Nutella Banana Bread

Did I ever tell you... among my many proclivities, I love to bake. No? Well, it's true. So, I decided that it's high time I share a recipe with all of you.

My friend Molly insists that the reason Nutella is so addictive is because it contains crack. I'm inclined to agree.

I was given a largish tub of the stuff for a Christmas present. As much as I'd like to justify spooning it into my mouth like so much pudding, I just can't. But that unopened jar has been staring at me for the past couple of weeks. And those nearly rotten bananas have been staring at me for days. So, like the man said, when your sole purpose in life is to entertain the gods, there's nothing to do but put on a good show.

In a fit of inspiration, and hunger, and addiction to Nutella denial, I re-invented my standard banana bread recipe today by adding in some Nutella and mini chocolate chips. Because one kind of chocolate just isn't enough, right? Of course right.

So, with a nod to Molly, I may just change the name of this recipe to Banana Bread On Crack.

Here's the recipe:

1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup Nutella
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
3 very ripe, mashed bananas
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 cup mini chocolate chips

Pre-heat the oven to 325 degrees. Grease two bread pans.

In a small mixing bowl, mix together the flour, soda, and salt and set aside.

Cream together the butter, Nutella, and sugar.

Add the eggs and blend well.

Add the vanilla, bananas, and buttermilk. Stir until blended.

Dump in the dry ingredients and stir just until it comes together. Do not over mix.

With a wooden spoon or spatula, gently stir in the chocolate chips.

Spoon into baking pans and bake for 45 minutes to an hour.

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If you manage to still have some Nutella hanging around, spread a little of it on a warm slice of this stuff.

But don't blame me if you end up needing a 12-step program!