Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

Summary: Good banana bread is really something special, especially when it contains chocolate chips. But too often, it's dry, too sweet, not banana'y or a bad combination of those. This recipe, adapted from Elise Bauer's Banana Bread recipe, is the perfect blend of slightly sweet, overtly banana'y, wonderfully chocolaty and slightly whole grain.

Yield: 1 loaf

Ingredients:

• 3 extremely ripe bananas (the peels are really spotty or mostly brown)
• 5 tablespoons melted butter
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
• 1/3 cup chocolate chips (I prefer milk chocolate, either Ghirardelli or Guittard)

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 350° Fahrenheit, and prepare a loaf pan that's roughly 4" x 9.5" (either butter it or spray with nonstick spray).

Peel the bananas and put the pulp in a mixing bowl. Use a fork to mash the bananas thoroughly. Stir in the melted butter until evenly combined. Stir in the baking soda and sea salt, and then the sugar, beaten egg, and vanilla.

Sprinkle the flours over the top and gently fold them in; don't overmix the batter. When the flour is mostly incorporated, add the chocolate chips and fold gently until evenly distributed.

Pour batter into your prepared loaf pan, smooth the top and put into your heated oven. Cook thirty minutes or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean, trying to neither under- or over-cook.