Going Bananas

I used to eat bananas all the time. Ok, not all the time, but a lot. When I was living in Chicago I made a smoothie almost every morning for breakfast, and the best smoothies always include a banana. Also, the darling girl I babysat loved bananas and they always had a bunch at their house, so I usually ended up sharing one with her for lunch. So when I got here (to Los Lunas) I immediately bought a bunch of frozen fruit and bananas to make smoothies with, and in the past three months I've made a total of one (1) smoothie. I just haven't been in the mood. Luckily, the fruit is frozen and will hold until the summer months when I will (probably) begin craving smoothies again. I have, however, continued to buy bunches of bananas, even though I have yet to finish an entire bunch before they get too ripe and brown. 

All of this is to say that I have quite a few overripe bananas chillin in my freezer, and last weekend I thought I should put them to use. I hadn't tried these recipes before, but they came out wonderfully, and I'll definitely make them again!

Peanut Butter Banana Chocolate Chip Bread

This bread was so fantastic, and I'll definitely make it again and again. I used coconut oil, which I melted in the microwave before dumping in the bowl. From the pictures, it looks like they made a bunch of tiny loaves, but I just made two small loaves (5.75 x 3 inch pans) and baked them for about 30 minutes. I think chopped walnuts would be a nice addition, or maybe walnuts in place of the chocolate chips, if you like your bread less sweet. 

Banana Cupcakes

I added 1/4 tsp of cinnamon (I love cinnamon) to the cupcake recipe, and used this yogurt because it was what I had on hand. Also, I used 1/4 cup white sugar, and 1/2 cup brown sugar, because I love the taste of brown sugar with bananas. I then made a honey cinnamon buttercream frosting, instead of the cream cheese one called for in the original recipe. They came out great!