The most versatile banana "bread" ever

I have been making this bread for years now, as evidenced by the ratty old copy of the recipe. I pretty much know it by heart and have adapted it to suit my needs. I have recently been making it just about once a week as muffins to eat at breakfast. Breakfast for me is usually eaten on the run while I'm feeding kids, getting kids dressed, packed for school, driven to school. You get the picture. I'm lucky if the coffee in my cup is still warm when I finally get to it. This bread also freezes extremely well. And I've never given it as a gift and had someone not say they loved it.

I say it's versatile because as I was making it with my daughter this morning I realized that it is gluten, soy, and dairy free. You could very easily make it egg free too. This is also easy to make with frozen bananas. When your bananas start looking gnarly throw them in the freezer and then defrost them on the counter for a couple hours when you want bread. It does change the color and flavor a bit, but still good. Also, the base recipe is great on it's own, but it's even better if you add chocolate chips. Or, in the fall I like to add cinnamon and apples. I've also done it with a crumble topping. Won't do that again any time soon, it was too good and our house ate it in one day!

So here's the base recipe:

3 bananas (I usually use 2, but if you use frozen bananas use 3)
1 cup sugar (you can use 1/2 cup agave here too)
1 egg, or egg substitute
1 1/2 cup flour (I use Gluten Free Pantry all-purpose)
1/4 cup applesauce
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt

You can also add:
1 cup mini chocolate chips (I use Enjoy Life) OR
1/2 tbsp cinnamon and 1 apple chopped

Mix it all together until moist. If your bananas are frozen you can just use a spoon, otherwise you'll want an electric mixer. Pour into a greased bread pan or muffins tins. For muffins bake at 350 for 20 minutes. For bread, 350 for 50-60 minutes.