Recipe: Banana Chocolate Chip Bread

I am a huge fan of bananas and I like them when they are less ripe and still fairly hard. One day, when I realized I had neglected my bananas for too long and that they were too ripe for me to enjoy, I decided to look up recipes for banana bread. 

While in search of a plain banana bread recipe, I came across Naked Cupcakes' recipe for Banana Chocolate Chip bread and decided to give it a try. I mean, you can't go wrong with chocolate, right? 

For some reason, I had always assumed that banana bread was hard to make. To my surprise, it is one of the easiest things to bake! 

Ingredients: 

2 cups all purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt 

1/2 cup butter (at room temperature)

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 1/2 cups mashed bananas (3 medium or 2 large bananas) 

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup chocolate chips 

Instructions: 

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and grease loaf pan 
2. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt (dry ingredients) 
3. In another bowl, cream together butter and sugar 
4. Add eggs to the butter/sugar mixture and mix well 
5. Add mashed banana, lemon juice, chocolate chips, and vanilla extract to the same mixture and mix well (wet ingredients)
6. Make a well in the dry ingredients and pour in the wet ingredients 
7. Stir until the batter is moistened and pour batter into already greased loaf pan 
8. Bake for 55-60 minutes (until toothpick comes out clean when inserted into middle of the loaf)
9. Let cool for 10-15 minutes, then remove from loaf pan and set on cooling rack to cool completely 
10. Slice the loaf into desired thickness 

This is definitely one of the easiest recipes I've come across since I started baking. The recipe is not only super easy, but also extremely delicious! My friends enjoyed the bread and liked that it was very moist. Next time, instead of having to stop by Starbucks for a munchie, pack your own for the commute or long day at school/work!

Enjoy!