• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Crumb: A Food Blog logo

  • Home
  • About Crumb
    • About Isabelle
    • Press, Awards and Contributions
    • Privacy Policy
  • About the Recipes
menu icon
go to homepage
search icon
Homepage link
  • Home
  • Recipe Index
  • About Crumb
  • About Isabelle
  • Privacy Policy
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
  • ×

    Home » dessert » cake » Secret Recipe Club: Toffee-Cinnamon Banana Bread

    Secret Recipe Club: Toffee-Cinnamon Banana Bread

    Feb 6, 2012 · 33 Comments

    Hurray! The Secret Recipe Club is back!

    If you're not familiar with the concept, here's the Coles Notes version - every month, a group of SRC members are given a secret blogger buddy, and are responsible for making and photographing and documenting one of their recipes. Then we all reveal those recipes at the same time on the same day, and have a grand ol' time checking out the great finds.

    toffeebananabread_slicedwide

    It's always exciting to see who my blogger buddy is each month, and I'm particularly excited this time around because I was assigned to Jen of Beantown Baker.

    Jen has been blogging for nearly 5 years and posts as often as twice a week... as you can imagine, there is no lack of recipes to choose from!  True to her blog's name, she is indeed from Boston, and mostly blogs about baked goods and sweet treats, though she does have quite a few savoury recipes, too.

    After spending a while poking around (and making myself very hungry in the process), I realised I kept returning to her Cinnamon Banana Bread.  I can never pass up a good banana bread recipe, and this one looked positively irresistible... honestly, who could look at that crackled top full of gooey cinnamon goodness and not get an instant craving? Not me, that's for sure.

    toffeebananabread_ingredients1

    The only thing that stood between me and banana bread heaven was those darned cinnamon chips.

    You see, Hershey's doesn't seem to think we Canadians are ready for the awesomeness that is cinnamon chips. We can get dark chocolate chips, milk chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, peanut butter chips, toffee chips and even mint-chocolate chips, but much to my dismay, there is not a single bag of cinnamon chips to be found anywhere in the city of Toronto.  I take comfort in the fact that at least we get Coffee Crisp chocolate bars, ketchup chips and Habitant pea soup in exchange.

    toffeebananabread_batter

    So, rather than give up and make something totally different, I decided to make the banana bread using the next best thing... toffee chips!

    I did make a few other changes to Jen's recipe - I swapped out the old-fashioned oats for a smaller amount of quick-cook oats because I wanted a less oatmealy sort of texture, added a ¼ cup Greek yogurt to make it extra-moist, doubled the cinnamon to make up for the lack of cinnamon chips, and stirred in some chopped pecans for crunch. Of course, my changes mean this recipe isn't quite as healthy as Jen's version, but let's just cut slightly thinner slices and pretend that makes up for it. :)

    toffeebananabread_slicedloaf

    The end result is a tender, moist banana bread with a noticeable cinnamon flavour that's dotted with melted toffee and crisp pecans. It's so darned good that I feel slightly guilty about eating it for breakfast, because it tastes like it ought to be a dessert.

    Then again, nothing's stopping me from having it for breakfast AND dessert. Right?

    //

     

    5.0 from 2 reviews
    Toffee-Cinnamon Banana Bread
     
    Print
    Prep time
    15 mins
    Cook time
    50 mins
    Total time
    1 hour 5 mins
     
    A speckling of toffee chips and a cinnamon-sugar topping bring the sexy back in this classic moist banana bread recipe. Pecans are optional, but highly recommended.
    Author: Adapted from Beantown Baker
    Serves: 10
    Ingredients
    Banana Bread
    • 1½ cup flour
    • ½ cup quick-cook rolled oats, uncooked
    • ½ cup brown sugar
    • 1 tsp cinnamon
    • ½ tsp salt
    • ½ tsp baking soda
    • ¼ tsp baking powder
    • 3 very ripe bananas, mashed (~1 cup)
    • 2 eggs, beaten
    • ¼ cup plain Greek yogurt
    • 1 tbsp walnut or canola oil
    • ½ cup chopped pecans (optional)
    • ½ cup toffee bits (ie. Skor or Heath chips)
    Topping
    • 1 tbsp sugar
    • ½ tsp cinnamon
    • ¼ cup chopped pecans
    Instructions
    1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour a loaf pan and set aside.
    2. In a large mixing bowl, stir together flour, oats, brown sugar, cinnamon, salt, baking soda, and baking powder.
    3. In a second mixing bowl, mix together the banana, yogurt, oil and eggs until smooth. Add to the dry ingredients, and stir until the batter just barely comes together. Fold in the pecans, if using, and toffee chips. Pour batter into prepared pan.
    4. In a small bowl, stir together the topping ingredients, and sprinkle evenly onto the batter.
    5. Bake in preheated oven for 45 to 50 minutes, or until the top of the loaf feels firm to the touch and a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out with a moist crumb. Let cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then unmold and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before slicing.
    Wordpress Recipe Plugin by EasyRecipe
    3.5.3208

