Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

Yield: 12 servings

• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 2 eggs
• 4 ripe bananas
• 4 tbsp sour cream
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 2 cups flour
• 1 1/2 cups mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat your Yoder Smokers YS640 pellet grill to 350°F, set up for indirect grilling.

Combine the sugar and butter in the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment. Whip until lightened in color and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time while mixing. Allow the first egg to fully incorporate before adding the second. After the second is well incorporated, stop the mixer and scrape the bowl. Mix another 20 seconds.

Mash the bananas into a paste. Mix with the sour cream and vanilla. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, salt and baking soda. Add half of the flour to the mixer and mix on low to incorporate. Then add half of the banana mixture. When everything is incorporated, repeat the process. Scrape the bowl. Mix just to incorporate anything that was stuck to the bowl. Add the chocolate chips and mix for 30 seconds on low.

Transfer the mixture to a greased Lodge Logic 10” cast iron skillet. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 75 minutes. Cool before slicing.

This recipe comes together in three parts. One component is the wet mixture of bananas, sour cream and vanilla extract. There will also be a dry mixture that is made up mostly of flour.

Here is the base of the batter, the whipped sugar and butter to which eggs are added one at a time. Once all of the eggs are incorporated you will alternate adding the wet and dry mixtures until the batter is formed. This is called the creaming method.

Finally the chocolate chips are mixed in!