I love a good banana bread, and banana muffins are right up there on my list of great everyday baked goods, as well. A good banana muffin should have all the flavor of banana bread, but with the bonus of being even easier to make, since it requires a shortened baking time. I don’t always add mix-ins to my banana breads, however I often throw a generous handful of berries, nuts or even chocolate chips into my banana muffins to mix things up. These Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins are easy to make and absolutely delicious. They’re the kind of simple muffin recipe that should become a staple of your weekend baking – especially if you have any banana and chocolate lovers in your house!
The muffins are soft and moist, with a fluffy crumb that is the perfect for holding up plenty of chocolate chips. They have a great banana flavor and a nice balance of brown sugar and spice, without being too sweet. I didn’t skimp on the chocolate chips in these muffins, so you’re going to get some in every single bite. To make sure that I always have a good distribution, I like to use a combination of regular chocolate chips and mini chocolate chips in muffins like these. I used 1 cup of chocolate chips and 1/2 cup of mini chocolate chips. You’ll still get a generous dose of chocolate if you opt for only full size chips, but I like the speckled look and subtle chocolate flavor that the mini chips bring in.
The batter for these is fairly thick, and you can fill the muffin cups all the way up to the top. This, along with a relatively high baking temperature, will give you nicely domed muffins with golden brown muffin tops. These muffins keep very well after baking because they are so moist, so you can store them in an airtight container and enjoy them for several days after baking. They freeze well, too. The muffins are excellent plain because the chocolate chips give them a little extra richness, but they are also tasty when smeared with a little bit of salted butter or cream cheese.
Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 large egg
2 large ripe bananas, mashed (approx 1 cup)
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup buttermilk
1 1/2 cups chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 400F. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt.
In a large bowl, whisk together sugars, egg, mashed bananas, vegetable oil and vanilla extract until very smooth. Stir in half of the flour mixture, followed by the buttermilk. Stir in remaining flour mixture, mixing just until no streaks of dry ingredients remain.
Fold in chocolate chips.
Divide batter evenly into prepared muffin cups, filling muffin cups to the top.
Bake for 18-20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean or with only a few moist crumbs attached.
Turn muffins out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Makes 12.
Medeja
September 13, 2014Chocolate + banana.. yummy combination 🙂