I have never been tempted to make my own peanut butter. I mean, what's the point? I can't make anything as good as Skippy Super Chunk, which is my baking gold standard. It would be like trying to make my own ketchup when I can just go out and buy some delicious Heinz. So even though Baked Elements includes a recipe for homemade peanut butter, it was an easy decision to skip it and just open a jar of Skippy to make this week's Baked Sunday Mornings recipe, Crunchy Peanut Butter Banana Bread.
I read through the recipe and was happy to see that it didn't require a mixer. You are supposed to combine all of the dry ingredients (flour, sugar, salt, and baking soda) in one bowl, combine the wet ingredients (mashed bananas, oil, eggs, milk, and crunchy peanut butter) and chocolate chips in another, and then pour the wet ingredients into the dry ones and gently fold them together.
It sounded so simple, but when I tried to mix together (by hand) the bananas, oil, eggs, milk, and crunchy peanut butter, I was having trouble getting the mixture to blend together. I gave up and dumped it into the stand mixer. Once I got the wet ingredients mixed together, I added the dry ingredients, followed by the chocolate chips and some chopped salted peanuts (a suggested addition to the recipe). I had doubled the recipe and prepared two parchment-lined 9-inch by 5-inch loaf pans. But when I poured the batter into the two pans, I became concerned that the pans were getting quite full, so I poured some of the batter into a third mini-loaf pan.
The bread rose nicely in the oven and developed a domed, cracked top. My large loaves were done baking in 75 minutes, and I had to tent them with aluminum foil towards the end because the tops were getting quite dark.
Tom and I couldn't resist cutting into the mini-loaf while it was still warm. I didn't love it -- I could barely taste the banana. The following morning I cut into the cooled loaves and I liked the bread much better. The banana flavor had become more prominent, and it was well-balanced with the peanut butter. I thought the chocolate chips were not strictly necessary, but they were a nice addition. I'm glad I added the extra chopped peanuts, because I love crunch. My tasters loved the bread.
I liked the bread a lot, but to be honest, I think that I prefer regular banana bread with walnuts. This bread was dense and moist, and it was a bit heavy with regard to both texture and flavor. But if you like peanut butter with bananas and chocolate, this bread delivers on all counts.
Recipe: "Crunchy Peanut Butter Banana Bread" from Baked Elements: Our 10 Favorite Ingredients, by Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito, recipe available here at Baked Sunday Mornings.
I read through the recipe and was happy to see that it didn't require a mixer. You are supposed to combine all of the dry ingredients (flour, sugar, salt, and baking soda) in one bowl, combine the wet ingredients (mashed bananas, oil, eggs, milk, and crunchy peanut butter) and chocolate chips in another, and then pour the wet ingredients into the dry ones and gently fold them together.
It sounded so simple, but when I tried to mix together (by hand) the bananas, oil, eggs, milk, and crunchy peanut butter, I was having trouble getting the mixture to blend together. I gave up and dumped it into the stand mixer. Once I got the wet ingredients mixed together, I added the dry ingredients, followed by the chocolate chips and some chopped salted peanuts (a suggested addition to the recipe). I had doubled the recipe and prepared two parchment-lined 9-inch by 5-inch loaf pans. But when I poured the batter into the two pans, I became concerned that the pans were getting quite full, so I poured some of the batter into a third mini-loaf pan.
Tom and I couldn't resist cutting into the mini-loaf while it was still warm. I didn't love it -- I could barely taste the banana. The following morning I cut into the cooled loaves and I liked the bread much better. The banana flavor had become more prominent, and it was well-balanced with the peanut butter. I thought the chocolate chips were not strictly necessary, but they were a nice addition. I'm glad I added the extra chopped peanuts, because I love crunch. My tasters loved the bread.
I liked the bread a lot, but to be honest, I think that I prefer regular banana bread with walnuts. This bread was dense and moist, and it was a bit heavy with regard to both texture and flavor. But if you like peanut butter with bananas and chocolate, this bread delivers on all counts.
Recipe: "Crunchy Peanut Butter Banana Bread" from Baked Elements: Our 10 Favorite Ingredients, by Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito, recipe available here at Baked Sunday Mornings.
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