Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

What? You expected a banana bread recipe calling for whole wheat flour and flax seed? I know it’s popular right now to substitute high-calorie ingredients for some that are more figure-friendly, but I’m sorry. If you are looking for that, you’ve got the wrong blog…

There really is no substitute for sour cream in this recipe. It’s the secret to moist banana bread. And since we are using sour cream, why not throw in some chocolate chips while we are at it? The way I figure it – if you are eating this for breakfast, you’ve got the whole day to burn off the extra calories. See how I justify my eating habits?!

Ingredients:

2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
½ cup (1 stick) butter, softened
¼ cup sour cream
2 eggs
3 very ripe bananas, mashed
½ cup chocolate chips (okay, these are technically optional)

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Spray a loaf pan with cooking spray and set it aside.

Whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt, and set this mixture aside as well.

In a large bowl, stir together the butter and sugar. Once incorporated, add the eggs and sour cream, and stir again.

Add half of the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir. Repeat with the rest of the flour mixture. Be careful not to over-stir the batter. Working the batter too much at this point can result in tougher bread.

Lastly, add in the mashed bananas and chocolate chips. Stir until just incorporated.

Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Bake for approximately 50-60 minutes, until the top of the loaf cracks and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. If the top of your bread starts to get too dark and you still need to bake it a few minutes longer, cover the top of the bread loosely with foil and return it to the oven to finish baking. The foil will prevent the bread from darkening further.

Once the bread is done baking, remove it from the oven and then from the pan immediately by inverting it on a large plate. Allow the bread to cool and then slice as desired.