Has this ever happened to you?

It’s a Tuesday night and you are snuggled-in watching Mad Men (I realize Mad Men is on Sunday nights but we generally don’t watch it until Tuesday or Wednesday).  Suddenly, you are struck by a deep, yearning and insatiable craving for banana bread.  You make a hopeful trip to the kitchen only to find that your secret freezer stash is tapped-out and none of the bananas in your fruit basket are ripe enough to be up to the task.

So what do you do?

You roast your bananas.  That’s what you do.

Somewhere, at some point, I came across a recipe that roasted the bananas before using them in banana bread.  It must have been one of those casual skips through the internet because I failed to save, mark or pin the article.  But, the idea stuck.

So, I did some research of my own, mixed and matched some recipes, added some toasted coconut and peanut butter chips and here is where I landed.

Elivs would be proud.

I don’t know that I can claim roasting your bananas makes a better banana bread.  But, it does make a good banana bread and solves the banana problem.

Should it.  You know.  Arise.

Oh, one more thing.  That first picture is false advertising.  Do not peel your bananas before roasting.  Leave them in the skin.  I made that mistake so won’t don’t have to.

Roasted Banana Bread

Ingredients:

• 3 medium bananas
• 6 tbs coconut oil, melted and cooled (but still liquid)
• 2 C all-purpose flour
• 3/4 C light brown sugar
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp nutmeg
• 2 large eggs at room temp
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 C  yogurt (I didn’t have plain and so used honey)
• 2/3 C toasted unsweetened coconut wide or narrow shredded plus a couple of tablespoons for topping
• 2/3 C peanut butter chips (optional)

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and place the three bananas, unpeeled, evenly spaced, on the baking sheet. Bake the bananas for 10-15 minutes, until dark brown to almost black in color. Remove from oven and let cool, until ready to use.
2. Maintain oven temperature and grease a 9×5-inch loaf pan and set aside.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg.
4.  In a medium bowl, whisk together coconut oil, eggs, vanilla extract, and yogurt or buttermilk.
5. Then add the roasted bananas by peeling them over the bowl, allowing both the banana and any juices to be combined with the egg mixture. Whisk well to combine.
6.  Add the wet ingredients, all at once to the dry ingredients. Fold together until combined–do not over stir.
7. Fold-in coconut and peanut butter chips.
8. Pour batter into prepared pan.  Top with reserved coconut.
9. Bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour, or until a skewer inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean.
10. Remove from the oven and allow to rest in the pan for 15 minutes, before inverting onto a wire rack to cool completely.
11. This freezes well when tightly wrapped.