Banana bread and peanut butter & jelly sandwiches are the two most characteristically American foods I can think of! Maybe when I ask you to name American foods, you think of hamburgers or barbecue or even hot dogs, but for me it's these two sweet treats. I lived in Europe for half my life, and I had literally never even seen peanut butter before moving to the States, and the first time I tasted banana bread was when we moved to Texas and the neighbors brought over a loaf as a welcome gift. Maybe other foods come to mind first because they are known across the globe as stereotypical American foods, but these two are things that I don't think are even found anywhere else. So, long story short, I decided to mash the two up into this gorgeous, delicious Frankenstein of a loaf. It's seriously the best thing ever.
For the "base" recipe of this banana bread, I decided to use my boyfriend's mom's famous recipe, which is basically flawless. It's so easy to make, and it bakes up into a dense, fluffy, flavorful loaf. It's perfect as-is, but then I decided to swirl in some peanut butter and locally made strawberry jam, which made it even better! This quick-bread is so simple to make and utterly delicious, and if you like PB&J sandwiches and banana bread, you better believe that they are even better when combined!
- ¼ cup unsalted butter, softened
- ¾ cup white sugar
- 1 egg
- 2 large bananas, mashed
- 2 cups unbleached white flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup milk
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ cup peanut butter {smooth or chunky, whatever you prefer; natural is okay, too}
- ½ cup strawberry jam
- nonstick spray
- Preheat the oven to 350F, and generously spray a 9x5 loaf pan with nonstick spray.
- In a large bowl, use a mixer to beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
- Add in the egg and vanilla, and beat to combine; then add in the mashed bananas.
- Pour in 1 cup of the flour, along with the salt, baking powder, and baking soda.
- Mix until combined, then add in the milk and mix in slowly.
- Finally, add in the rest of the flour and mix until smooth.
- Add about half the peanut butter into the batter, and mix vigorously to combine.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan, and drop spoonfuls of the remaining peanut butter and jam on top.
- Using a butter knife, swirl the toppings around and into the banana bread. Make sure you don't mix them in too much!
- Bake for about 40 minutes in preheated oven, then cover with foil and bake for 20-30 additional minutes.
- Let cool completely before removing from pan and cutting!
Sharana @ Living The Sweet Life Blog says
Yummm - I'm so in love with this bread, such a good idea!!