    « Spread the Love: Nutella-Banana Ice Cream
    Skinny Dipping: Lightened-Up French Onion Dip »
    297 shares
    • Share
    • Tweet
    • Email
    • Yummly

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. MikeVFMK says

      February 17, 2012 at 9:33 pm

      love making bread like this through the winter. sounds heavenly Izzy! And looks even better. if only my oven worked right now.

      Reply
    2. Margaret says

      February 15, 2012 at 4:40 pm

      That looks AMAZINGLY delicious. No cinnamon chips in Toronto! Bummer!!! Course they are only in the US stores during the holiday, so....

      Love your header!!

      Reply
    3. Hester @ Alchemy in the Kitchen says

      February 12, 2012 at 6:47 am

      Wow Isabelle, it's like finding out that plain ol' banana bread has a secret life as a cabaret singer! Love your take on this!

      Reply
    4. Kim Bee says

      February 9, 2012 at 5:32 pm

      Holy shnikeys this is gorgeous. You got assigned a great blog. And made a perfect pick for your recipe. Just love all your photos.

      Reply
    5. Kristina says

      February 8, 2012 at 10:08 am

      oo yum! I love the toffee chip addition! And honestly I don't even think I've seen cinnamon chips in the states? I'll keep me eye out next time!

      Reply
    6. Amanda says

      February 7, 2012 at 9:01 pm

      Nice! And no cinnamon chips :-( that stinks! I have used them several times, so you definitely need to write to Nestle! :) This bread sounds and looks amazing!

      Reply
    7. Mercedes says

      February 7, 2012 at 8:56 pm

      I cannot wait to join the SRC! I just need a few more recipes! It sounds like so much fun and this bread looks amazing!

      Reply
    8. myfudo says

      February 7, 2012 at 8:09 pm

      Banana bread all by itself is already awesome...The toffee chips are a great addition.Great post!

      Reply
    9. Katherine Martinelli says

      February 7, 2012 at 4:12 pm

      I love this! I've never even heard of cinnamon chips, but I think toffee chips are a great substitute. Looks amazing.

      Reply
    10. Mary says

      February 7, 2012 at 3:24 pm

      I have just about given up on ever finding those elusive cinnamon chips too. And I am not in Canada. I'm in a huge American city and they were still nowhere to be found throughout the holidays. Go figure.

      Your bread sounds delicious though. Way to improvise!

      Reply
    11. [email protected] says

      February 7, 2012 at 3:22 pm

      This looks wonderful! I doubt the cinnamon chips were missed and yep, they can be a pain to find here in the states too.

      Now to go buy some bananas so that they get ripe enough for banana bread :-)

      Reply
    12. Tiffany says

      February 7, 2012 at 12:54 pm

      Oh. My. Word.! those toffee chips looks so tasty... and I think I can smell the cinnamon through my computer screen!

      Reply
    13. Priscilla M says

      February 7, 2012 at 12:20 pm

      Now can I have this for breakfast?

      Reply
    14. Liam @ "Is butter a carb?" says

      February 7, 2012 at 12:05 pm

      I'm on my way over for a slice. Get the kettle on. ;)

      Reply
    15. Kiri W. says

      February 7, 2012 at 11:44 am

      Look, banana bread is sexy, already. Now, you've created a vixen! ;) This looks amaaazing. toffee always gets me :)

      Reply
    16. Shelby says

      February 7, 2012 at 6:54 am

      I love your addition of the toffee...bananas and toffee are awesome together. Cinnamon chips aren't that easy to find here either. So sad!

