Chocolate Hazelnut Banana Bread

Ever thought of something and smacked yourself, "Why didn't I think about that before?!" It happens to me a lot :)

I was at work and a friend was talking about the amazingness of Nutella. Because it really is amazing. And we were wishing it was calorie free. I told her that my son only eats peanut butter sandwiches if they include Nutella. Her husband dips his fruit into Nutella...and therefore counteracting anything healthy and low-calorie about his snack. Her favorite was dipping bananas in Nutella and then freezing it.

Gasp. Frozen Nutella banana. Dipped in crushed hazelnuts. I just died.

Nutella...with a bananas....

That's it! Why haven't I thought about this before (as I smack myself in the head)?! I can't really call it Nutella banana bread because I use the Kroger brand that is about a dollar cheaper and tastes just as delicious. And one of my tips...don't mash your bananans. I used a large bowl with egg beaters (as opposed to my Kitchenaid which was being used for cookie dough) and just threw the peeled bananas in. The beaters mash up some of the bananas and cut the rest into pea-size amounts. The best bites contain warm banana bits and Nutella. And then I have this urge not to share any of it.

Can you kind of see how the chocolate hazelnut spread kind of marbles? I just stick a butter knife in the loaf pan and swirl in around (usually I play and spell my name) and it moves the batter and spread around in a marble effect.

Chocolate Hazelnut Banana Bread
by Girls in Aprons

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter at room temperature
2 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs, beaten
5 overripe bananas
1 cup chocolate hazelnut spread (such as Nutella), microwaved until warm (about 15 seconds)

Preheat oven to 250 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease two 9x5 inch loaf pans or place cupcake liners in a muffin tin.

In a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt. In a separate bowl, cream together butter and brown sugar. Stir in vanilla, eggs, and overripe bananas until well blended. Stir banana mixture into flour mixture; stir just to moisten. Pour half of the batter into prepared loaf pan or muffin tins. Drizzle half of the chocolate hazelnut spread over the batter and repeat with the batter and spread. Using a knife, make zig-zag patterns in the batter. This will incorporate the chocolate hazelnut spread into a marble pattern.

Bake in preheated oven for 2 hours, until a toothpick inserted into center of the loaf comes out clean. Let bread cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.