peanut butter streusel banana bread

I get so excited when I think about how much I've improved in my ability to develop recipes. 

When I first started this blog, almost all my recipes were from Allrecipes.com. I never made a single change, switched up the butter to flour ratio, used brown sugar instead of white sugar, NOTHING. It sounds so lame, but I never took any chances with my baking. And when I DID start taking chances and became more adventurous in the kitchen, that's when people started reading my little blog. 

Over the past year and a half, things have changed. Much to my mother's dismay, I hardly ever follow recipes anymore. I know {usually. but not always.} when something looks right or when it needs a bit more flour or a splash of milk. I love that I'm now able to throw some ingredients in a bowl and actually get edible results. In fact, some of my favorite things that have come out of my oven, you haven't even seen because those things are usually whipped together with nothing but a mixing bowl and a wooden spoon. 

Today's banana bread is one of those recipes that I base off of nothing but an idea I had floating around in my head. Of course, because I love you, I actually wrote down the measurements. And I'm really happy I did because this banana bread was one of the best healthy variations I've made so far. That says a lot because I probably make some sort of banana bread/muffin every other week, tweaking things each time. 

This banana bread isn't too sweet. I didn't use ANY processed sugar, but instead sweetened it with some maple syrup our visitors brought with them. {Someone from our church in the states sent some of their homemade stuff. That is organic as you'll ever get!} Since I almost ALWAYS smear peanut butter on top of my banana bread, I figured I'd actually incorporate it into the recipe. The streusel is so good, peanuty, crumbly, and adds just the right amount of oomph to an otherwise basic banana bread. `

peanut butter streusel banana bread

banana bread: 

3-4 overripe bananas, mashed

1/2 c. plain yogurt

2 eggs

2/3 c. organic maple syrup

2 c. flour

1/2 c. oats

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. nutmeg

2 tsp. vanilla extract

streusel: 

1/4 c. creamy peanut butter

2 tbsp. dark brown sugar

1/4 c. flour

1/4 c. oats

Preheat oven to 375ºF and grease/line a loaf pan and set aside. In a large bowl, beat eggs, yogurt, bananas, maple syrup, and vanilla. Mix in flour, oats, nutmeg, and baking powder. Stir until combined. Pour batter into prepared loaf pan and set aside. In a separate bowl, combine oats, flour, brown sugar, and peanut butter and mix until it resembles a coarse crumb. Sprinkle on top of batter. Bake for 40-50 minutes or until golden brown.