Peanut Butter Banana Bread

Cinnamon infused banana bread swirled with peanut butter and topped with a crunchy streusel, this bread is the perfect treat for any brunch or afternoon party!

This past weekend, my friend Margot hosted a 31 Bags party at her house.  I’ve never been to one of these parties and to be honest, I didn’t know what 31 bags were before she told me about having her party.  I looked over the catalog and they have a bag that could possibly hold my camera and my giant computer, so I’m excited!  (Turns out – the bag won’t fit my laptop, but I did order lots of other great stuff!)

I offered to bake some yummies for the party.   The party began at 11am, so Margot decided on  a yogurt & fruit bar as well as serving mini quiches for her guests.  We bothdecided a sliced sweet bread would go great with the breakfast/brunch theme! Food always brings people together and makes any party better!

And… if you know anything about me, I can never make anything the same way twice (why waste an opportunity for another blog post with a new recipe – ha ha!), I need to come up with something delicious and new.

I started with my daughter’s recipe for banana bread.  It’s a classic and can be easily made with a variety of mix-ins or toppings.    I decided on a peanut butter, cream cheese swirl though out the bread and a crunch streusel topping.  This Peanut Butter Banana Bread will be perfect for the party!

I’m also making an oatmeal cookie for a sweet, but still “brunchy” dessert.  At the time of writing this post, however, I had not decided what kind to make.  So if you see a link somewhere, it means I made it and posted the recipe.  If not, oh well! HA!

So, if you need a delicious, quick bread for a brunch or afternoon party… this bread is a perfect choice!

Enjoy!

PS… Here’s a cute picture of me and Margot not too long ago!  We ran the Pink up the Pace 5K with our babies in tow! So fun!

Peanut Butter Banana Bread

Yield: 1 loaf of bread

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour

Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes

Print

Ingredients

Banana Bread

• 1 cup granulated sugar
• ½ cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2 large eggs
• 4 ripe small bananas
• 1/4 cup buttermilk
• 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt

Peanut Butter Swirl

• 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
• 2oz cream cheese, room temperature
• 2 Tbsp heavy cream or milk

Streusel Topping

• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, cold & cubed
• 1/2 cup quick oats

Instructions

Banana Bread

1. Preheat oven to 350 F degrees. Line a loaf pan with parchment paper then grease and flour it.
2. In a small bowl, mash with a fork the bananas until chunky. Add the buttermilk, cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla and stir until combined.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
4. In the bowl of your stand mixer, cream the butter and sugar together for 1 minute.
5. One at a time, add the eggs and scrape the sides of the bowl after each addition. Mix on high for 1 minute.
6. Add the bananas and mix until just combined.
7. In three parts, add the flour and mix until no more flour can be seen. Do not overmix!

Peanut Butter Swirl

1. In a medium bowl, whip together with a hand mixer the cream cheese and peanut butter.
2. Mix in the cream until smooth.

Streusel Topping

1. In a medium bowl, combine all the ingredients.
2. Using a pastry blender or a fork, work the ingredients until it's a coarse meal texture.

Assembly & Baking

1. Spread a third of the batter evenly onto the bottom of the prepared pan. Scoop tablespoon dollops of peanut butter mixture on top. Using a butter knife, swirl the peanut butter into the batter.
2. Repeat this process two more times.
3. Sprinkle streusel mixture evenly over the top of the batter. NOTE: You'll only need about 2/3 of the topping. Save the rest for muffins or toss out.
4. Bake on the center rack of your oven for 60 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. You may need less or more time depending on your oven.
5. Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the pan for 10-15 minutes. Remove to a wire rack to cool completely or slice to serve warm with butter.

Nutrition Information

Amount Per Serving Calories 0Total Fat 0g