Meet banana bread’s sweet & salty cousin- Peanut Butter Bread! If you love cozy baking days and soft, warm breads, then this recipe is just for you. I’ve taken an old fashioned Peanut Butter Bread recipe and made a few tweaks to make it more snack-able than ever! Think peanut butter cookies, but bread!
Got peanut butter cravings? Check out my peanut butter collection:
We all need solid recipes that scratch that “cozy day” baking itch when it hits. Those days when we need comforting smells, something a little sweet and (especially) a warm slice of bread and melty pat of butter. If i’m speaking your language, then instead of that same ol’ banana bread recipe, let’s go old school and whip up a little homemade peanut butter bread together!
Behind The Recipe
The first Peanut Butter Bread recipe was published in 1930 and then had a bit of a makeover in 1945. And while both recipes offer a good foundation for today’s “sweet treat” recipe, they weren’t sweet treats themselves. They were practical bread recipes that didn’t require the use of butter and eggs- important for their times. (You can learn more about that from B. Dylan Hollis who got me to thinking about peanut butter bread.)
This version makes good use of that foundation, adds a bit more moisture with brown sugar, an egg and apple sauce to create that richer, denser snack/dessert bread, bake shop texture we love, plus more peanut butter and even evaporated milk to punch up the flavor.
What To Know Before Getting Started
I’ll walk through an overview of ingredients, recipe steps & FAQs in this section along with helpful tips. Don’t miss them! Look for specifics in the recipe card at the bottom of post.
Peanut Butter Bread Shopping List
- all purpose flour
- salt
- baking powder
- baking soda
- peanut butter (All natural & organic peanut butters don’t work for this recipe.*)
- large egg
- white granulated sugar
- light brown sugar
- sweetened apple sauce
- evaporated milk
- turbinado sugar for finshing
Add Ins/ Substitutions: Chocolate chips make a yummy add to this recipe. Try ½ -1 cups of semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips. You can also make this bread with crunchy peanut butter!
*Organic & All Natural Peanut Butters: They don’t contain the needed emulsifiers (The oil and solids easily separate) needed to properly blend evenly into the batter. As a result, they either leave you with an oily bake, a dry & crumbly one or a patchy combo.
How To Make Tender, Sweet Peanut Butter Bread
- Mix the Dry Ingredients. In a medium bowl, combine flour, salt and baking powder using a whisk or fork. Add peanut butter and combine with your finger tips until it looks like wet sand. This is important! See my notes below.
- With your mixer, whip together your egg and both sugars until light and fluffy. Add apple sauce, evaporated milk and baking soda and mix until smooth.
- Mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients with your mixer on low until just combined. (Don’t over mix. )
- Quickly add the batter to your loaf pan. Sprinkle with your turbinado sugar and bake in preheated oven for 50 minutes – 1 hour. A toothpick should come out clean when inserted into the center.
Recipe Notes
- Make sure you read the info about why natural and organic peanut butters don’t work. Choose a long time staple like JIF or Peter Pan instead.
- Don’t skip working the peanut butter into the dry ingredients with your finger tips. This technique infuses the dry ingredients with the peanut butter oils and will give you a robust peanut butter flavor. Otherwise, you might not be able to taste the peanut butter at all.
- Evaporated milk was chosen purposefully to enhance flavor in this recipe. Because it’s concentrated, it has a richer texture, and when used in baked goods, it produces a subtle caramelized, nutty flavor.
- I topped this bread with Turbinado sugar for a bit of sweet crunch, but you could drizzle it with a peanut butter glaze for even more peanut butter flavor– ½ cup powdered sugar, 2-3 tablespoons milk, 2 tablespoons peanut butter, ¼ teaspoon pure vanilla extract and a dash of salt (if needed).
Storing, Heating, Freezing
You can store this bread on the counter at room temperature for up to 3 days. It lasts longer if you wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate it.
I love to eat this bread warm with melted butter. Warm by the slice (10 seconds on high) in the microwave or several slices wrapped in foil in the oven at 350°F.
You can freeze the whole loaf to enjoy later by wrapping it up air tight and storing it in the freezer for up to 2 months.
More Fall Baking Recipes To Enjoy
Cozy Homemade Peanut Butter Bread
Ingredients
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup peanut butter (natural or organic does not work)
- 1 large egg room temperature
- ½ cup white granulated sugar
- ½ cup light brown sugar packed
- 1 cup sweetened apple sauce
- ½ cup evaporated milk
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- turbinado sugar for topping (see Notes above for peanut butter glaze recipe as an option)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350℉. Line a 9×5 inch loaf pan with parchment paper to make it easy to pull the bread from the pan when finished baking.
- In a medium bowl, combine flour, salt and baking powder using a whisk or fork. Add peanut butter and combine with your finger tips until it looks like wet sand. Set aside. (These are your dry ingredients.)
- With your mixer, whip together your egg and both sugars until light and fluffy. Add apple sauce, evaporated milk and baking soda and mix until smooth.
- Mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until just combined.
- Quickly add the batter to your loaf pan. Sprinkle with Turbinado sugar and bake in preheated oven for 50 minutes – 1 hour. A toothpick should come out clean when inserted into the center.
Rate & Comment