PANE DEL DITO (oops!)… Banana Peanut Finger Bread with Chocolate Chips!

by valentinalucia

Lesson of the day, kids – capital letters and lower case letters are different for a reason. This quick bread recipe came out almost how I wanted, other than the fact that it’s kinda flat in formation (definitely not in flavor!). I wanted to utilize a few quickly-ripening bananas I had in my kitchen, and some unsalted peanuts I had lying around. That’s where this adaptation of a Peanut Butter Boy recipe came from – Banana Peanut Finger Bread with Chocolate Chips!

As usual, I made changes to the recipe in order to use what I wanted to use, and what I had lying around my kitchen. Unfortunately, I made a teeny, tiny mistake and only used one teaspoon of baking powder for two loaves. On the original recipe, it was designated as “1T baking powder.” Me, being slightly delusional, apparently, translated that to be one teaspoon, not one tablespoon as it should have been. So, while the loaves didn’t rise like they should have, they still pack a great amount of flavor. What’s also great about the bread is the fact that it isn’t super dense. One would think that because the bread didn’t rise, it would be heavier than a brick, but that’s totally not the case. The texture and density is that of a normal quick bread… the slices are just skinnier. That’s why I named this mishap of a bread recipe “finger bread,” because the slices are the length and skinniness of a finger!

I wanted the banana to be the star, and it certainly is. This bread is great because it takes the base flavor of banana and builds a castle of deliciousness on top of it with the blocks of peanut and chocolate flavors. There’s a dab of peanut butter in the bread, just to bring out the deepness of the peanuts when you bite into them. I can’t think of a flavor-threesome that works together more beautifully – banana, peanut, and chocolate. They all come together perfectly in this bread, so give this recipe a shot if you’re not afraid of a flatter, yet still flavorful, product!

Banana Peanut Finger Bread with Chocolate Chips

Adapted from Peanut Butter Boy’s Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Bread

Ingredients:

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour

1 1/2 cups whole wheat grain flour

1/4 cup light brown sugar

1/2 cup dark brown sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder (use 1 tablespoon to make regular, rise bread!)

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 1/2 cups mashed banana (about 3 large)

1/2 cup skim milk

1/2 cup unsweetened coconut milk

1/4 cup peanut butter

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 egg

1/2 cup roasted peanuts

1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Preparations:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Spray two 9×5 inch loaf pans with nonstick spray.

2. In a large bowl, mix together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. In another bowl, mix mashed bananas, milks, peanut butter, vanilla and egg until incorporated.

3. Add wet mixture into the dry mixture and mix just until combined. Fold in the peanuts and chocolate chips.

4. Pour batter evenly into the two pans and bake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the loaves comes out clean. Let cool in pans for 10-15 minutes on wire rack. Remove loaves from pans and let cool completely on racks.