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I like banana bread and I often have it with hot chocolate when I order my poison [i.e. dark hot chocolate from Blenz]. I also like coffee cake when I need that extra sugar rush. When I saw this recipe and the description said that it’s a cross between a banana bread and coffee cake…I heard ding-ding-ding in my head.

Patience is not the strongest suit in my cards, that’s for sure. When I see something I want, I get it. If I want to accomplish something, I get it done. Then I just sit back and admire my handiwork with all that extra time. When faced with a must-cook recipe, I don’t waste time either. I just make it!

This life ‘formula’ doesn’t always work out perfectly. Like when I made these, I accidentally ate the 3rd banana that was to complete this recipe’s 1 cup of mashed bananas. Ooops! But I had to have banana bread right that instant so I improvised. I thought of something equally thick and mushy to add: almond butter. I don’t usually have almond butter in my cooking arsenal, but my recent diet changes due to my not-so-stellar health has brought a jar of it in the kitchen. It’s not sweet at all and it definitely covers the thickness/richness factor. I was also too excited to notice that instead of using sugar as the original recipe called for, I used golden yellow one. Oops, again. At that point, I just had to go with the flow and see how it goes. I was just hoping it was edible.

It wasn’t just edible. It was wonderful!

It was good fresh. After I let it sit overnight on the counter, it was perfect. The bread became a little moist (but not too much so it’s perfect for those who dislike super moist banana bread), a little packed…and oh my god the crumble topping is meant to be saved for last.

It was gone in a couple of days. I gave some to friends and my parents had the privilege of devouring them, and taking some on their road trip. The ‘mistakes’ were a success!!! Awesome. You better try it. It could actually be healthy, too…but don’t quote me on that.

Here’s the recipe:

Almond Butter Banana Bread with Cinnamon Crumble Topping
adapted from September 2008 Bon Appetit
» download the PDF recipe

Ingredients [makes 1 loaf]

•    1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
•    1 cup plus golden yellow sugar (packed)
•    2 tablespoons golden brown sugar (the loose, grainy variety)
•    2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, divided
•    1 teaspoon baking soda
•    1/2 teaspoon salt
•    3/4 cup mashed ripe bananas (2 medium)
•    1/4 cup almond butter
•    2 large eggs
•    1/2 cup vegetable oil
•    1/4 cup honey
•    1/4 cup water
•    2 1/2 tablespoons (packed) golden brown sugar

Preparation

1.    Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter and flour 9×5x3-inch metal baking pan. Whisk 1 1/2 cups flour, 1 cup golden yellow sugar, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, baking soda, and salt in medium bowl.

2.    Whisk mashed banana, almond butter, eggs, vegetable oil, honey and water in large bowl until smooth. Add dry ingredients; stir to blend.

3.    Transfer batter to pan. Mix 2 tablespoons sugar, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, and brown sugar; sprinkle over batter.

4.    Bake bread until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 1 hour. Cool bread in pan 30 minutes. Turn pan on its side; slide out bread, being careful not to dislodge topping. Turn bread right side up and cool completely.