Indulge in this Gluten Free Chocolate Banana Bread with Peanut Butter Swirl for your next sweet breakfast or afternoon snack. It’s perfectly fudgy with pockets of melted chocolate chips and a drizzle of peanut butter on top.
ME BEFORE THE RECIPE…
So Ben has basically been gone for about 2/3 of the past 2 weeks. Fun, huh??? Funny thing is, every time he returns home from being out of town he so proudly asks me, “I bet you’re glad I’m back, right?!”
It’s always stated in this tone as if I can’t handle the girls on my own, like they’ve run me ragged to an early death or something. Well yes, don’t get me wrong. I do appreciate the help while Ben is home. He is the master launderer, garbage taker outer, floor sweeper, dish washer, and lunch box transferer (he puts the girls’ lunches and water bottles in their backpacks every morning).
Wow, that sure makes it sound like Ben is my passive personal gopher, fulfilling my every will and deed. I swear it’s not like that. Ben stands his ground just fine in this house. I just got lucky with a go getter hubby that takes a proactive approach to doing chores around the house.
BUT, when it comes to managing the girls and getting food on the table, this mama is the Queen B. Both girls are on their very best behavior when I’m around. What can I say? I’m the disciplinarian around here; always have been, always will be.
Ben just assumes that my days alone with the girls are identical to his days alone with the girls, but they couldn’t be more opposite. I tell Ben all the time that our kiddos play him when I’m gone. They run him to the ground to the point that he surrenders with Chick-Fil-A, treats, and a movie every single time. Every. Single. Time. He’s just gotta be a little tougher on those rugrats.
Not only do I keep those munchkins’ attitudes in check, but I effectively manage their overly packed schedules to a tee. Between dance, gymnastics, and cheer, we are busy most days of the week. Plus, I had an extra church activity I had to bring the girls to this week, along with a radio commercial recording for Emry downtown. Ben would have hyperventilated if he had to chauffeur the girls to these various activities.
So when Ben asks me, “Aren’t you glad I’m back?!”, I have to giggle and think to myself, “Babe, I haven’t even had time to notice you were gone!”
Case and point, I was almost an hour late to pick him up from the airport yesterday. Seriously, I felt so bad. He probably thought we had forgotten about him. Fact of the matter is, after a busy baking day, church, entertaining the kids, making dinner, and cleaning up…I was just flat out behind schedule. It didn’t help that his plane landed almost a half hour early. It’s okay, though, he just enjoyed a little extra alone time before being bombarded by his three favorite gals.
That’s right, he thinks he misses us until about two minutes into being home. Then he realizes why he was excited to leave in the first place. Us Gundersen women can be pretty demanding.
HERE COMES THE RECIPE…
But back to being late to the airport. I’m gonna be honest. My guilt only lasted for so long…for like maybe two minutes or so. Because really the whole reason I was running behind is the fact that I was testing out the recipe for this Gluten Free Chocolate Banana Bread with Peanut Butter Swirl one more time before posting it. I had to make sure it was absolutely perfect for ya’ll. And guess what??? It is!
Oh, and I would have had enough time to make it and bake it myself, but let’s remember I had two crazy gremlins begging to help. And by begging to help I really mean fighting and arguing and bickering over who is measuring which ingredient. Oh, the joys of baking with kids!
But once those loaves were in the oven and the house started smelling like a mix between a chocolate factory and a hometown bakery, all pouting turned to smiles. The girls were eyeballing my two tester muffins from the moment they came out of the oven. Am I such a terrible mom for making them wait until after they ate dinner to taste the fruits of their labor??? Nah, I didn’t think so.
This gluten free chocolate banana bread is downright heavenly. I made a similar batch a few weeks ago and just wasn’t quite satisfied with the flavor and texture. It was a little heavier/fudgier, which sounds like a good thing, but it’s not. I don’t want a mouthful of fudge when I’m trying to enjoy a sweet loaf of banana bread. Chocolaty=GOOD. Fudgy=BAD.
Plus, I had used cacao powder instead of cocoa powder, which I thought was the same thing. But apparently it’s not. Cacao powder has a more bitter taste, which was unappealing in the first batch. That didn’t stop Braelyn from inhaling the first batch though. I swear that kid eats anything with sugar and chocolate as part of the ingredients. She could care less about the slight differences in flavor or texture.
