Oatmeal Banana Bread

Every time I buy bananas, I say to myself, "Oh yeah, I can eat these up in time". By time, I mean before they start to brown. Well, despite my motivation to eat them up, I'm always left with two to three bananas that have all of a sudden browned and I know I won't eat. As a result, I start thinking about what to do with the browned bananas. I've tried several banana bread and muffin recipes, as well a banana cookie recipes.

An ingredient that I was usually looking for when searching through banana recipes was CHOCOLATE. I thought banana bread without chocolate chips just doesn't seem right. However, the chocolate chips makes the bread sweet and feel more decadent which normally is good but for me it never worked out. The only time I'm interested in eating banana bread or muffins is in the mornings but if there are sweet and seem more of a dessert, I won't eat them for breakfast. As a result, only a few muffins and a portion of the bread gets eaten which means more was wasted than just the lonely two or three bananas I started with.

This oatmeal banana bread recipe is a great addition to your morning coffee. It's not too sweet and the oats makes if feel more hardy. However, if you want banana bread with your evening cup of decaf coffee, simply add about 1 cup of chocolate chips to the dry ingredients. :)

I put an oat topping onto this patch of bread. To make this topping simply cut 1/4 cup of cold butter into 1/4 cup flour, 1/3 brown sugar, 1/4 cup oats, and 1 teaspoon of cinnamon.

Oatmeal Banana Batter

Oatmeal Banana Bread

Ingredients

2 Eggs, Beaten

1 Teaspoon Vanilla

1/3 Cup Heavy Cream

1/4 Cup Oil

1 Cup Mashed Bananas

1 1/2 Cups Flour

1/3 Cup White Sugar

1/3 Cup Brown Sugar

1 1/2 Teaspoons Baking Powder

1/4 Teaspoon Baking Soda

3/4 Cup Oats

Directions

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. 

Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl and mix wet ingredients in a smaller bowl. 

Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and stir until flour is fully incorporated. 

Pour batter into a greased 8 inches x 4 inches bread pan. 

Bake for approximately 55 minutes. If you are able to, insert a toothpick into the bread to ensure the bread is done before removing. You can remove the bread from the oven if the toothpick comes back clean. 

Let the bread cool before cutting into it.  

Alternative Ideas

As with most recipes on my blog, there are tons of creative ways to play with a banana bread recipe. How I decide to tweak recipes just depends on my imagination and what I already have in my kitchen. Here are some suggestions:

Espresso: Adding a tablespoon of instant espresso powder tends to be a hit. However, you could try replaying the heavy cream for strong brewed coffee but I would make sure the coffee has cooled down before adding it. 

Orange Zest: Adding a tablespoon or two of orange zest would give the bread a nice fresh flavor. If you decide to add orange zest and like nuts, a good addition to the bread would be an orange pecan topping. For the topping,cut in 4 tablespoons of cold butter into 1/4 cup flour, 1/4 cup oats, and 1/3 cup brown sugar. Mix in 1/4 cup chopped pecans, and 1/4 cup orange juice. Place topping onto bread batter then place in the oven. 

Nuts: Again, I prefer nuts placed on top of some baked goods, such as brownies and breads, so that it preserves the texture. However, if you prefer nuts baked into the bread, roast 1 1/2 cups of pecans or walnuts. Once roasted, roughly chop them and add to the dry ingredients of the batter. 

Eat, Share, and Enjoy!