Intro to Cooking: Peanut Butter Banana Bread

By Holly

Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston may be ancient history, but there’s one American super-couple that isn’t going anywhere anytime soon: peanut butter and banana. Today’s recipe takes the classic sandwich and, well, turns it inside out to create a savory snack or a meal on the go.

The Ingredients: Everyone knows bananas are high in potassium, but their high fiber content and the variety of sugars they offer (glucose, fructose, and sucrose) make them ideal sources for extended energy. They are also high in iron. Besides being the one of the tastiest snacks, peanut butter is also one of the healthiest: it’s high in monosaturated (good!) fats that help prevent bad cholesterol from building up. PB also contains nutrients like niacin and calcium.

The Recipe:

3 large, very ripe (read: disgusting and brown) bananas

2 eggs

1/2 cup butter or substitute (my fave for baking is Earth Balance)

1 1/2 TBS sour cream or buttermilk

1 tsp lemon juice

1 cup sugar

1 cup natural peanut butter

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

2 cups flour

Note: For a real peanutty punch, replace 1/2 cup of flour with peanut flour

Instructions:

1. Place bananas, eggs, butter, sour cream, and lemon juice into a food processor (or mix by hand) until smooth.

2. In a separate bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, and baking soda.

3. Pour your banana mixture over the flour mixture and stir until both are incorporated. Then mix in your peanut butter.

4. Pour your batter into one big loaf pan, two small ones, or into papered cupcake pans for muffins. Bake at 350 degrees for 55 to 65 minutes. Your creation should be brown on top, but poke with a fork to make sure the middle is baked, too.

5. Cool in pan for five minutes after baking before removing.

If you want to change up an old favorite, substitute almond butter for the peanut butter and almond flour for the peanut flour. However you prefer to whip this recipe up, your friends and family are bound to go nuts over it!