Banana Nut Bread with Chocolate Chips

The first cookbook I ever fell in love with was Joy of Cooking, the 1997 edition. I have read every recipe at least ten times and I still like to flip through it. Although I have owned the cookbook for over a decade, I have only cooked a handful of recipes from it. The first recipe I tried was the Classic Chocolate Chip Cookies p. 821 – a must try. I could not believe that my two hands were able to create such tastiness. Although my copy of Joy of Cooking is a bit worn now, it is my favorite cookbook. While writing this post I have discovered there was another release of Joy in 2006; a 75th Anniversary edition with 500 new recipes! Oh my goodness, what’s a girl to do?

So about that bread…

Last week I bought enough bananas for us and the primates at the zoo, so I decided to make some Banana Nut Bread. I had never made it before and didn’t have a recipe – so I turned to Joy. Oh yes, there was a recipe for Banana Nut Bread! I knew it was going to turn out good, mostly because Joy has never let me down. I added some dark chocolate chips since I had some on hand. Delicious! :)

Banana Bread
Adapted from Joy of Cooking
Ingredients
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
¾ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon Baking powder
5 ½ tablespoons butter, softened
2/3 cup sugar
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1 cup mashed bananas – I used two med-large bananas so it was a bit more than a cup, but it still worked great
½ cup walnuts, chopped
½ cup chocolate chips, dark or semi-sweet
Directions
1. Heat oven to 350, grease 6-cup loaf pan
2. Mix flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder
3. Beat together butter and sugar until fully combined
4. Slowly add flour mixture
5. Add eggs and mix until combined
6. Fold in bananas, walnuts and chocolate chips
7. Pour into loaf pan
8. Bake for 50-60 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean
9. Let cool and enjoy!