Double Chocolate Banana Bread

I often struggle to come up with the correct words to make you understand just how good a recipe is.  Granted, ALL of the recipes I post here are good or I would not actually pass them along to you.  That is the whole point of this, right?  I test and search out different recipes and I share the best ones with you.  That is how this relationship works.

But are you really making these?  I wonder sometimes.  Should I have been more insistent about just how fantastic the Sweet Potato Biscuits are, especially with apple butter smeared on them while still warm from the oven?  Was I successful in describing the ease at which Simple Soup goes together, making it the ideal fall/winter weeknight meal for one person or ten?  Yes, it is silly to lay awake at night thinking about these things, but it is true!  I mention it now because I came across a recipe this week that I have made many, many, times before, but not for at least a year.  It was one of those moments where my eyes light up and I get all excited and say, “Oh, yeah!  I forgot about this bread!  I haven’t made this in ages!”  And then I make it and I can’t be-lieve that I have been without it for so long.  I have no idea where I got the recipe, but I always follow it exactly.  No tweaking necessary.

There are a few things that make this bread irresistible.  While I like food that contains chocolate, many times you have to melt it separately and then add it to the baked good or dessert.  True, this isn’t the end of the world.  But depending on the food, and in this case banana bread (something that shouldn’t take you all day to make) I didn’t want to mess with the extra step.  This version uses cocoa powder; way better for you, faster, and simpler to do.  Also, instead of a chocolate bread with bananas in it, this is a full on banana bread with super banana flavor-AND a chocolate bread.  It has all the moist sweetness that makes banana bread addictive, but it is actually fudgy with chocolate.  Not healthy by any stretch of the imagination, but it could be worse, right?

So have I convinced you to make this?  Was my description enticing enough to make your mouth water with anticipation?  Just trust me.  Make this.  Make it.  Make it make it make it make it make it!

One Year Ago: Simple Soup

Double Chocolate Banana Bread
As with most quick breads, these freeze great.  Make sure your bananas have speckled skins for the best flavor.

In the bowl of an electric mixer add:
1 c sugar
3 bananas
1/3 c canola oil
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
Mix to break up the bananas and combine all ingredients.  Add:
1 1/2 c flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 c cocoa powder, sifted to break up the clumps
Mix just until combined and fold in:
1 c chocolate chips

Bake in a large, sprayed loaf pan at 350 degrees for about 1 hour, or until toothpick inserted into the center (try to avoid a chocolate chip!) comes out clean.  Cool for a few minutes and then turn out to cool completely on a rack.  This can be made in smaller loaf pans or even muffins tins, just adjust the baking time accordingly.