First of all, thanks for everyone who shared feedback, either in comments or by email. I really appreciate it! I haven’t decided quite what to do yet. I have a few things to post that I have full step-by-step pictures on… maybe I’ll do a little of both moving forward. We’ll see.

But let’s move past the business part and talk about chocolate. And bananas. Chocolate and bananas. Yummy!

I can’t believe I haven’t shared this with all of you yet! I have actually made this banana bread many times over now, and I think these pictures date back to about a year ago. I thought I had accidentally deleted these pictures, but I ran across them while looking through my Flickr for something else. So what better occasion to share them with you? Do yourself a favor and go buy some bananas and let them rot on the counter. We’ve got some CHOCOLATE banana bread to make!

You’ll need: Flour, unsweetened cocoa powder, baking powder, salt, baking soda, unsalted butter, sugar, brown sugar, eggs, ripe bananas, buttermilk, bittersweet chocolate.

In a bowl, add two cups of flour

1 cup of unsweetened cocoa powder

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda, and the 1/2 teaspoon of salt that I forgot to take a picture of. (And may have forgotten to put in entirely. Shhh…)

Whisk to combine your dry ingredients and set aside. (Confession: The directions call for these ingredients to be sifted together. I am both too lazy and do not own a device for sifting. So there you go.)

In a large bowl, place 1 stick of room temperature unsalted butter.

Beat the butter at medium speed for about a minute, until soft.

Add 3/4 cup sugar

and 1/2 cup packed brown sugar and beat for 2 minutes.

Add the eggs, one at a time

Beat for one minute after adding each egg.

Add your two ripe bananas that have been mashed

and mix them in on low speed.

Add the dry ingredients, but in 3 separate additions, not all at once.

Mix only until the dry ingredients disappear into the batter.

Add 3/4 cup of buttermilk. (I cheated and used “buttermilk” created out of regular milk and vinegar.)

Mix that in until it’s incorporated in the batter.

Add 3 oz. of coarsely chopped bittersweet chocolate.

Gently stir in the chocolate.

Meanwhile, grease a 9×5 loaf pan

Pour the banana bread batter into the loaf pan, and stick it in the oven at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Note: The recipe calls for the loaf pan to be place on an insulated baking sheet, or two regular baking sheets. I did this the first time, and had to extend the baking time by about half an hour. The second time, I used one baking sheet and removed it after the first half an hour and my banana bread turned out perfect. Your mileage may vary…

After 30 minutes, cover the banana bread loosely with foil and then return it to the oven for an additional 40-45 minutes. (Or until a thin knife inserted in the center of the bread comes out clean.)

Cool in the pan on a wire rack for about 20 minutes before removing the banana bread from the pan and cooling it completely on the wire rack.

Enjoy!

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Banana Bread
Source: Joy the Baker

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 stick (8 Tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup (packed) light brown sugar
2 large eggs
2 ripe bananas, mashed
3/4 cup buttermilk
3 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 9×5 inch loaf pan and place it on an insulated baking sheet or on two regular baking sheets one on top of the other. This extra insulation will keep the bottom of the bread from overbaking.

Sift together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, salt ad baking soda.

Working with a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the butter at medium speed for about a minute until soft. Add the sugars and beat for 2 minutes more. Add the egs one at a time, beating for a minute after each addition. At this point , the batter may look a little curdled- it’s ok. Reduce the mixer speed to low and mix in the mashed bananas. Add the dry ingredients in three additions, mixing only until they disappear into the batter. Still on low sweep, add the buttermilk, mixing until it is incorporated. Stir in the chopped chocolate. Scrape batter into prepared pan.

Bake for 30 minutes. Cover the bread loosely with a foil tend to keep the top from getting too dark, and continue to bake for another 40-45 minutes (total baking time is between 70 and 75 minutes), or until a thin knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Transfer the pan to a rack and cool for at least 20 minutes before running a knife around the edges of the bread and unmolding it. Invert and cool to room temperature right side up.

This is another recipe I found over at The Life and Loves of Grumpy’s Honeybunch. I knew I wanted to make it as soon as I saw it. A few people were a little bit leery of the coconut/lime/banana combination, but it. was. amazing. Seriously. The bread was moist and delicious, and the light tang of the lime glaze just sent it over the top. I have some rotting bananas in the kitchen that are just begging me to make this again.

Here’s what you’ll need:

Ripe bananas, flour, sugar, powdered sugar, baking soda, plain yogurt, eggs, salt, butter, vanilla, coconut, lime, and rum (I used coconut rum).

In a bowl, combine two cups of flour

3/4 teaspoon of baking soda

and 1/2 teaspoon of salt.

Stir with a whisk to combine and set aside.

In a large bowl, add 1/4 cup of softened butter. And actually, putting together this entry, I’m pretty sure that’s 1/2 cup of butter in the bowl. Oh well, 1/2 cup of butter was still freaking delicious!

Add 1 cup of sugar

And beat until well combined.

Add the eggs one at a time.

Beat well after each addition.

Add 1 1/2 cups of mashed banana. For me, this was 3 large bananas.

1/4 cup of yogurt

3 Tablespoons of rum. The recipe called for dark rum. I used coconut rum because hello? Coconut banana bread? And it’s what I had.

1/2 teaspoon of vanilla

Mix that up.

Gradually add the flour mixture

mixing until just combined.

Add 1/2 cup coconut.

Stir it in

Then pour the batter into a greased loaf pan.

Sprinkle coconut on top, then bake at 350 for one hour.

Cool on a wire rack for about 10 minutes. Then turn it out onto the wire rack, and it’s time for the lime glaze.

In a small bowl, add 1/2 cup powdered sugar

and 1 1/2 Tablespoons of fresh lime juice.

Whisk it together

and drizzle it over the top of your still warm bread.

I am salivating at these pictures, y’all. This bread was SO good… do yourself a favor and try it as soon as you can!

Coconut Banana Bread with Lime Glaze
Cooking Light Magazine (found at Grumpy’s Honeybunch

2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup butter, softened
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups mashed ripe banana (about 3 bananas)
1/4 cup plain low-fat yogurt
3 tablespoons dark rum
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup flaked sweetened coconut
Cooking spray
1 tablespoon flaked sweetened coconut
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lime or lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350°.

Lightly spoon the flour into dry measuring cups, and level with a knife. Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt, stirring with a whisk to combine.

Place granulated sugar and butter in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended (about 1 minute). Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add banana, yogurt, rum, and vanilla; beat until blended. Add flour mixture; beat at low speed just until moist. Stir in 1/2 cup coconut. Spoon batter into a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan coated with cooking spray; sprinkle with 1 tablespoon coconut. Bake at 350° for 1 hour or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes in pan on a wire rack; remove from pan. Combine powdered sugar and juice, stirring with a whisk; drizzle over warm bread. Cool bread completely on wire rack.