Peanut Butter Cup Banana Bread – 2013 Best Recipe Ever Winner! |Cooking With Amanda

You've waited all year for this moment…

The 2013 "Best Recipe Ever" $10,000 Grand Prize winner is…

Peanut Butter Cup Banana Bread from "DutchBakerGirl" Cathy Wiechert!!!

Keep reading for the $10,000 recipe…

This outstanding recipe was originally entered in our "Best Banana Bread Ever" contest. As an Editor's Choice winner from that week, this recipe then qualified for the grand prize.

Follow this link to read the original post: http://www.betterrecipes.com/blogs/daily-dish/2013/01/29/best-banana-bread-ever-peanut-butter-cup-banana-bread/

Let's learn a little more about our big winner!

How did you hear about the Better Recipes contests?

I became familiar with the Better Recipes contests a couple of years ago when the Mixing Bowl website became part of Better Recipes. I was a Mixing Bowl member and had entered and won a few contests there, so it was nice to see that Better Recipes offered more of the same.

Why did you decide to enter the "Best Recipe Ever" contest?

Creating my own recipes is such a fun hobby for me —it was a no-brainer to have a great time experimenting in the kitchen and then try for some fabulous prizes, too!

How did you come up with your winning recipe? Were you inspired by the weekly themes?

Traditional banana bread seemed boring and I wanted something that people would be excited to try. Often, when I'm deciding what kind of ingredients I want to experiment with, I walk through the grocery store aisles for ideas. On this particular day, a bag of mini-peanut butter cups literally fell off of the shelf…it was a definite sign! What's great about the weekly contest themes is that I usually have something in my arsenal that I consider to be the best—in this case, the best banana bread!

How many times did you test your recipe before it was ready to enter in the contest?

I had already developed and wrote about this recipe on my blog just a few months earlier. I had been trying out different variations of banana bread and this particular version turned out to be a favorite, then I tweaked it just a little more before I actually entered it into the contest.

Why do you think this recipe was declared the "Best Recipe Ever" in 2013?

I think this recipe was declared "Best Recipe Ever" in 2013 because of its universal appeal. Who doesn't love banana bread? Who doesn't love peanut butter cups? It's a fabulous combination!

Do you have any tips or advice for bloggers or home cooks as they develop recipes for contests?

When I develop a recipe, either for my blog or for a contest, I like to start with something familiar and change it up. I'll do variations on a theme and think of a way to incorporate two favorite flavors into something else, like peanut butter cups and banana bread, hot chocolate and cinnamon rolls, carrot cake and pancakes….you get the idea. It's fun! Sometimes, I'll think of the name of a recipe first, and then come up with something. It's all about grabbing the attention of your audience first with the name, and then making sure it tastes as good as it sounds.

Thanks so much for all your insight and advice! Where can we learn more about you and your fabulous recipes?

Blog: "The Dutch Baker's Daughter" http://www.thedutchbakersdaughter.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheDutchBakersDaughter

Twitter: https://twitter.com/DutchBakerGirl

Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/dutchbakergirl/

Google+: https://plus.google.com/+CathyWiechert/posts