Chocolate Chunk Banana Bread

My brother, (he of the Doritos, and beans cooked in their can) recently got a job in Massachusetts that requires him to be on-site at 6am. He's been staying with us during the week to cut down his commute time, and when he can't sneak down the road to our grandmother's house he's been sharing meals with us. In the last week he has subsisted on peanut butter and jelly (on white), s'mores poptarts, lemonade, and a box of rice-a-roni that he brought with him because things like rice-a-roni just don't live in our kitchen. This week when I did my Saturday tour of the markets, along with the local vegetables, and the peanut butter ice cream (we all have vices) I picked up some things that I thought would be appealing to his, shall we say, discerning palate. Later while mulling over the contents of our freezer and pantry, I thought I should make another treat to keep him sated during his long day. Banana bread, specifically the kind made by our grandmother, is one of the only 'whole' foods I have seen him eat with a fervor usually reserved for Doritos ('pizza cravers', if you have them). In an effort to put something other than a sandwich in his lunch box I thought I'd make some banana bread of my own.

Whenever a banana goes past its prime on me, I pop it in the freezer. This Sunday four, brown, speckled fellows were waiting for me. Since I hadn't planned to make this bread when I was out buying more poptarts and doritos, I wanted to use what was on-hand. Brother doesn't like nuts, and he wasn't crazy about the ginger in my zucchini bread (no accounting for taste there) but I can't eat plain banana bread all week long without something in it to give it a kick. Chocolate, was my answer (and it so often is). I also keep a large bar of dark chocolate in the freezer...in case of emergencies... Cut up into chunks and shards it gives a delicious depth to banana bread that makes it interchangeable for breakfast or dessert.

Chocolate Chunk Banana Bread
(Makes one loaf)
1 3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
3/4 cup granulated white sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 stick unsalted butter, melted and cooled
4 ripe medium bananas, mashed well (about 1-1/2 cups)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
4.25 oz dark chocolate, chopped

Butter the loaf pan, and line with parchment paper.
Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, baking soda, and cinnamon in a large bowl.
In a medium bowl mash bananas and combine with beaten eggs, melted butter and vanilla extract, make sure your butter is cooled, you dont want to start cooking the eggs.
Add the wet ingrdients to the dry and fold gently - you don't want to make the bread tough- until combined.
Transfer dough to parchment paper lined  loaf pan and bake 45- 55 minutes, a toothpick stuck in the middle comes out clean.