I got to work making the batter. My roommate came home and came into the kitchen and asked what I was making and so we told her. She asked if I was going to have chunks of banana in the bread or make it smooth, and I said we were going to mash them so there would be chunks. She didn't like chunks of banana in her bread, so said we couldn't use her bread pan to make them. I said no problem, that we'd make them into muffins so we wouldn't use her stuff. She then complained that she still wouldn't like them and I wasn't being considerate of her and asked if half of the muffins could have pureed bananas.
Kathryn and I were beside ourselves with confusion and just overall annoyance about such a fuss being made for some banana bread. Kathryn then told her mom about the whole situation and she was so upset she bought me a bread pan and gave me three ripe bananas so I could make bread however I wanted. You better believe I moved that pan to Texas and still use it for all breads I make.
I later found out my roommate had some serious issues with food and was working through an eating disorder, but this was not the first or last conflict we ever had. Ah, roommate life. Pro Tip: Thoroughly vet an acquaintance before becoming roommates/signing a lease save yourself a lot of stress, money, and uncomfortable conversations. Pro Tip 2: Own your own stuff so people can't tell you what you can and cannot do.
So banana bread for me is probably a once-a-year thing because I can't get over how crazy that situation was, but it's so freaking good!! I've learned you need to wait until the bananas are almost at the stage where they attract fruit flies and look like death. Those are perfect banana bread bananas. Pairing the sweet bananas with dark chocolate chip evens out the sweetness and makes for a nice treat.
This is also great to make since it's the perfect size for the toaster oven so you create as little extra heat for your A/C to fight off as possible - win win!
Mashed Banana Bread
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 eggs, lightly beaten
3 ripe bananas, mashed
1 1/2 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup dark chocolate chips
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350-degrees
In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until thoroughly combined. Still in the eggs and bananas until everything is incorporated. Sift in the flour, baking soda, and salt, stirring until just combined. Fold in the vanilla and chocolate chips. Pour into heavily greased bread pan. Bake for 50-60 minutes or until a tester comes out clean. Let cool, cut, and enjoy!