Chocolate Chip Banana Bread Squares with Coconut Streusel

I'd been meaning to make use of some old bananas hanging out on my counter for a while now, and I decided to try to adapt this pumpkin bar recipe from Kelly at Meals for Miles (if you are into reading about evidenced-based nutrition and high-volume running, give her blog a read). I've made her recipe several times, and I love it because it's flavorful, pumpkin, dense, and it comes together super easily. Anything I can make in the evening without waking the baby up is a plus. I figured I could easily swap the pumpkin for banana and change some of the spices around and such, and I'd have a similar recipe going on. Except that it wasn't, not really. What I ended up with instead of a dense bar was a soft bread-like baked good, which, in retrospect, shouldn't have been surprising. What I wanted was banana bar, and what I ended up with was banana bread in an 8 x 8 bar pan. 

I was disappointed as I went to taste my first bite, thinking to myself that I'd do better in the next run-through . However, although the texture was not what I'd anticipated, both it and the flavor were excellent. I had a second huge piece just to be extra sure that I wasn't disappointed any longer... The base was almost fluffy and quite moist, and because I liked the addition of the streusel topping so much, it's going to be difficult to stop myself from putting it on everything.Also, although the streusel contains dairy, the bread itself is vegan. I'm going to toy with a streusel topping made with coconut oil in future recipes, so check back if that's something you're interested in. 

I let a friend take some of the bread home (because I'm trying to save myself from myself), and she reported back that it was the best banana bread she's ever had. In short, it may not be a great bar, it is some hella good banana bread. Happy accidents, y'all. Give those old bananas some new life. 

Chocolate Chip Banana Bread Squares with Coconut Streusel

Ingredients

Base

2 c white wheat flour
¾ c granulated sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking soda
¾ tsp salt
½ c apple sauce
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/3 c almond butter
1 ½ c ripe banana, smashed (about 3 bananas)
½ c dark chocolate chips (you could probably increase this to a cup without overcrowding the bread)

Streusel

1/3 c flour (white wheat or all purpose)
1/3 c brown sugar
¼ c unsalted butter, cold, cubed
¼ c unsweetened, flaked coconut
½ tsp cinnamon

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line an 8 x 8 pan with foil and grease/spray with oil of your choosing.

Dry ingredient prep.

Wet ingredient prep.

In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt. Whisk well and set aside. In a medium bowl, combine apple sauce, vanilla, almond butter, and banana.

Mixed batter and streusel prep.

Slowly add wet mixture to dry mixture and stir until just combined. Fold in chocolate chips. Pour the mixture into the prepared pan.

Batter in prepped pan and streusel mixture.

Mix together all streusel ingredients in a medium bowl, using your fingers or a fork to mash the dry ingredients into the butter. Once the mixture seems crumbly, and most of the dry ingredients seem incorporated into the butter, sprinkle it over the batter.

Golden streusel goodness, straight outta the oven.

Bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cool about 5-10 minutes before cutting.

You're all right, non-bar. You're all right.