Going bananas

This is THE BEST banana bread I've ever made, period.

My roomie, a banana bread addict, said it was the best he'd ever tried. My other roomie said it's the best thing I've baked so far. I'm telling you, not many banana breads stay moist and yummy 5 days after baking. This does.

The secret? Well, the chocolate chips definitely help. They melt and give the whole thing a kick. But honestly I think it was a matter of bananas. My three bananas were not ripe or overripe, they were black. Yes, that's right, the outside was almost totally black. The inside had some tiny black spots that I removed.

Now you might be asking yourselves why ripe bananas taste sweeter than green ones. Easy! In the ripening process the starches from the bananas get transformed into sugars as ethylene gas is released (do not freak out, there's nothing bad about it).

1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
3 very (I mean very very) ripe bananas, mashed
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 F

Mash the three bananas until you get a liquid mixture similar to baby food. In a bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until fluffy. Stir in the egg. Add the mashed bananas. Stir in the flour, salt, baking soda and baking powder and mix with a spatula until well incorporated. Fold in the chocolate chips.  I baked it in a flat square pan but feel free to bake it as a loaf. Bake for about 30 min, until a toothpick inserted into the bread comes out with moist crumbs.