I don’t think I’ve ever been a fan of the sandwich peanut butter, jelly and banana!  When I saw this recipe in Better Homes and Garden’s Fall Baking Magazine, it sounded interesting.  I had ripe bananas on the kitchen counter, peanuts, preserves and peanut butter…I thought, okayyyy, another recipe for my ever ripe bananas!  I always buy too many thinking I’ll eat all of them soon, but aparently I can’t eat them fast enough if I have to look for banana recipes!  Now here was this recipe starring me in the face saying…”Bake Me, Bake Me!”   Okay so I listened to my inner voice that tells me to bake…………..OCD baking?  Noooo wayyyyy! I just love to bake.  The problem is, I never have the time to bake as much as I’d like to. 

Anyway, this is a pretty good recipe, but you have to like all ingredients or you will not like it.  I know one thing, this is a very moist bread.  I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as my co-workers did.  I was not the greatest fan because I’m personally not a fan of PB&J with bananas.  Over-all this was not bad…actually very tasty, jsut not my favorite bread.  Don’t let that stop you from baking it as so many at work love it.

 

Happy Bread Baking!!

 

 

 

Ingredients:

 

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 and ½ teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

¼ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/8 teaspoon ground ginger

 2 eggs, lightly beaten

1 and ½ cups mashed bananas (4 to 5 medium)

1 cup sugar

½ cup vegetable oil or melted butter

¼ cup creamy peanut butter

¼ cup chopped peanuts

1/3 cup strawberry preserves

 

1 recipe Streusel-Nut Topping (recipe will follow)

 

 

Directions:

 

Preheat oven to 350F.  Grease the bottom and ½ inch up sides of pan; set aside.  In a large bowl stir together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, nutmeg and ginger.  Make a well in the center of flour mixture; set aside.

 In a medium bowl combine eggs, mashed bananas, sugar, oil and peanut butter.  Add egg mixture all at once to flour mixture.  Stir just until moistened (batter should be lumpy).  Fold in peanuts.  Spoon batter into the prepared loaf pan, spreading evenly.  Drizzle with ¼ cup strawberry preserves; swirl slightly to marble. If desired, sprinkle with Streusel-Nut Topping.

 Bake about 70 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.  If necessary to prevent overbrowning, cover loosely with foil for the last 15 minutes of baking.  Cool in pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes.  Remove from pan.  Cool completely on a wire rack.  Wrap and store overnight.

 In a small microwave-safe bowl, microwave the remaining strawberry preserves on 100 percent power (high) for 15 to 20 seconds or until melted, snipping any large pieces of fruit.  Drizzle melted preserves over the top of bread before slicing.  .

 

Streusel-Nut Topping

 

In a small bowl stir together 3 Tablespoons packed brown sugar and 2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour.  Using a pastry blender, cut in 4 teaspoons butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.  Stir in ¼ cup chopped peanuts.

*Tip:  Bananas mash most easily when they are a little overripe—a little more black than yellow and very aromatic.

 

Recipe from Better Homes and Gardens Fall Baking Magazine 2013.