Chocolate Cinnamon Banana Bread

Somehow we are always faced with 3-4 overripe bananas at the end of the week. We always buy more than we can chew, I guess. Often these go into paleo muffins or 1-ingredient ice cream but this time I was craving something chocolatey. I also had some cinnamon chips in the cupboard which demanded inclusion. This was delicious!

Chocolate Cinnamon Banana Bread
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen

3 medium-to-large very ripe bananas
1/2 cup butter, melted
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 large egg*
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon table salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder (what you see pictured is Special Dark)
1 cup cinnamon chips

Heat your oven to 350°F.

Butter a 9×5-inch loaf pan, or spray it with a nonstick baking spray.

Mash bananas in the bottom of a large bowl. Whisk in melted butter, then brown sugar, egg, and vanilla. Place baking soda, salt, cinnamon, flour and cocoa powder in a sifter or fine-mesh strainer and sift over wet ingredients. Stir dry and wet ingredients with a spoon until just combined. Stir in cinnamon chips.

Pour into prepared pan and bake 55 to 65 minutes, until a tester or toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out batter-free. Cool in pan for 10 to 15 minutes, then run a knife around the edge and invert it out onto a cooling rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.

*One egg doesn't sound like enough but bananas do a lot of the work alongside the butter to bind this all together.