If you look, at any given time on my kitchen counter, you’ll find bananas. Bananas are a shopping list staple for this single girl. They’re healthy, compact and versatile – you can pop them in cereal, eat one before a workout or transport in your purse for an on-the-go potassium fix.

The problem with bananas is that their window of ripeness is small. There is a very limited period between the time when bananas begin to fade from pale green to perfectly yellow to the point where their skin becomes a myriad of brown blotches, too soft to the touch.

When I buy bananas, I always purchase bunches of four or five. Even though I don’t have growing kids or a husband with a bottomless appetite, I always have good intentions of eating one a day. Breakfast, pre-gym, afternoon snack….easy! That is, until five days later when they’re sitting, rotting on my counter, mocking me to bake them into something before they end up down the trash chute.

If I’m lucky enough to have an hour and a half free, I’ll make Banana-Nut Bread, Banana Muffins with Tart Lemon Icing or Low-Fat Banana Muffins. The problem with that is, well, one gets tired of banana bread, even in muffin form. Not to mention that adding sugar, flour, eggs and perhaps chocolate chips sort of negates those good intentions of buying bananas as a healthy snack.

One of the most commonly searched phrases that people use to find my blog is “is banana bread bad for you?” So, to come right out and answer that question, it’s not exactly healthy food but it’s probably not singly responsible for the American obesity problem either.

This banana bread – probably not so good for you. Pecans and chocolate chips take it across the line from bread to cookie and its thick, cake-like texture makes it so much more substantial than a grab-and-go baked good. Enjoy it for breakfast with coffee or dress it up with some homemade whipped cream for dessert.

Monkey Bars (Chocolate Chip Pecan Banana Bread)

Ingredients:

1 cup butter melted

2 eggs

1 1/2 cup brown sugar light pcked

2 cup mashed banana

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 1/2 cup all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup chocolate chips

1 cup chopped pecans

Turbinado sugar, optional

Directions:

1. Preheat oven 350 degrees. Coat an 8×8 baking pan with butter or cooking spray. In a medium bowl, whisk brown sugar into butter, followed by eggs, vanilla and mashed banana.

2. In another bowl, sift flour with baking powder and salt. Add dry ingredients to creamed mixture. Add in chocolate chips and pecans, stirring until just mixed.

3. Pour mixture into the prepared pan and sprinkle with turbinado sugar if desired. Bake 30-35 minutes or til a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.

TIP: If you like a thicker, cakier bar, use the 8×8 pan as suggested. If you prefer a thinner, flatter bar cookie, use a larger pan, such as a 13×9 baking pan. Once cool, cut into 12 pieces.