Banana Bread Bribery

The past few months at work, we've at a high school intern coming in every other week to learn about working in an office. Fortunately for everyone involved, she loved filing and helped us get a lot done in a short amount of time! Last Wednesday was her last day, although if all goes as planned she'll be coming back a bit during the summer to help us out some more.

Just to sweeten the deal and ensure she doesn't forget about us, I made some treats for her last day. I also realized that I hadn't baked anything to bring into work since I started this new job in January. From what I can tell, I did good with these babies:


I've actually made this chocolate swirl banana bread before as a loaf. It translates easily into muffins, although I found it hard to actually swirl the chocolate through...much easier to do as a loaf, but I'm certain it tastes just the same.


Chocolate Swirl Banana Bread
Source

2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups mashed ripe banana (about 3 bananas)
2 eggs
1/3 cup plain low-fat yogurt (you can use flavored if that's what you have on hand)
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350. Measure the flour by spooning into the measuring cups. Place flour, salt, and baking soda into a bowl and stir to combine.

Place sugar and butter into a large mixing bowl and mix to combine, about 1 minute. Add egg, yogurt, and banana. Mix to blend, then add flour mixture. Blend until moist and fully combined.

Melt chocolate chips in a microwave or over low heat until just melted. Allow to cool slightly. Add 1 cup of the batter to the chocolate and stir until blended.

If making muffins, fill baking cups by alternating the batter, then swirl though with a knife. If making a loaf, grease a bread pan and alternate layers of chocolate and plain batter, then swirling through with a knife. For extra decoration, place banana slices on top and press down.

For muffins, bake for 50-55 minutes, or until testing done. As a loaf, bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until it tests done.