Peanut Butter Banana Bread

Here's another yummy new recipe I tried this week (last night... at midnight... to be exact)! I just tried a small piece for breakfast, and it is DELISH! It's a nice dense bread like my grandma makes, but with the added goodness of a peanut butter crumble and a ribbon of chocolate.

Peanut Butter + Banana + Chocolate = LOVE!

Topping
1/2 c. Flour
1/2 c. Brown Sugar, packed
1/4 c. Creamy Peanut Butter
1/2 t. Ground Cinnamon

In a small bowl, stir all topping ingredients until crumbly; set aside.

Batter:
1/2 c. Butter, softened
1 pkg. (8 oz.) Cream Cheese, softened
1 1/4 c. Sugar
2 Eggs
1 c. Ripe Banana, mashed
1 t. Vanilla Extract
2 1/4 c. Flour
1 1/2 t. Baking Powder
1/2 t. Baking Soda
1 t. Ground Cinnamon
1 1/2 c. Semisweet Chocolate Chips

In a large bowl, cream the butter, cream cheese and sugar until light and fluffy. Add egs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in bananas and vanilla. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon; stir into creamed mixture until just moistened.

Divide half of the batter between two greased 8x4" loaf pans; sprinkle with half of the topping. Top with chocolate chips. Repeat layers of batter and topping.

Bake at 350 for 45-55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks.

I entered the recipe in SparkPeople's Recipe Calculator, and although I'm not convinced that site is an exact science by any means, it gives a good estimate of nutritional value. I entered 24 servings for this recipe (12 slices in each of two loaves) and it came up with 236 cal per serving. OUCH! So, if you're watching calories, do what I do.... make two loaves, take one to church, and farm out the other one to family and friends so you're only tempted to eat one piece. ;) I *think* this link will give you the full nutritional rundown, but I'm not entirely sure how long it will work.

As always, let me know if you try it, and thank you for continuing to follow my blog despite my shortage of paper crafts. I haven't sold anything.... I'm pretty sure I'll get back to it eventually, I'm just not at that place yet.