I couldn’t just call this banana bread, because it’s so much yummier than that. I have actually never made banana bread, so I was searching for recipes online and I just couldn’t find a perfect one, whatever that means.

I was torn. Should I make a really healthy banana bread? Should I make a buttery, chocolatey one? Should I just “figure it out” by reading 34 recipes that just didn’t seem perfect? Yes! I prayed I was using the basics of  the recipes I found closely enough to actually create bread. If it tasted like banana, that would be a bonus.

Enter: recipe typed in a Word doc + mashed up ripe bananas.

Pre-heat oven to 350.

I combined one stick of softened butter and about 3 to 4 oz of softened reduced fat cream cheese.

Did I mention I went the buttery route and subbed some healthier ingredients “when possible?”

Next, a cup of brown sugar.

Plus two ripe bananas, all mashed up.

Add 1/4 cup of non-fat plain Greek yogurt, one egg, a teaspoon or so of vanilla. I snuck in a few shakes of cinnamon too.

In a separate mixing bowl, I combined the dry ingredients: 1 cup of all-purpose flour, 1/2 cup of whole-wheat flour (any combo of flour will work!), 1 teaspoon of baking powder, 1 teaspoon of baking soda, plus a few shakes of salt.

Add the dry ingredients to the banana mixture and fold in chocolate chips.

Pour into a greased/buttered/Pam sprayed loaf pan:

Set the oven timer for about an hour and start cleaning your dishes.

63 minutes later, I had this.

The pictures don’t do it justice. It was warm, and gooey and just such a lovely mix of banana and chocolate. The cream cheese and greek yogurt made it seem a little bit creamy, maybe even dreamy.

I sure wish my iPhone photography skills didn’t take away from the beauty and deliciousness of this treat. Trust me, it’s good.