Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

Lately I've been all about trying to eat healthier albeit yummy food. With regard to my eating habits, I was NOTHING like I am today when I was growing up. I didn't eat vegetables (literally - nothing green. I would order entrees "without the green things"), and ate very few fruits (think: apples, watermelon, cantaloupe. That was all the fruit I would eat).

What I DID eat was dessert, and lots of it. While I don't have much of a sweet tooth anymore, every now and then that dessert-only girl comes out and she demands wonderful treats to satisfy her cravings.

One of my guilty pleasures is banana bread. One day I saw a pin that would change my life, or at least my banana bread life. A girl posted a recipe for Peanut Butter Cup Banana Bread. She actually put mini Reese's in her banana bread! While I applauded her ingenuity, I wanted to find a way to reach a similar taste with real peanut butter and chocolate chips rather than Reese's.

Enter Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Banana Bread. I like to throw my extra over-ripe bananas into the freezer for safe keeping just in case I need (yes, need) to make banana bread. My diligence was awarded one fateful day a couple of weeks ago when I decided to make this idea a reality. My mouth started watering as I mixed everything together. I won't make you wait any longer for the recipe because I am just that nice. If you don't already have some overripe bananas, you should probably go buy some now and make this in a day or two. Just don't be surprised if you can't stop eating it. My husband took it one step further - he warmed the bread up in the microwave and served it a la mode. Nom.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Banana Bread
3 ripe bananas, mashed
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 Tablespoon butter
1/4 cup vegetable oil (I used canola, but just use whatever you have on hand)
1 egg
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup dark chocolate chips

1. Preheat the oven to 350.

2. Using a hand mixer, combine the peanut butter, butter, sugar, and brown sugar in a large bowl. Beat until fluffy.

3. Add mashed bananas, oil, and egg. Mix to combine.

4. In a medium bowl, combine the rest of the dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt).

5. Slowly mix dry ingredients into the peanut butter mixture, beating to combine in between.

6. Stir in chocolate chips. Pour into a greased loaf pan.

7. Bake for 45 minutes to an hour, until you can poke a toothpick and it comes out clean.