Banana Bread with Chocolate Chips & Crystallized Ginger

If there is one thing every person - baker or not - should have in their arsenal is a good banana bread. I've been making this one for years. It's quick to throw together any night of the week, especially since my guess is you probably have a lot of the ingredients on hand already.

Not a fan of walnuts in my banana bread, I usually throw in chocolate chips. I wish I could take credit for the crystallized ginger idea, but it was actually from Molly over at Orangette (I write like I know her, which I don't, but wish I did; she is an amazing writer). The ginger adds an unexpected twist; a spicy sweetness that matches perfectly with the chocolate chips.

A note on the bananas: I have used fresh and brown bananas in this recipe. If you have bananas that go brown, throw them in the freezer. When you want to make banana bread, just take the bananas out of the freezer and thaw on a plate (it only takes about an hour). If you use fresh bananas, squish them up a bit in your hands as you throw them in (or mash them in a bowl with a potato masher).

Enjoy!

Banana Bread with Chocolate Chips & Crystallized Ginger

Makes 1 loaf

1 c sugar

1/4 c unsalted butter, softened

3 ripe bananas

1/4 c fat-free milk

1/4 plain yogurt

2 egg whites

2 c unbleached all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 c bittersweet chocolate chips

1/4 c finely chopped crystallized ginger

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9x5 pan with cooking spray (or whatever you use).

Combine sugar and butter in a bowl; beat at medium speed until well blended. Add banana, milk, yogurt, and egg whites; beat well.

Add flour, baking soda, & salt and beat just until blended (overbeating will make the bread more dense). Gently fold in the chocolate chips and crystallized ginger.

Spoon batter into prepared loaf pan. Bake for 1 hour and 10 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool in pan for 10 minutes; remove from pans. Cool completely on a wire rack.