Banana Bread with Chocolate and Crystallized Ginger

I've gotten to the point where I pretty much only read novels that have recipes in them. Don't get me wrong, regular novels are nice too; but food is such a part of my life, that I like reading stories where it's a part of the characters' lives too! And who can go wrong with a few new recipes?

I'm reading a book right now called A Homemade Life: Stories and Recipes from my Kitchen Table. It's a cute web of stories that tie to plenty of great recipes.



One recipe really caught my eye though: Banana Bread with Chocolate and Crystallized Ginger. The banana bread my mom made growing up always had chocolate chips in it (and no nuts - heaven forbid!), so this really is only a slight variation of my childhood favorite. I loved the idea of adding some chopped crystallized ginger to my recipe for a twist on a classic. Since I already love my tried-and-true banana bread recipe of my mom's, I decided to go ahead and make a loaf, and throw in some chopped crystallized ginger.

The result: wonderful! The ginger is really mild, but adds a wonderful sweet spice to the bread. Give it a try!

Chocolate Chip Banana Bread, now with Crystallized Ginger!

1/2 C butter
1 C sugar
2 eggs
2-3 ripe bananas (I generally freeze very ripe ones to save for this recipe)
3 T milk
2 C flour
1 t baking powder
1/2 t baking soda
1/2 C mini chocolate chips
1/4 C finely chopped crystallized ginger

Cream butter and sugar.



Add eggs and beat well.



Add bananas...



... as well as milk, flour, baking powder, and baking soda.



Beat until smooth.

Add mini chocolate chips and chopped ginger.



Fold in with a spatula. Pour batter into a large greased loaf pan.

Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes, lower temperature to 300 for another 15-20 minutes, until outside is browned and a toothpick comes out clean.



Hope you enjoy this twist on a classic!



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