Banana-Nut-Chocolate Chip Quick Bread

[b-man]

Banana-Nut-Chocolate Chip Quick Bread


Bananas, nuts, and chocolate chips—what could be better? Use our quick bread dry mix to make this healthy,kid-friendly treat for the holidays—or any time. Choose muffins, mini-Bundt, mini-loaf or regular loaf pans for lots of options!

Total: 1 1/4 hours (muffins, mini Bundts), 1 1/2 hours (mini loaves), 2 1/4 hours (large loaf), including cooling times
To make ahead: Store, individually wrapped, at room temperature for up to 2 days or in the freezer for up to 1 month.

Ingredients:

Quick-Bread Dry Mix (see recipe below)
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 large eggs
1 cup nonfat buttermilk (see Substitution Tip)
2/3 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons butter, melted
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups diced banana
1/2 cup chopped toasted walnuts (see Cooking Tip), plus more for topping if desired
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips


1. Preheat oven to 400°F for muffins, mini loaves and mini Bundts or 375°F for a large loaf. Coat pan(s) (see “Pan Options,” below) with cooking spray.

2. Prepare Quick-Bread Dry Mix, adding nutmeg to it.

3. Whisk eggs, buttermilk, brown sugar, butter, oil and vanilla in a large bowl until well combined.

4. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients, pour in the wet ingredients and stir until just combined. Add banana, walnuts and chocolate chips. Stir just to combine; do not overmix. Transfer batter to the prepared pan(s). Top with additional walnuts, if desired.

5. Bake until golden brown and a wooden skewer inserted into the center comes out clean, 22 to 25 minutes for muffins or mini Bundts, 35 minutes for mini loaves, 1 hour 10 minutes for a large loaf. Let cool in the pan(s) for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack. Let muffins and mini Bundts cool for 5 minutes more, mini loaves for 30 minutes, large loaves for 40 minutes.

Makes 12 servings.
Per serving: 264 calories; 11 g fat (3 g sat, 3 g mono); 41 mg cholesterol; 37 g carbohydrate; 6 g protein; 3 g fiber; 183 mg sodium.

Substitution tip: No buttermilk? Mix 1 tablespoon lemon juice into 1 cup milk.

Cooking tip: To toast walnuts, pecans or hazelnuts, spread nuts onto a baking sheet and bake at 350°F, stirring once, until fragrant, 7 to 9 minutes. To toast sliced almonds, cook in a small dry skillet over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until fragrant and lightly browned, 2 to 4 minutes.

Pan Options

•1 large loaf (9-by-5-inch pan)
•3 mini loaves (6-by-3-inch pan, 2-cup capacity)
•6 mini Bundt cakes (6-cup mini Bundt pan, scant 1-cup capacity per cake)
•12 muffins (standard 12-cup, 2 1/2-inch muffin pan)


Quick-Bread Dry Mix

To make ahead: Stores nicely in a freezer bag in the freezer for up to 6 months.

In this versatile recipe, you may substitute whole-wheat flour for the whole-wheat pastry flour. For a more fiber-rich muffin, use all whole-wheat flour.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups whole-wheat pastry flour (see Ingredient Note) or whole-wheat flour
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt

Whisk whole-wheat flour, all-purpose flour, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda and salt.
Makes about 2 1/2 cups (12 1/2 ounces).

Ingredient note: Whole-wheat pastry flour, lower in protein than regular whole-wheat flour, has less gluten-forming potential, making it a better choice for tender baked goods. You can find it in the natural-foods section of large supermarkets and natural-foods stores. Store in the freezer.

B-man