We all have that favorite aunt in our life, the cookie baker, the best friend, and sometimes our other mom… As a kid, I used to enjoy spending time with my Pia, baking, helping around the farm, and just simply spending time.

One of the recipes we used to make, and is a family staple, was banana bread. She would take out her recipe box and pull out an old piece of paper written by my grandmother. The page was old and yellowed, stained with prior ingredients, and very cherished. While we were baking, she would tell me stories about my grandmother… stories that I passed on to my own children while we baked Gramma’s banana bread, and continue to share with my own grand children. This recipe is the same, with an added twist that my Pia added to it. We fondly call it the JACKED UP Chocolate Chip Banana Bread recipe.

This banana bread recipe is a “rite of passage” for the kids in our family. It is a common misconception that alcohol completely cooks out of food…. This has proven to be not true.

Some may be worried about serving a dish cooked with alcohol to a child, yet alcohol is a naturally-occurring substance in many foods, particularly fruits with a high sugar content such as very ripe apples. Keep in mind that the amount used in a recipe is usually very minimal and is spread out over a large volume of food, comparatively-speaking. It is a personal decision, of course. Still, it is a good idea for those on anti-abuse medication for alcohol problems to avoid foods cooked with alcohol. – from About.com cooking

You can also view their Alcohol Burn-off Chart.

If you are concerned about the alcohol in this recipe, you can omit it. As you can see from the chart, after baking you will have about 25 percent of the alcohol still in the banana bread. There is only a subtle hint of bourbon flavor to this bread, it is not overwhelming.

Pia’s Jacked Up Chocolate Chip Banana Bread Recipe

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Pia’s Jacked Up Chocolate Chip Banana Bread Recipe

With or with out the Jack Daniels, this banana bread is one of the best EVER!

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 45 minutes

Total Time 1 hour

Servings 2 loaves

Author Bri K

Ingredients

• 1 and 1/4 cups of sugar
• 1/2 cup butter softened
• 2 eggs
• 1 and 1/2 cups mashed very ripe bananas about 4 medium
• 1/2 cup butter milk OR 1 and 1/2 tsp lemon juice and enough milk to make 1/2 cup of substitute buttermilk
• 1 tablespoon of jack daniels or other bourbon type whiskey
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 and 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 cup of chopped nuts
• 1/2 cup of chocolate chips

Instructions

1. Lower rack in oven to lowest postion so the top of pans will be in the center of the oven. Preheat 350 degrees F
2. Grease only the bottoms of 2 loaf pans ( 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 x 2 1/2) or 1 (9x5x3).
3. In a large bowl, cream together sugar and butter. Add eggs and mix until well blended, Add bananas, buttermilk (or substitute), Whiskey and vanilla.
4. Beat until smooth.
5. Stir in flour, baking soda and salt until moistened. Stir in nuts and chocolate chips, pour into pans.
6. Bake 8 inch loaves for about 1 hour (I usually set time for 45 mins, check and then continue.), 9 inch for 1 hour and 15 mins OR until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
7. Cool for 10 mins, loosen the sides of the loaves from the pan, remove to cooling rack. Let cool for about 2 hours before slicing. Wrap well, you can leave this out of the freezer for 4 days, store in fridge for about 10. You can also wrap this for the freezer and freezer for about 2 months.

In total today, I baked 10 loaves. I left 2 loaves out, and packaged the other 8 for gift giving and for Yule on the 21st. I hope you enjoy this “twisted” banana bread recipe as much as we do!  Try it with some banana butter!