Sometimes, we begin with what we love and trust, which is how I feel about this well used recipe! My sister shared it with me years ago and we’ve never found a banana bread recipe we like better. It never fails me, and as expected, it warmed my heart again. It took about 6 months before the light bulb went off in my head that I can adapt our favorite recipes and don’t have to search for all new gluten-free, dairy-free recipes. Mmmm…the warm, sweet smell as it bakes and first comes out of the oven always draws the kids around the kitchen island as I slice those first pieces. I usually hear “This is awesome!” or “Can I have some for breakfast tomorrow morning?” because they know if they can leave enough, this bread tastes even better the next day. Share this one – either on a piece of paper, or fresh out of the oven. If you want the original recipe, just adapt by taking out the xanthan gum and use real butter and flour.
Perfect Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free Chocolate Chip Banana Bread
1 cup sugar
¼ cup dairy-free butter (Earth Balance)
3 mashed bananas
¼ cup milk substitute (rice milk or almond milk)
¼ cup sour cream substitute (WayFare’s 100% Dairy Free Sour Cream)
2 large egg whites
2 cups all purpose gluten-free flour blend (Gluten Free Mama’s Almond Blend)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 ¼ teaspoon xanthan gum
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup dairy-free semi-sweet chocolate chips (Enjoy Life dairy, nut & soy free)
cooking spray
Preheat oven to 350° . Combine sugar and butter in a mixing bowl. Beat on medium speed until well blended. Add mashed bananas, milk, sour cream and egg whites, blending well.
In a separate bowl, combine flour blend, baking soda, xanthan gum and salt. Blend together with a whisk. Add to creamed mixture until well blended. Stir in chocolate chips.
Spoon into a 9 inch loaf pan that has been coated with cooking spray and bake at 350° for 1 hour and 10 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Let sit 10 minutes, then remove from loaf pan and cool on a wire rack. As difficult as it is, try to let it cool before slicing or it will have a slight soggy feel.
tip: When bananas turn brown and you know you won’t have time to use them, stick them in the freezer, skin and all. They will turn super ugly and black on the outside leaving perfectly mushy insides. For yesterday’s batch of bread I pulled two from my freezer and one from my fruit bowl. After all, I don’t always have 3 rotten bananas sitting in my kitchen! Just remember to take them out earlier in the day so they have time to defrost.
The Carter Family Kitchen 