Bananas are undoubtedly one of my favorite types of fruit. And apparently, I'm in good company. A perfectly ripe banana is always a welcome addition to my morning bowl of Cheerios! But, an overripe banana? No thanks. So what do you do when you've got a bunch of overripe bananas? Well, it's time to make some banana bread!

This recipe for banana bread is outstanding. And, more importantly, it's downright simple to make. Bananas take center stage here: you start out with 3-4 overripe bananas. Added to that is some brown sugar - not too much brown sugar. Just enough to heighten the bananas innate sweetness. The batter is finished with a splash of bourbon and vanilla, and then a sprinkling of nutmeg and cinnamon. Texture is important here too, so I gild the lily a bit and stud the top of the bread with toasted walnuts. Oh, and because chocolate is never a bad thing, some chocolate chips are folded into the bread.

The recipe is versatile too. Don't like walnuts? Fine, leave them out! Don't like chocolate? Well, I won't judge you.

So, treat this banana bread recipe as a canvas of sorts, onto which any number of additions will likely be delicious. In any case, what you'll end up with is some incredibly moist and flavorful banana bread.

Banana Bread with Toasted Walnuts and Chocolate Chips

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Next, take your ripe bananas and smash / mash them.

With a wooden spoon, mix butter into the smashed bananas in a large mixing bowl. 

Mix in the sugar, egg, vanilla and bourbon, then the spices.

Sprinkle the baking soda and salt over the mixture and mix in. Add the flour last. Mix just to combine. 

Pour half the mixture into a buttered 4X8 inch loaf pan.

Add a generous sprinkling of chocolate chips. Then, pour the rest of the mixture into the pan. 

Add toasted walnuts to the top.

Bake for 50 minutes to one hour, or until a tester comes out clean.

Cool on a rack. Remove from pan and let cool on rack. Or, if you like your banana bread warm (and who doesn't?) slice to serve immediately.

INGREDIENTS

3 to 4 ripe bananas, smashed

1/3 cup melted unsalted butter

3/4 to 1 cup light brown sugar (depending on the level of sweetness you prefer; I used the smaller amount)

1 egg, beaten

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 tablespoon bourbon (optional)

1 teaspoon baking soda

Pinch of salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1 1/2 cup of flour

generous handful of semisweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup toasted walnuts

Recipe adapted from Smitten Kitchen.