Recipe: Elvis Banana Bread

My bananas always go bad before I eat them because I never really want to eat a banana. My Grandma loves Elvis, but not “Fat Elvis” as she is always careful to clarify. Cue this King-inspired twist on traditional banana bread (which is basically cake, let’s face it). The batter tastes like Reese’s Pieces and the batch yields enough for two loaves if you ever need to trade one for romaine or drop one off on your Grandma’s doorstep while also lovingly reminding her to stay the fuck at home.

Ingredients:

• 1 & 1/2 cup sugar

• 3/4 cup butter, softened

• 1 cup creamy peanut butter, divided

• 3 eggs

• 1 & 1/2 tbsp vanilla

• 1/3 cup milk

• 3 cups flour

• 1tsp kosher salt

• 3/4 tsp baking soda

• 1 & 1/2 tsp baking powder

• 5 overripe bananas, mashed

• 8 strips of cooked crispy bacon, chopped

• 2 tbsp turbinado sugar

Preheat the oven to 325° and prep two loaf pans by greasing and lining them with parchment paper (leave enough overhang on the long sides to pull the loaf out of the pan). In a large bowl, cream the sugar, butter, and 1/2 cup peanut butter. Mix in the eggs, vanilla, and milk until smooth. 

Incorporate the flour, salt, baking soda, and baking powder into the wet mix one cup at a time until just combined. Fold in the mashed bananas and divide the batter between pans.

Scoop the rest of the peanut butter into a small sandwich bag and snip off the corner. Pipe two lines of peanut butter across the batter lengthwise, then create swirls by dragging a knife through the lines in opposite directions from one end of the pan to the other. 

Bake for an hour, rotating the pans at the 30-minute mark. Mix the bacon and turbinado sugar together to sprinkle over and gently press into the loaves when they have just a few minutes left in the oven.