Peanut Butter Banana Bread

Just the other afternoon I found myself looking for something on the healthy side to have for lunch.  I wasn't in a cooking sorta mood, I just wanted something quick.  I settled on making a peanut butter banana sandwich.  Is that really healthy, I don't know, but it's better than McD's so I say yes.  It was one of those rainy days where you just want to stay in bed and watch movies all day.  So I thought what the hell, I'm going to stay in bed and watch movies all day!  So I brought my PBB sandwich, wrapped in paper towel to avoid crumbage, back to bed and watched HBO alllllll day.  I sure did.

Later the rain let up a bit and I ran out to the mailbox.  There waiting for me was my Cooking Light magazine..with the most fantastic looking bread on the cover: Peanut Butter Banana Bread.  I couldn't believe I never thought of this before, and how ironic given I just had it for lunch!  It was meant to be.  And I knew I had to make it at once...

This bread is really fantastic.  It's nicely moist and has a perfect blend between peanut butter and banana.  

And the peanut butter glaze on the top?

Good heavens.

Give it a try!

Peanut Butter Banana Bread

Recipe from Cooking Light, October 2010

1&1/2 cups mashed ripe banana
1/3 cup plain fat free yogurt
1/3 cup creamy peanut butter
3 Tbsp butter, melted
2 large eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1&1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup ground flaxseed (I didn't have it and didn't miss it)
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground allspice
2 Tbsp chopped dry-roasted peanuts (I didn't have this either)
Cooking Spray

GLAZE
1/3 cup powdered sugar
1 Tbsp lowfat milk
1 Tbsp creamy peanut butter

Preheat oven to 350.  To prepare bread, combine first 5 ingredients in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed.  Add granulated and brown sugars; beat until blended.

Sift together flour and next 5 ingredients (thru allspice) in a small bowl.  Add flour mixture to banana mixture; beat until just blended.  Stir in nuts.  Pour batter into a 9x5 in loaf pan coated with cooking spray.  Bake at 350 for 1 hour and 5 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.  Remove from oven, cool 10 minutes in pan on a wire rack.  Remove bread from pan, cool.

To prepare the glaze, combine ingredients in a small bowl and stir with a whisk.  Drizzle over bread.

There's several other great banana bread recipes in this issue -- Bananas Foster Bread?!  Yes please, I will make you next!!  All in all, a very recommendable issue of Cooking Light.