But I do! My perfectionism in baking is both a blessing and a curse. A curse because sometimes I waste numerous hours and ingredients (aka, money) trying to get recipes just right, but a blessing because you end up with recipes like this: chocolate heaven!
Since Braelyn absolutely loves the combination of chocolate and peanut butter, I decided to drizzle the tops of the loaves with some natural peanut butter and a handful of extra chocolate chips before baking. It made for the most delicious topping! The chocolate gets all melty, the peanut butter is smooth and warm, and the edges of the bread crisp up to perfection. Glorious! You can leave the peanut butter out if you’re not a fan, but really, who are you?!
And as for the inside of the bread??? It’s just as addictive. It’s so soft and tender and moist with little pockets of melted chocolate from the folded in chocolate chips. It’s so divinely indulgent that I would go ahead and count it as dessert; dessert you can pretend is breakfast since it’s technically “banana bread”. It will be our little secret.
So if you’re looking for the most fabulous gluten free chocolate banana bread, look no further. I guarantee it doesn’t get any better than this. I’d be willing to bet my only two children on it…wait, some days I’m actually willing to give those up…I’d bet my helpful husband on it! There’s no way I’m letting him go!
YOU MIGHT ALSO ENJOY…
- Gluten Free Dark Chocolate Muffins
- Gluten Free Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Gluten Free Maple Cinnamon Banana Bread
- Gluten Free Pumpkin Banana Bread
- Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Banana Pancakes
- 1 stick butter, melted
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 1 cup sugar
- ¾ cup brown sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 1½ cups mashed ripened bananas (about 4-5)
- ½ cup full fat sour cream
- ½ cup hot water
- 1 cup cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2½ teaspoons baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon xanthan gum (only if your flour blend doesn't already contain a gum)
- 2½ cups high quality gluten free all-purpose flour or my preferred blend: ⅔ cup white rice flour (100 g), ½ cup brown rice flour (65 g), ½ cup sorghum flour (66 g), ½ cup tapioca starch (62 g), and ¼ c potato starch (40 g)
- 2 cups semi sweet chocolate chips, divided
- ½ cup natural stir peanut butter (optional)
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease six mini or three standard nonstick loaf pans and set aside. Line with parchment paper if desired. If making muffins, fill muffin tins with 24-30 liners. Set aside.
- Melt butter in a large microwave safe mixing bowl. Add oil, granulated sugar, brown sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Whisk until smooth. In a small mixing bowl, mash bananas until soupy. Transfer to large mixing bowl. Add sour cream and mix until smooth and fully incorporated.
- In a microwave safe bowl, heat water for 1 minute. Remove from microwave and add ¾ cup cocoa powder. Whisk until a smooth paste forms. Add to batter and whisk until smooth. Add remaining ¼ cup cocoa powder to batter and whisk until smooth.
- In a separate smaller mixing bowl, sift together salt, baking powder, baking soda, xanthan gum (if your flour blend doesn't already contain a gum), and gluten free flour (or my preferred blend). Add dry ingredients to wet and stir until fully incorporated, scraping down bottom and sides of the bowl. Let batter sit for 10 mins.
- Add 1¼ cups chocolate chips and stir to combine. Divide batter between mini loaf pans, standard loaf pans, or muffin tins, filling ¾ way full. Microwave peanut butter for 30 seconds and stir until smooth. Drizzle on tops of loaves or muffins. Gently swirl once or twice through with a knife. Add remaining chocolate chips on top and gently press down so they stick to the batter.
- Bake mini tins for 35-40 mins, standard tins for 55-65 mins, and muffins for 18-22 mins or until tops of loaves bounce back at touch of a finger and toothpick inserted into centers comes out clean with few moist crumbs or melted chocolate (just no wet batter).
- Remove tins from oven and let loaves sit on cooling rack for 15 minutes. Run knife along the edges. Carefully flip out and continue cooling on cooling racks. Let muffins sit in tins for 3-5 mins on cooling rack and then gently remove from tins and continue cooling on cooling rack. Allow bread or muffins to completely cool before eating.
- Store leftover bread or muffins in an airtight container or in plastic wrap at room temperature for up to 3 days, in fridge for up to 1 week, or in freezer for up to 3 months. Serve at room temperature or slightly warmed for 10-15 seconds in microwave.
