Peanut Butter & Apricot Jam Banana Bread

Warning this is not a low calorie recipe, but a really tasty banana bread recipe ! It is also a great use for all those over ripe bananas. I used raw peanuts and lightly toasted them to add to the batter. I found this recipe in a Better Homes & Gardens Fall Baking Magazine. I tweaked it like I always do; with ingredients that I like. Great for a cold fall winter snack and for kids that are not allergic to peanuts.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and then toast 1/2 cup of raw peanuts and set aside to cool. Butter and flour a 9 x 5 x 3 inch loaf pan.

In a mixer blend 1 1/2 cups of ripe bananas, two eggs, 1 cup of sugar, 1/2 cup of melted butter, 1/4 cup of peanut butter and 1/4 cup of the roasted peanuts chopped.

In a separate bowl, whisk 2 cups of flour, 1 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda, 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon of kosher salt, 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg and 1/8 teaspoon of ground ginger.

Now make the streusel nut topping. In a bowl mix 2 tablespoons of flour, 3 tablespoons of brown sugar and 3 teaspoons of very cold butter. Mix until the mixture is a coarse crumb. Now add the remaining nuts. Set aside.

Now add the dry mixture to the wet mixture in your mixer. Mix only until it comes together and then add it to the prepared pan. Take the 1/3 cup of apricot jam and swirl it into the batter and top with the streusel mixture.

Bake for about one hour. A wooden toothpick into the center should come out clean. You will  need to cover the loaf pan with foil about half way through to prevent over browning of topping. The recipe says to wrap the loaf and let stand overnight.