Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

This was by far the best banana bread I've had. There. I said it.

In all seriousness though, this bread was SO moist, flavorful, and the addition of the chocolate was absolutely fantastic. I am a chocolate lover though, so anywhere you want to put in some chocolate is OK by me!

I'm not the only one who thought this bread was great though; my husband and co workers devoured it! In fact, I had one coworker who described it as a "banana cake" rather then a banana bread, and I have to say I agree with him. While it certainly wasn't overly sweet, the texture just reminded you of a delicious cake!

I followed the recipe exactly, which obviously worked well and came out great. Next time I might use 1/2 butter and 1/2 shortening, just to see what it does to the flavor (and because I hate using shortening) but really this is just a great recipe as is. Definitely a keeper and a perfect way to use your overly ripened bananas!

Ingredients
Source: AllRecipes.com

1 cup shortening
2 cups white sugar
2 eggs
2 tablespoons mayonnaise (I used light mayo which worked fine!)
6 very ripe bananas, mashed
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (I omitted)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease two 9x5 inch loaf pans.
In a large bowl, cream together the shortening and sugar until light and fluffy. Stir in the eggs one at a time, beating well with each addition. Stir in the mayonnaise and bananas. Stir together the flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda. Blend the flour mixture into the banana mixture; stir just enough to evenly combine. Fold in the chocolate chips and walnuts.
Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean, about 50 to 75 minutes. Cool loaf in the pan for 20 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.