Almond Butter Chocolate Chunk Banana Bread

Do you ever look over at your fruit bowl and see your bananas start to get just a little bit brown? And then choose to ignore them so you can bake something with them? I hate to admit I do this more often than not. I have made a lot of baked goods with bananas in them (remember these?), however I had never tried putting almond butter in the batter before. What a game changer! Combined with chocolate chunks, the flavor and texture is amazing. You are going to want to let your bananas get brown just so you can make this recipe! 

I cleaned up the ingredients for this bread so that it fits most allergy restrictions, and you don't have to feel bad about eating it. To insure each bite has that amazing chocolate flavor, I used my favorite semisweet chocolate chunks. A good quality chocolate makes a big difference in this recipe. 

When my husband got home from work the day I made this, he walked in the door saying how amazing the house smelled! After dinner we enjoyed a few too many slices of the bread for dessert and had some for breakfast the next morning. This bread did not last long in our house! In fact, I see some bananas on our counter that are turning brown and I am thinking of making another loaf. It's that good! 

I hope you give this recipe a try and enjoy it as much as we do! Be sure to let me know how you like it below or on my Instagram. Happy baking :) 

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Almond Butter Banana Bread Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup real maple syrup
• 1/2 cup almond milk
• 1 egg
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 3 cup overripe bananas, mashed (about 1 cup)
• 1/4 cup coconut sugar
• 1 1/2 cup extra fine almond flour
• 1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup chocolate chunks
• 1/2 cup creamy almond butter

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan and line with parchment paper. In a mixing bowl, combine the maple syrup, almond milk, egg, vanilla, banana, and coconut sugar until well combined. Beat in the almond flour, baking soda and salt until just combined.

2. Stir in the chocolate chunks. Now take the almond butter and add it to the batter in teaspoon full size dollops and then gently swirl it into the batter. Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and sprinkle with chocolate chunks if desired...you may also now push in a few extra teaspoons of almond butter too!

3. Place loaf pan on a baking sheet and set in the oven. Bake for 50-60 minutes, or until center is set. If the top begins to brown (mine did after about 45 minutes), tent the bread with aluminum foil. Remove and let cool for at least 30 minutes before cutting. Bread will keep (covered) for 3-5 days. Serve and enjoy! 

* This recipe was adapted from this original recipe.

Chocolate Chip and M&M Cookie Bars

During the holiday season it is so easy to let the stress of it all take away from truly enjoying it. This year I am focused on simplifying my approach to the holidays from our decorations, to the gifts and everything in between. One way I am simplifying my gifting is by only baking one recipe that I can give out to most everyone. My chocolate chip and M&M cookie bars are the perfect option because you can individually wrap them and they are incredibly delicious! 

This past weekend my husband helped me prepare a pan of these cookie bars and we packaged them up to give out as gifts. I love about having him in the kitchen with me because it is always way more fun! Flour ends up all over the place, and the end result always tastes better knowing how much fun we had preparing it. In this case, he started by sifting all of the dry ingredients while I handled the other ingredients. 

I like to use equal parts of three different kinds of chocolate in these bars: milk chocolate chips, bittersweet chocolate chips and of course, M&M's. You could also substitute nuts in but if I am making these for a crowd I like to stick with chocolate to avoid any nut allergies. 

Once the cookie bars have cooled completely (I like to cool mine overnight), I cut them into individual servings to package them up. 

We made our gifting list and got out our favorite packaging supplies. I love to use these gift pouches, baking twine, gift tags, and a little sprig of greenery. You could also use these bags. If you use cotton bags, be sure to individually wrap the cookie bars in plastic wrap first so they stay fresh. 

We hope you enjoy a holiday season filled with laughter, joy and these amazing chocolate chip and M&M cookie bars :)

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Chocolate Chip and M&M Cookie Bar Recipe

Ingredients:

• 2 1/4 cup all-purpose flour

• 1 Tsp. baking soda

• 1/2 Tsp. salt

• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, brought to room temperature

• 3/4 cups granulated sugar

• 3/4 cups light brown sugar 

• 2 Tsp. vanilla extract 

• 2 eggs, brought to room temperature

• 1 cup milk chocolate chips 

• 1 cup bittersweet chocolate chips 

• 1 cup M&M's 

* Can also substitute 2 cups of chopped walnuts or pecans for the milk chocolate chips and M&M's

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Grease and flour a 9x 13 in. pan. 

2. Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt.

3. Beat the butter and sugars together with the vanilla extract. Beat in the eggs. Stir the flour mixture, and chocolate into the mixture until combined.

4. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan. Bake 25 minutes until golden brown. Remove from the oven and let them cool completely. 

Brown Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Do you ever feel like baking cookies just because? Or rather, do you ever feel like eating cookies just because? I'm sure we can all relate on some level when it comes to cookies. It is no secret that my husband has a very strong love for chocolate chip cookies. So much so that they even made it into our wedding vows.

My Husband recently hinted (more like made it known) that he was craving chocolate chip cookies. I wanted to try a new recipe so I turned to one of my favorite food bloggers that happens to have a plethora of amazing cookie recipes and practically ran to the kitchen to make her brown butter chocolate chunk cookie recipe.

The brown butter gives the cookies an amazing depth of flavor with a crispy crunch on the outside of the cookies, leaving them nice and soft in the middle. That is my favorite kind of cookie to bite into!

I used a mix of chocolate chunks that I chopped off of a block of semi-sweet chocolate combined with milk chocolate chips. Whenever I bake chocolate chip cookies of any kind, I always like to have a combination of chocolate to give it a nice richness in flavor. 

There is nothing more that I love than the baking process and surprising the ones you love with a sweet treat! My husband came home from work and proclaimed that it was one of the best chocolate chip cookies he's ever had, and I would have to agree with him. The next time you feel like baking cookies or just eating them, be sure to give this recipe a try! 

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Brown Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Ingredients: 

Yields 24 servings

• 3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons instant vanilla pudding mix
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 cup chocolate chunks
• 1/2 cup milk chocolate chips 

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. and line large baking sheet with parchment paper or a silpat liner.
2. Place butter into a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook and swirl pan often until butter is browned. Brown bits will form at the bottom of the pan and butter will turn golden. Transfer to a heat proof bowl to cool for 10 minutes.
3. Place butter and sugars into a large mixing bowl. Stir until well combined. Add egg and vanilla, stirring until well combined. Slowly stir in flour, pudding mix, salt, baking soda and chocolate chunks until just combined. 
4. Use a small to medium size cookie scoop and scoop dough onto prepared cookie sheet placing 1 inch apart. Bake for 12 minutes, until edges just turn golden. Remove and let cool for 5 minutes before transferring. Enjoy room temperature.

* Recipe from Picky Palate