      Reply
    17. Tessa says

      February 7, 2012 at 12:32 am

      I have so many over-brown bananas in the freezer. This bread recipe sounds like a delicious solution. Great pick for SRC. I am adding this one to my list right now!

      Reply
    18. Becca @ Crumbs and Chaos says

      February 6, 2012 at 9:56 pm

      Oh my word! We always seem to have bananas that need to be used up - toffee sounds like an awesome addition to this bread!

      Reply
    19. Jen @ BeantownBaker.com says

      February 6, 2012 at 9:52 pm

      So glad you enjoyed the bread. Cinnamon chips are hard to find here too, so I stock up when I see them!

      Reply
    20. bellini says

      February 6, 2012 at 9:36 pm

      I go shopping for groceries in the States maybe twice a year and pick up what I cannot find here. Cinnamon chips will have to be on my list as well as the peanut butter ones too.

      Reply
    21. NO REASONN NEEDED says

      February 6, 2012 at 6:06 pm

      Eh! It's always great to find other Canadian blogs. It always amazes me that we are so close yet so far from the States when it comes to product availability. Great pick.

      Reply
      • Isabelle says

        February 6, 2012 at 7:00 pm

        Yay for fellow Canucks! :)

        Reply
    22. Veronica says

      February 6, 2012 at 2:32 pm

      I live in the US and it is so hard for me to get cinnamon chips! I finally found a source in a cake supply store, but I like the sound of the toffee chips so much that I'm not sure which way I will make it, only that I have to! Great SRC pick and beautiful photos!

      Reply
      • Isabelle says

        February 6, 2012 at 4:59 pm

        I didn't realise that cinnamon chips were so hard to find in the US, too! That makes me feel a little better about the fact that I couldn't find any. :)
        The toffee version is very yummy, but I think the cinnamon is the way to go if you've got a source for those elusive cinnamon chips!

        Reply
    23. [email protected] says

      February 6, 2012 at 1:56 pm

      I was just trying to figure out what to do with my ripe bananas...I think I got it!

      Reply
    24. Noelle (@singerinkitchen) says

      February 6, 2012 at 1:29 pm

      I need to make this ASAP! Pinned it.

      Reply
    25. Asiya says

      February 6, 2012 at 1:05 pm

      This looks great and very easy to make. I've never even heard of cinnamon chips before!!! I also have always been surprised that ketchup chips were not sold in the States..they were my favorite chips growing up!

      Reply
      • Isabelle says

        February 6, 2012 at 6:59 pm

        I only discovered cinnamon chips recently (through a post on another blog, in fact). I guess that's the wonderful thing about food blogs... you can read all about the wonderful, delicious products that are sold in other countries. :)

        Reply
    26. Deanna B. says

      February 6, 2012 at 12:55 pm

      I have a thing about cinnamon chips. I try not to use products I couldn't make at home, and I have no idea how a cinnamon chip is made. Toffee chips I love with all my heart, and the banana bread sounds pretty amazing.

      Reply
      • Isabelle says

        February 6, 2012 at 6:58 pm

        I can totally relate, Deanna. I think of cinnamon chips in the same way as chocolate chips... I can't really chocolate from scratch either, but it's still on my "okay" list seeing as there aren't a whole lot of unprocessed alternatives and chocolate chips aren't horrendously bad in terms of additives.

        Reply
    27. Bizzy says

      February 6, 2012 at 12:45 pm

      Yummy. What wonderful flavors are in this loaf.

      Reply
    28. Lisa~~ says

      February 6, 2012 at 12:40 pm

      Looks and sounds wonderful and love the changes that you made.

      Lisa~~

      Reply
    29. Lisa @ Sweet as Sugar Cookies says

      February 6, 2012 at 12:08 pm

      I've made this bread before too and really enjoyed it.

      Reply

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Rate this recipe:  

    Primary Sidebar

    Hello! I'm Isabelle, and this is my blog. I'm a 40-something coffee-chugging, booty-shaking, bargain-shopping, trucker-swearing self-taught cook with a major addiction to vintage cookbooks. Come for the recipes, stay for the terrible puns! Connect with me on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter

    Looking for Something?...

    Archives

    Categories

    All images and content Copyright © 2023 Isabelle Boucher | Crumb: A Food Blog · Privacy Policy