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.

Banana Banana Bread with Crumb Topping

This week has been really stressful for me. Between working well over my allotted 8-5pm shift, my husband has been working even more, and my kids have been, well, crazy. I've worked through lunch, snacking on Ritz crackers and granola bars, because I don't have time to take my full hour lunch. My family has had cereal for dinner twice in a row, much to the celebration of the kiddos...although it's only Wednesday and we're already out of milk! And, here's the kicker, I have had about 6 hours of sleep each night. I'm more of a 8 or 9 hour kind of girl, so the 6 hour thing has me feeling more like a killer zombie on The Walking Dead (best show ever!).

So what's a girl like me to do when I'm stressed and tired and {possibly} grumpy?

Besides drink Diet Dr Pepper like it's a gift from heaven?

I bake. And chop vegetables. Those are two of my stress relievers. On rough days I can peel and chop a whole sack of potatoes, carrots, and celery and whip up a mean chicken noodle soup. But lately it's been all about the baking. Cookies, cupcakes, quick breads, dinner rolls...the girls at work think that I'm on a mission to make them all fat!

I made my fave banana bread recipe the other night. My grocery store sells the overripe bananas for 19 cents a pound, and by overripe I mean fruit flies are already cozying up to the bananas. So they're best used within a day or two. Sometimes I use the bananas in pancake mix or in smoothies, but in all honesty I prefer my banana bread over all that.

The best part about this bread, besides the obvious crumb topping which mimics a coffee cake, is the extra sliced bananas that go into the batter. I love finding a banana piece in my bread, it's soaked up the cinnamon and it's delicious. And, thanks to our dear friend Christina, I now know the secret to baking banana bread without a doughy center. Bake on a lower setting for a longer amount of time. Gives me an excuse to have the house smell like banana bread for 2 whole hours!

Banana Banana Bread with Crumb Topping
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 ripe banana, sliced into half-moons
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

For crumb topping
2 Tbsp brown sugar
2 Tbsp granulated sugar
1 tsp cinnamon


Preheat oven to 250 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan 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. Fold in sliced ripe banana. Pour batter into prepared loaf pan.

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.