Baking Fun (from 1/3/10)

Yes I have admitted it and I will admit it many times more...I love to bake.  Over the holidays I always rediscover my love of baking with cookies and breads.  My family loves banana's so banana bread seemed like a no-brainer.  In the recipe book discussed in my previous post, "Fall Baking: Cookies, Breads and Desserts", I found a recipe for what they call Monkey Tail Bread.  A monkey tail is a carnival treat made of a frozen banana on a stick that's been dipped in chocolate and rolled in peanuts.  Now I have never had a monkey tail but this just sounds oh so yummy so I had to give the bread a try.  The recipe follows:
Monkey Tail Bread
Makes 1 loaf (16 Slices)
1/2 cup Shortening
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 cup mashed bananas (about 3 medium)
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup chopped peanuts
1/2 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips
2 tbs chocolate frosting
1 tbs creamy peanut butter
1.  Heat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease bottom only of a loaf pan, 9x5x3 inches.  Beat shortening and sugar in large bowl with electric mixture on medium speed until fluffy.  Beat in eggs and bananas until smooth.  Beat in flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt just until mixed.  Stir in peanuts and chocolate chips.  Pour in pan.
2.  Bake 1 hour to 1 hour 10 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.  Cool in pan 10 minutes; remove from pan to wire rack.  Cool completely, about 1 hour.
3.  Place frosting in small plastic food-storage bag.  Microwave on high 6-10 seconds or until pourable.  Add peanut butter to bag; gently squeeze bag until peanut butter and frosting are well blended.  Cut off tiny corner of bag.  Squeeze bag to drizzle chocolate mixture over bread.
Now you are going to see a pattern as I discuss recipes...I don't always follow them verbatim.  First off I was saving the two jars of peanuts I had for peanut brittle so I substituted 1/2 cup peanut butter chips for the chopped peanuts ( if you want the crunch use the peanuts or better yet go all out and do both) and of course I use what I have on hand so I used just regular semisweet chocolate chips.  I think this would also be great with milk chocolate chips.  I like to use bananas that are a little older as they are sweeter and mash better.  We always have banana's in the house.  Some weeks they are eaten quickly and some weeks not at all.  Those are the weeks I make this bread.  I also didn't get fancy and skipped the frosting mixture to save my sanity when serving it to my 2 year old, and the fact I didn't feel like running to the grocery store for a container of chocolate frosting.  It tastes great without so if you don't have it in your cabinet all ready or are just lazy and pinching pennies like me....you know it will still be a hit with the family.
If you ever want nutrition information on the verbatim recipe please let me know...the recipe book includes them....not sure what I will discuss next time...but until then....let me cook.