Dark Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

Hi friends! I’m Susannah from the blog Feast + West, and I’m a new contributor at My Cooking Spot. On my blog, I share recipes, cocktails, travel guides and the best of design. I love food that tells a story or sends you on a walk down memory lane, and I look forward to sharing it with you.

Though I get along well with most foods, bananas bring out my fickleness. I buy a bunch every so often, and I’ll enjoy eating them for a day or two. And then I’ll lose interest — it’s a texture thing — and let them sit on the counter for a few more days to earn their spots. Once they’re almost all the way brown, I get interested again.

That’s because I know that those soon-to-be-rotten yellow fruits are ripe and ready to star in an old favorite — banana bread. I love banana bread for its versatility: You can eat it for breakfast, dessert or even a snack.

But this isn’t just any banana bread. Add a couple handfuls of dark chocolate chips, and you’ve got a semi-sweet, irresistible treat that will have you reaching for another slice. And another.

I know I shouldn’t be eating all of it, so I like to give my extra loaves away. Loaves of bread are really the perfect hostess gift or a sweet ‘just because’ treat for a friend, neighbor or teacher. This dark chocolate chip version just takes your generosity to the next level. There’s nothing like a homemade, edible gift, am I right?

To make dark chocolate chip banana bread, you’ll want to make sure you have very ripe (but not rotten) bananas. You’ll want them to be covered in brown spots, maybe even fragrant and a little squishy. Peel the bananas and mash them in a bowl or food processor.

Next, you’ll add in the dry ingredients, followed by lemon juice, milk and eggs and the chocolate chips. For the dark chocolate, you can use dark or semisweet chocolate chips or you can cut up a bar of dark chocolate into small pieces. Divide the batter into three medium loaf pans and bake. Within an hour you’ll have warm bread that’s ready to serve.

Store it in an airtight container, or wrap each loaf individually in plastic wrap or foil. Tie it up with a ribbon and maybe a handwritten card, and you’ve got a lovely gift straight from the heart. (If you don’t eat it all first!) 

What’s your go-to food gift?

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